Anaphoric and Cataphoric References
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Anaphora points back to mentioned info; cataphora points forward to what's coming. They are the 'glue' of fluent Croatian discourse.
- Anaphora: Use pronouns or demonstratives to refer to a previous noun. (Marko je tu. On spava.)
- Cataphora: Use a pronoun first to create suspense or focus. (Iako ga volim, Marko me ljuti.)
- Zero Anaphora: Croatian often drops the subject pronoun entirely if the context is clear.
Anaphoric Pronoun Agreement (Accusative Clitics)
| Gender/Number | Noun Example | Anaphoric Clitic | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Masculine Sing.
|
prijatelj
|
ga
|
Vidim ga.
|
|
Feminine Sing.
|
knjiga
|
je / ju
|
Čitam je.
|
|
Neuter Sing.
|
dijete
|
ga
|
Čuvam ga.
|
|
Masculine Plur.
|
ljudi
|
ih
|
Poznajem ih.
|
|
Feminine Plur.
|
žene
|
ih
|
Slušam ih.
|
|
Neuter Plur.
|
sela
|
ih
|
Posjetio sam ih.
|
Demonstrative Distinctions in Discourse
| Form | Distance | Textual Function |
|---|---|---|
|
Ovaj
|
Near Speaker
|
Refers to the most recent word/sentence.
|
|
Taj
|
Near Listener
|
Refers to a topic already established by the interlocutor.
|
|
Onaj
|
Far from both
|
Refers to something mentioned much earlier or well-known.
|
Meanings
The use of linguistic elements (usually pronouns or demonstratives) to refer to other elements within the same text, either previously mentioned (anaphora) or about to be mentioned (cataphora).
Pronominal Anaphora
Replacing a previously mentioned noun with a personal or relative pronoun to maintain flow.
“Vidjela sam Mariju. Ona mi je sve ispričala.”
“Kupio sam knjigu koju si mi preporučio.”
Zero Anaphora (Ellipsis)
Omitting the subject pronoun because the verb ending already indicates the person and number.
“Marko je ušao u sobu. Sjeo je i počeo pisati.”
“Znam da si umoran, ali moraš završiti.”
Cataphoric Suspense
Using a pronoun before the actual noun is mentioned to build anticipation or emphasize the relationship.
“Čim ga je ugledao, Petar je znao da je u nevolji.”
“Iako je bila umorna, Ana je nastavila raditi.”
Demonstrative Reference
Using 'ovaj', 'taj', or 'onaj' to refer to entire ideas or specific segments of text.
“Vlada je podigla poreze. To je izazvalo prosvjede.”
“Rekao mi je da odlazi. Ta me vijest šokirala.”
Reference Table
| Type | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Anaphora (Pronoun)
|
Noun ... Pronoun
|
Ivan je tu. On spava.
|
|
Anaphora (Zero)
|
Noun ... [Verb]
|
Marija je došla i sjela.
|
|
Cataphora
|
Pronoun ... Noun
|
Iako ga volim, Marko me ljuti.
|
|
Demonstrative
|
Sentence ... To
|
Pao je snijeg. To je lijepo.
|
|
Relative
|
Noun + koji/što
|
Knjiga koju čitam je duga.
|
|
Possessive
|
Noun ... Svoj
|
Petar je uzeo svoju torbu.
|
|
Negative
|
Noun ... Ne + Clitic
|
Imam novac, ali ga ne dam.
|
|
Interrogative
|
Što ... Noun
|
Što je to? To je stol.
|
Formalitätsspektrum
Vidio sam ga te sam mu sve izložio. (Reporting an interaction)
Vidio sam ga i sve mu rekao. (Reporting an interaction)
Vidio ga i sve mu reko. (Reporting an interaction)
Skonto ga i sve mu izlajao. (Reporting an interaction)
Textual Cohesion Map
Anafora (Unazad)
- Zamjenice Pronouns
- Nulta anafora Zero anaphora
Katafora (Unaprijed)
- Iščekivanje Anticipation
- Književni stil Literary style
Anaphora vs. Cataphora
Choosing the Right Reference
Has the noun been mentioned?
Is the subject obvious?
Types of Pro-forms
Personal
- • on
- • ona
- • ga
- • ih
Demonstrative
- • ovaj
- • taj
- • to
Relative
- • koji
- • čiji
- • što
Beispiele nach Niveau
Ovo je moj brat. On se zove Luka.
This is my brother. His name is Luka.
Gdje je kava? Tu je.
Where is the coffee? It's here.
Marija radi. Ona je doktorica.
Marija works. She is a doctor.
Imam psa. On je velik.
I have a dog. He is big.
Kupio sam kruh i pojeo sam ga.
I bought bread and ate it.
Poznaješ li Anu? Ne poznajem je.
Do you know Ana? I don't know her.
Marko je došao, ali nije ništa rekao.
Marko came, but (he) didn't say anything.
To je moja kuća. Sviđa li ti se?
That is my house. Do you like it?
Čovjek kojeg sam vidio bio je visok.
The man whom I saw was tall.
Rekla je da će doći, što me veseli.
She said she would come, which makes me happy.
Izgubio sam ključeve. To je problem.
I lost the keys. That is a problem.
Iako ga ne volim, moram mu pomoći.
Even though I don't like him, I must help him.
S obzirom na to da kasnimo, moramo požuriti.
Given that we are late, we must hurry.
Film koji smo gledali sinoć bio je izvrstan.
The movie we watched last night was excellent.
Nakon što ga je pročitao, vratio je pismo.
After he read it, he returned the letter.
Ovaj prijedlog je bolji od onoga.
This proposal is better than that one.
Spomenuta problematika zahtijeva dublju analizu.
The aforementioned issue requires deeper analysis.
Oni koji traže, naći će.
Those who seek shall find.
Svojim je postupkom potvrdio sumnje.
With his action, he confirmed the suspicions.
Bilo je to vrijeme velikih promjena.
It was a time of great changes.
Premda ga mnogi osporavaju, njegov je doprinos neupitan.
Although many dispute it, his contribution is unquestionable.
Ušavši u dvoranu, onaj isti čovjek s početka priče ponovno se pojavio.
Entering the hall, that same man from the beginning of the story reappeared.
Ono što fascinira kod ovog djela jest njegova slojevitost.
What fascinates about this work is its complexity.
Nije to bila samo pobjeda; bio je to trijumf volje.
It wasn't just a victory; it was a triumph of will.
Leicht verwechselbar
Learners use 'to' for objects they are pointing at and for sentences they just said, without realizing the pragmatic difference.
Using 'koji' to refer to a whole sentence instead of 'što'.
Using 'ovaj' for everything.
Häufige Fehler
Ja vidim Marko. Ja volim Marko.
Vidim Marka. Volim ga.
Gdje je knjiga? On je tu.
Gdje je knjiga? Ona je tu.
Ja sam sretan.
Sretan sam.
Ovo je moj mama.
Ovo je moja mama.
Vidio sam ga Mariju.
Vidio sam Mariju.
Oni su došli. Oni su jeli.
Došli su i jeli.
Daj mi ga knjigu.
Daj mi knjigu.
To je čovjek koji sam vidio.
To je čovjek kojeg sam vidio.
Rekao je istinu. Koji je dobro.
Rekao je istinu. To je dobro.
On je uzeo on torbu.
On je uzeo svoju torbu.
Iako ga volim, Petar je težak.
Iako ga volim, Petar je težak.
Ovaj problem je velik. Onaj je mali.
Ovaj problem je velik, a onaj mali.
Vlada je odlučila. To su rekli.
Vlada je odlučila. Tako su rekli.
Satzmuster
Iako ___ voli, ___ je često ljuti.
___ je stigao i odmah ___ počeo raditi.
To što si rekao, ___ me nimalo ne čudi.
Onaj tko ___, taj ___.
Real World Usage
Stižem. Čekaj me.
Moje iskustvo je veliko. To je moja prednost.
Evo što je rekao: Premijer o novom zakonu.
Iako ga je mrzio, morao mu se diviti.
Želim pizzu. Možete li je donijeti?
Pogledajte ovaj video! Genijalan je.
The 'To' Rule
Pronoun Overload
Politeness and Anaphora
Cataphoric Suspense
Smart Tips
Look for a clitic early on; it's likely a cataphoric reference to the subject of the next clause.
Always use 'To'. Don't try to find a gendered pronoun like 'on' or 'ona'.
Use 'ovaj' for the second one and 'onaj' for the first one to avoid confusion.
The clitic 'je' can be dropped in the 3rd person singular if another clitic is present, but usually, it's kept for clarity.
Aussprache
Clitic Stress
Anaphoric clitics (ga, je, ih) are never stressed. They lean on the preceding word.
Demonstrative Intonation
When 'To' is used anaphorically to refer to a whole sentence, it usually has a falling tone.
Cataphoric Suspense
Iako ga VOlim... ↗ Marko me ljuti. ↘
Rising intonation on the pronoun to signal more info is coming.
Einprägen
Eselsbrücke
ANA looks BACK (Anaphora), CATA looks AHEAD (Cataphora).
Visuelle Assoziation
Imagine a text as a train. Anaphora is the coupling looking at the car behind it; Cataphora is the headlight looking at the track ahead.
Rhyme
Kad je Marko već u priči, 'on' na njega odmah liči. Kad 'ga' vidiš prije imena, katafora to je, nema dilema!
Story
A detective (Anaphora) looks for clues in the past. A fortune teller (Cataphora) predicts who is coming into the room before they arrive.
Word Web
Herausforderung
Write a 3-sentence story where the first sentence uses cataphora, the second uses zero anaphora, and the third uses a demonstrative reference.
Kulturelle Hinweise
Strict adherence to clitic placement is expected in formal writing (Wackernagel's Law).
Often uses 'onaj' more frequently as a filler word or a vague anaphoric reference.
May use different clitic orders or forms (e.g., 'ga ne' instead of 'ne ga' in some sub-dialects).
Derived from Proto-Slavic pronominal systems, which already utilized clitics for efficient discourse tracking.
Gesprächseinstiege
Jesi li vidio onaj novi film? Što misliš o njemu?
Iako ga mnogi ne vole, Dubrovnik je ljeti predivan. Slažeš li se?
Što misliš o odluci vlade? Kako će to utjecati na nas?
Postoji li netko koga se bojiš? Zašto baš njega?
Tagebuch-Impulse
Häufige Fehler
Test Yourself
Vidio sam tvoju sestru. ___ je bila u gradu.
Kupio sam novi mobitel i odmah ___ razbio.
Find and fix the mistake:
Marko je došao. On je sjeo. On je jeo.
Marko je ušao, iako ga nitko nije zvao.
'Čim ju je vidio, Ivan se zaljubio u Mariju.'
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
A: Jesi li čuo vijest? B: Ne, o ___ se radi?
Croatian clitics must always be in the first position of a sentence.
Score: /8
Ubungsaufgaben
8 exercisesVidio sam tvoju sestru. ___ je bila u gradu.
Kupio sam novi mobitel i odmah ___ razbio.
Find and fix the mistake:
Marko je došao. On je sjeo. On je jeo.
Marko je ušao, iako ga nitko nije zvao.
'Čim ju je vidio, Ivan se zaljubio u Mariju.'
Match: 1. Ovaj, 2. Taj, 3. Onaj
A: Jesi li čuo vijest? B: Ne, o ___ se radi?
Croatian clitics must always be in the first position of a sentence.
Score: /8
FAQ (8)
Both mean 'her'. 'Je' is standard, but 'ju' is used next to the syllable 'je' (e.g., 'Vidio ju je') to avoid repetition.
Yes, but it's less common. It's usually used for jokes or to build a bit of drama: 'Pazi ovo, on ti meni kaže... Marko!'
Because Croatian verbs are highly inflected. Repeating 'ja' or 'on' makes you sound like you don't trust the verb to do its job.
Use the masculine plural: 'Oni'. Even if there are 99 women and 1 man, it's 'oni'.
The first 'To' is anaphoric (referring to the situation/task), and the second 'to' is a demonstrative predicate. It means 'That's it'.
In legal Croatian, 'isti' (the same) is used anaphorically to avoid repeating a noun: 'Kupac je platio, te se istom izdaje račun.'
Yes, the pronoun comes first, then the name: 'Iako ga Petar ne voli, on pije čaj.' (Wait, here 'ga' refers to 'čaj' - that's anaphora! Cataphora would be: 'Iako ga ne voli, Petar ne pije čaj.')
In good writing, usually 1-3 sentences. Any further and you should repeat the noun to avoid 'referential decay'.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Pronouns (he, she, it)
Croatian drops the subject; English keeps it.
Anáfora y catáfora
Spanish uses more redundant pronouns.
Anapher
German requires the subject pronoun.
Zero Anaphora (Ellipsis)
Japanese omits more than Croatian.
Al-’ā’id (Resumptive pronoun)
Arabic relative clauses require the pronoun.
Topic-comment structure
Chinese has no gender/case agreement.
