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Bosnian grammar · A1

The Dative of Experience

Alexander StebnerCreator of Lingora2 min readComments

Bosnian often describes how you feel not by making you the subject, but by putting you in the dative - the "to me / to you" case - while the feeling itself stays impersonal. Where English says "I am cold", Bosnian says, literally, "to me is cold".

01

Feelings as Impersonal States

With an adverb of state - cold, hot, good, bad, boring - Bosnian uses plus a dative pronoun. You are the experiencer, not the grammatical subject.

  • Hladno mi je.

    I am cold.

  • Vruće mi je.

    I am hot.

  • Dosadno mi je.

    I am bored.

  • Je li ti dobro?

    Are you okay?

02

The Dative Pronouns

The short dative pronouns are the everyday ones, and they are clitics: they cannot open a sentence, so they sit in the second slot, right after the first stressed word - which is where every example above has them.

  • (to me), (to you), (to him), (to her)
  • (to us), (to you), (to them)

Each has a long twin - , , , , - which is what you use to open the sentence, or to stress who is meant. Both examples below do exactly that: the person is the new information, so it comes first, and the short form cannot stand there.

  • Njoj je hladno.

    She is cold.

  • Nama je dosadno.

    We are bored.

03

Liking: 'sviđati se'

"To like" works the same way: the thing liked is the subject, and the person who likes it goes into the dative. Literally, "it appeals to me".

  • Sviđa mi se.

    I like it.

  • Sviđa li ti se Sarajevo?

    Do you like Sarajevo?

  • Ne sviđa mi se ova pjesma.

    I don't like this song.

04

Needing and Regretting

The same dative experiencer turns up with (need) and in set phrases of feeling, again keeping the person off the subject seat.

  • Treba mi pomoć.

    I need help.

  • Žao mi je.

    I am sorry.

  • Drago mi je.

    I am pleased (to meet you).

05

Telling Your Age

Even age uses this frame: the years belong to you in the dative, and the verb is the impersonal .

  • Koliko ti je godina?

    How old are you?

  • Meni je trideset godina.

    I am thirty years old.

06

Sensations and Missing

Bodily sensations and the feeling of missing someone take the same dative experiencer.

  • Muka mi je.

    I feel sick.

  • Nedostaješ mi.

    I miss you.

07

It Holds in Every Tense

The construction is not limited to the present: swap for the past or the future , and the dative experiencer stays in place.

  • Bilo mi je hladno.

    I was cold.

  • Bit će ti bolje.

    You will feel better.

All 43 Bosnian grammar topics

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