Liking – “sviđati se” and Dative Pronouns

Croatian has two verbs that can both be translated as the English “like” – voljeti and sviđati se.

At its core, the verb sviđati se is really equivalent to the English “to be pleasing to.” In sentences with sviđati se, the roles of subject (“liker”) and object (the person/thing liked) are flipped in comparison to English sentences with like and Croatian sentences with the verb voljeti.

One function of the Dative case is for expressing the idea of the experiencer “to whom” and “for whom” things happen.

Implications

Since the thing liked is the subject, and the verb sviđati se will need to agree with the subject, you will need to use the form sviđaju when the thing liked is in the plural (just as in the ‘’to be interested in’’ – zanima me / zanimaju me).

• Sviđa ti se knjiga?
• Sviđaju ti se knjige?

Some of the most common reflexive verbs with the Dative case

• veseliti se (mami) – to look forward to mom
• nadati se (vijestima) – to hope for a [good] new

👨‍💻 Practice

What did we learn?

6.3.1 Zadatak 1: Kome se sviđa?

You already learned that personal pronouns in the Dative case can have stressed and unstressed form. Listen to the following sentences using a stressed form. Have in mind that a stressed form usually appears at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. Then, in the second part of the task, answer the set of questions.

6.3.1 Zadatak 2: Sviđa mi se

Listen to the following sentences. Laura, Davor, and Mario are talking about themselves and their friends. Indicate who is the liker.

6.3.1 Zadatak 3: Tko se kome sviđa?

Listen to the following sentences about Marija i Davor. In each sentence indicate who is the liker (a person that likes). Keep in mind that word order in Croatian is very flexible and words can be placed in a different order, without losing the meaning of the sentence. Remember, the liker is always in the Dative case and a thing/person that is liked is always in the Nominative case.

6.3.1 Zadatak 4: Ivan i Ivana

Listen to the following sentences about Ivan and Ivana. Since many names in Croatian have masculine and feminine forms (such as Ivan/Ivana, Petar/Petra, Marin/Marina, Dino/Dina, etc.), hearing who likes who might be confusing at first. Listen carefully and indicate who is the liker (a person that likes).

6.3.1 Zadatak 5: Što nam se sviđa?

Listen to the following sentences. Davor and Laura are practicing Croatian, and Davor is helping her understand how to talk about liking one thing versus liking multiple things. Listen to Davor’s examples and indicate whether the person likes one or more things.

6.3.1 Zadatak 6: Review