VERB BUILDING
Variations on a word
All of the following Croatian verbs (all related to the verb govoriti) have their precise shades of meaning:
govoriti, dogovoriti se, izgovoriti, izgovoriti se, nadgovoriti, nagovoriti, odgovoriti, prigovoriti, progovoriti, ugovoriti.
And so do these – all based on the verb raditi:
raditi, uraditi, zaraditi, naraditi se, odraditi, razraditi, preraditi.
Do I need to say more? We can’t really engage in meaningful Croatian conversation unless we understand these shades of meaning.
As I grapple with each set of related verbs (a set based on govoriti, another on raditi, others on staviti, držati, čekati, igrati, pustiti …. and so on endlessly, I’ll post my summary of the meanings in this section. You may find it useful.
govoriti, dogovoriti se, izgovoriti, izgovoriti se, nadgovoriti, nagovoriti, odgovoriti, prigovoriti, progovoriti, ugovoriti.
And so do these – all based on the verb raditi:
raditi, uraditi, zaraditi, naraditi se, odraditi, razraditi, preraditi.
Do I need to say more? We can’t really engage in meaningful Croatian conversation unless we understand these shades of meaning.
As I grapple with each set of related verbs (a set based on govoriti, another on raditi, others on staviti, držati, čekati, igrati, pustiti …. and so on endlessly, I’ll post my summary of the meanings in this section. You may find it useful.
Before we begin ....
Verbs come in pairs - continuous and finished (or imperfective and perfective). For each base verb, I think it makes sense to look at the pairs, such as izgovarati/izgovoriti, dogovarati se/dogovoriti se, and zarađivati/zaraditi.
I usually list the continuous form of the verb first.
Verbs come in pairs - continuous and finished (or imperfective and perfective). For each base verb, I think it makes sense to look at the pairs, such as izgovarati/izgovoriti, dogovarati se/dogovoriti se, and zarađivati/zaraditi.
I usually list the continuous form of the verb first.
And by the way, as I am sure that you have encountered …..
Not only are there many variations on base verbs, but each of the verb variations has its own set of nouns, adverbs, etc.
For example, odgovarati/odgovoriti is one of the verb pairs derived from the base verb govoriti. Related to this verb pair are each of the following words:
Not only are there many variations on base verbs, but each of the verb variations has its own set of nouns, adverbs, etc.
For example, odgovarati/odgovoriti is one of the verb pairs derived from the base verb govoriti. Related to this verb pair are each of the following words:
- odgovor (noun, masc.) answer
- odgovaranje (noun, neuter) answering, replying
- odgovoran/odgovorna/odgovorno/odgovorni/odgoverne/odgovorna (adjective) responsible
- odgovorno (adjective) responsibly
- odgovornost (noun, fem.) responsibility
- odgovarajući (adjective) corresponding, comparable
- odgovarajuće (adverb) correspondingly
Another verb pair derivative of govoriti is izgovarati/izgovoriti. These also have a related set of nouns, adjectives and adverbs:
- izgovor (noun, masc.) pronunciation, utterance
- izgovoranje (noun, neuter) pronouncing, uttering
- izgovoren (adjective and past participle) pronounced, uttered
- izgovorni (adjective) pronouncing
- izgovorljiv (adjective) pronounceable, utterable
- izgovorljivost (noun, feminine) pronounceability
And so it is with every derived verb of every base verb. A veritable web of words!