ADJECTIVES IN BOSNIAN CROATIAN LANGUAGE .pptx

Briefly explained the definition of adjectives in Bosnian langugae.

1. ADJECTIVES IN BSC

2. INTRODUCTION Adjectives in Bosnian, known as " pridjevi ," are words that describe or modify nouns, providing more information about them. They function similarly to adjectives in English, adding details about qualities, quantities, or characteristics of the nouns they describe. BCS adjectives also occur in the same sentence slots as in English – either directly before a noun ( attributive position ), or after a form of the verb “to be” ( predicative position ). The next examples illustrate this with the pronominal possessive adjective form moja (my).

3. Gender and number agreement In Bosnian, adjectives change form to match the gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and number (singular, plural) of the nouns they modify. Masculine : Imagine you’re describing a brave knight ( vitez ). The adjective “brave” ( hrabar ) dons its masculine attire and becomes “ hrabar vitez .” It’s like they’re preparing to embark on a heroic quest together, perfectly matched in gender harmony. Feminine : Now, let’s stroll through a blooming garden with a fragrant rose ( ruža ). The adjective “fragrant” ( mirisan ) elegantly transforms to “ mirisna ruža .” Neuter : As the sun sets over a serene landscape, the adjective “peaceful” ( miran ) captures the mood. A peaceful day (dan) becomes “ miran dan,” creating a neuter ambiance.

4. Masculine adjectives end in a consonant or - i . Example:Singular : " veliki pas" (big dog) Plural: " veliki psi" (big dogs) Feminine adjectives end in -a. Example:Singular : " velika mačka " (big cat) Plural: " velike mačke " (big cats) Neuter adjectives end in -o. Example:Singular : " veliko dijete " (big child) Plural: " velika djeca " (big children)

5. Just as adjectives adjust to gender, they also accommodate the number of nouns. Whether you’re talking about one object or a group of them, adjectives gracefully change to match. When describing singular nouns, the adjective maintains its regular form. However, when dealing with plural nouns, the adjective might undergo slight modifications to agree in number. For instance, a beautiful city (grad) becomes “ lijep grad ,” while beautiful cities ( gradovi ) become “ lijepi gradovi .”

6. BCS adjectives also occur in the same sentence slots as in English – either directly before a noun (attributive position), or after a form of the verb “to be” (predicative position). The next examples illustrate this with the pronominal possessive adjective form moja (my). ATTRIBUTIVE: Òvo je mòja òlovka . This is my pencil. PREDICATIVE: Òlovka je mòja . The pencil is mine. What is different about BCS adjectives is that they change in form to match the gender of the noun to which they refer. In the sentences above, moja is in the feminine form because it refers to the feminine noun olovka . ATTRIBUTIVE: Ovo je moj pas. This is my dog. PREDICATIVE: Pas je moj . The dog is mine. ATTRIBUTIVE: Ovo je moje pismo. This is my letter. PREDICATIVE: Pismo je moje . The letter is mine.

7. Possessive pronominal adjectives

8. Above are the pronominal adjectives of BCS, given in all three forms of the singular. The choice of the word for your depends upon the relationship being referred to. When speaking to someone normally addressed as ti , the form tvoj is used, but when speaking to someone addressed as vi (or to a group), vaš is used (both words normally capitalized ). Neuter forms of adjectives end in either -o or -e , depending on the preceding consonant. In the case of pronominal adjectives, the consonants j and š require the ending -e . There are two words for the idea her(s), njen and njezin . Of these, Croatian strongly prefers njezin . Serbian uses both but prefers njen , while Bosnian uses both more.

9. Demonstrative pronominal adjectives: ovaj , taj, onaj Words meaning this and that are demonstrative pronominal adjectives. English has only two such words, but BCS has three. The relationship among them can be viewed in two different ways – either in terms of distance from the speaker, or in terms of physical space. For instance:

10. The fact of this three-way distinction in BCS, vs. a two-way one in English, means that the neutral member of the trio, taj , corresponds either to this or that depending on the context. The chart on the left presents this in schematic terms, reckoning the distinction in terms of physical distance from the speaker. The endings of the demonstrative pronominal adjectives, presented in the chart on the right, are similar to those of the possessive pronominal adjectives. The masculine form contains the syllable - aj , which is not present in the feminine or neuter forms.