Adjectives with a dative complement
In short
| adjective | + dative person |
|---|---|
| zanimljiv, drag, poznat, potreban, neophodan, jasan, važan, bitan, blizak, mrzak, dosadan | mi / ti / mu / joj / nam / vam / im; bratu, ocu, majci, sestri; studentima, turistima, deci, sestrama |
The adjective agrees with the THING (the subject), not the person: Prijatelji su mi dragi. A whole clause takes the neuter: Jasno mi je da…
B1 · Lesson 49 · Adjectives with a dative complement (interesting to someone)
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
In English you say that something is interesting to me, dear to her, important to the students. Serbian says exactly the same thing, but with no word for to: the person simply stands in the dative — the same case you already use for the person who receives something (Dajem knjigu bratu).
- Ova knjiga mi je zanimljiva. — This book is interesting to me.
- Taj glumac je mojoj baki poznat. — That actor is known to my grandmother.
- Studentima je ovo pravilo jasno. — This rule is clear to the students.
Who agrees with whom
Two things happen in such a sentence, and they must not be mixed up. The thing (the book, the rule, the friend) is the subject: the adjective agrees with it in gender and number, and the verb biti agrees with it too. The person it matters to is in the dative and does not change the adjective at all. In Prijatelji su mi dragi the adjective is plural masculine because of prijatelji, not because of mi.
The adjectives
These adjectives take the person in the dative. They are used in the short form after biti; note the fleeting a in many of them (potreban → potrebna, blizak → bliska).
| meaning | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| interesting to | zanimljiv | zanimljiva | zanimljivo |
| dear to | drag | draga | drago |
| known / familiar to | poznat | poznata | poznato |
| needed by | potreban | potrebna | potrebno |
| necessary to | neophodan | neophodna | neophodno |
| clear to | jasan | jasna | jasno |
| important to | važan | važna | važno |
| important to (everyday) | bitan | bitna | bitno |
| close to | blizak | bliska | blisko |
| hateful to | mrzak | mrska | mrsko |
| boring to | dosadan | dosadna | dosadno |
The dative forms you need
| who | dative | examples |
|---|---|---|
| a person, singular | -u (m./n.), -i (f. and m. in -a) | bratu, ocu, profesoru; majci, sestri, dedi |
| people, plural | -ima (m./n.), -ama (f.) | studentima, turistima, radnicima, deci; sestrama, ćerkama |
| a pronoun (clitic) | mi, ti, mu, joj, nam, vam, im | Potreban nam je tvoj savet. |
| a pronoun (stressed) | meni, tebi, njemu, njoj, nama, vama, njima | Meni je to važno, a tebi nije. |
The clitic (mi, ti, mu…) is the normal choice and stands in second position, next to je/su: Ova knjiga mi je zanimljiva. The stressed form (meni, tebi…) is used for contrast or emphasis and may open the sentence: Njoj nije jasno.
With a whole clause: the neuter form
When what is interesting, clear or important is a whole idea rather than a noun, the adjective goes into the neuter singular: Zanimljivo mi je kako ljudi menjaju mišljenje (It is interesting to me how people change their minds), Profesoru nije bilo jasno zašto kasnimo. This is the same pattern as drago mi je that you have met in greetings.
Do not translate to or for with a preposition. Ovo je važno za mene exists, but the natural way to say important to me is the bare dative: Ovo mi je važno. And with potreban the thing needed is the subject: say Potreban mi je odmor (I need rest), never Ja sam potreban odmor.
Check what you read
6 of the 15 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Ova pesma je mom(brat) veoma draga.
Svakoj(majka) je porodica najvažnija.
Mom(otac) nije jasno zašto se ljutimo.
___ je potrebna ljubav roditelja.
Ova knjiga ___ je zanimljiva. (to me)
___ je to važno, a tebi nije.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Studentima je ovo pravilo jasno.
This rule is clear to the students.
Radnicima je potreban duži odmor.
The workers need a longer break.
Potreban nam je tvoj savet.
We need your advice.
Ova knjiga mi je zanimljiva.
This book is interesting to me.
Ovakvi filmovi su mojim ćerkama dosadni.
Films like these are boring to my daughters.
Učitelju su svi učenici podjednako dragi.
All the pupils are equally dear to the teacher.
Taj glumac je mojoj baki poznat.
That actor is known to my grandmother.
Vaš savet mi je bio ključan.
Your advice was crucial to me.
Njegovo mišljenje mi je potpuno nebitno.
His opinion is completely unimportant to me.
Profesoru nije bilo jasno zašto kasnimo.
It wasn't clear to the professor why we were late.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 33
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
This rule is clear to the students.