Enklitike

Why you are here

Today you learn why Ja se zovem Ana works and Se zovem Ana does not. Little words like se, mi, sam, and ću need a seat in second place in the sentence. English lets myself and me wander. Bosnian parks these short words right after the first stressed chunk. Book 1 already gave you Zovem se Ana. This chapter is only that parking rule.

Why English lies

English lies because short words can sit almost anywhere. You can say I call myself Ana, or My name is Ana, and nobody checks the second slot. Bosnian still uses short words for the same jobs, and those short words refuse to open the sentence. Se in zovem se, mi in Drago mi je, sam in a past line, and ću in a future line all ride in second place. Schools call the short pack enklitike, which means clitics. You can keep saying little words in second place and still be right.

A line you already say

Book 1 already gave you Ana’s meeting line Zovem se Ana, which means my name is Ana. The same rule lets her say Ja se zovem Ana. In both lines se sits in second place. Zovem holds first place in the short version. Ja holds first place when she puts herself up front. Se zovem Ana fails because se tried to open the sentence, and Bosnian will not let that little word start.

The pattern

Put one stressed word or short phrase first, then park the little word. Ja se zovem Ana puts Ja first and se second. Zovem se Ana puts Zovem first and se second. Drago mi je puts Drago first and mi second. Pio sam pivo puts Pio first and sam second. Ja ću doći puts Ja first and ću second. You may shuffle the big words for stress or style. You may not shove se, mi, sam, or ću into first place. Second place is the whole job for this chapter.

Daj mi kahvu parks mi in second place after Daj, while kahvu keeps the want-it job on coffee.

The pests

Three pests will trip you today, and all three come from English word order. The first pest is starting with se, as in Se zovem Ana. The second pest is parking the little word at the English end, as in Ja zovem se Ana. The third pest is opening with sam or ću alone, as in Sam pio pivo or Ću doći. Fix them the same way. Put a real first word down, then seat the little word. Zovem se, Pio sam, and Ja ću all clear the rule.

The bit that tricks you

The trap is to think Ja must always sit in the sentence for the rule to work. That is not true. Zovem se Ana already has a first place word, so se is happy in second place with no Ja at all. The other trap is to treat every short Bosnian word like a free English pronoun. After a preposition you need the long form from Chapter 7, so za mene stays long while me alone is the short rider for other seats. Today you only park the little word in second place. The long-versus-short chart already had its day.

Sample words

Tap a word to hear it.

Look at these

Each line has a speaker. Tap the line to hear it. On some lines you can record yourself for a short Speak Check.

Try these

Quick check

Next

You now know why Ja se zovem and Zovem se both work, and why Se zovem fails. Little words like se, mi, sam, and ću sit in second place. Chapter 13 is the mixed review of the whole notebook, from piles to this parking rule. There is no new system tomorrow.