bojati se / sjetiti se + Genitive

Verbs Taking a Genitive

Level 2

Bojim se mraka means I am afraid of the dark. Sjetio sam se imena means I remembered the name. The complement is genitive.

How It Works

In Bojim se mraka., the fear concerns mrak, whose genitive is mraka. A pronoun can fill the same role: Bojim ga se. Here ga is genitive, even though its shape also occurs as an accusative clitic elsewhere.

Sjetila sam se tvoje adrese. uses genitive adrese with an agreeing modifier. Sjetiti se presents an act of remembering; related sjećati se often describes remembering as a state or repeated activity.

Bojati se has other constructions too. Fear for someone’s safety uses za, and fear of doing an action can take an infinitive. This entry concerns the bare genitive frame, not every possible complement of either verb.

Examples (4)

  1. Bojim se mraka.

    I am afraid of the dark.

    Mraka is genitive.

  2. Bojim ga se.

    I am afraid of him.

    Ga has a genitive function here.

  3. Sjetio sam se imena.

    I remembered the name.

    A male speaker uses sjetio with genitive imena.

  4. Sjetila sam se tvoje adrese.

    I remembered your address.

    A female speaker uses sjetila; tvoje adrese is genitive.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

bojati se / sjetiti se + GenitiveLevel 2Verbs Taking a Genitive

Learn This First

The governing word selects a genitive noun phrase, so identify the genitive form before expanding this construction.

Words in This Pattern

bojatisjetiti