# BCS - r(ij)eč je o / radi se o



## Tassos

Hello and sretna/srećna nova godina!
Onlinerecnikcom lists the expressions of the title as synonyms.
Is that so or are there any differences?
Btw the first one is one of the most frequently encountered expressions in Croatian articles (sometimes without the 'je') - although I have seen it in Serbian articles too...

Hvala svima!


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## Duya

I don't sense any particular difference, either in meaning and connotation, or in geographical distribution.  "Reč je o" is somewhat more formal: for example, if I'd ask a friend about a movie, I'd say "O čemu se radi u filmu?"; "O čemu je reč" would sound stilted.


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## Tassos

OK clear, but you've confused me a bit with the use of u + Loc for "film". 
If the meaning of your phrase is "What is the film about?" and given that the expression "radi se o" is subjectless, shouldn't the word "film" be in the dative without a preposition, as the _logical subject_ (not my words, R.Alexander's) of the sentence?
Or is it a set phrase and must be learned as such?


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## VelikiMag

I could imagine different situations where I would prefer one over the other. If I wanted to inquire about the conversation two people are having, it would be: _O čemu je riječ? = O čemu razgovarate?_ And I think generally in situations where people talk, it is better to ask like this, e.g. _O čemu je riječ na sastanku, sjednici, debati_ _etc_.

When it comes to films, plays, novels, and so on, they all have a plot (radnja), so I think it is more idiomatic to ask _o čemu se radi_ _u filmu, predstavi, romanu...
_One can say '_O čemu je film?_' and then it is a literal translation of '_What is the film about?_'.

P.S. Google gives these results: "reč je o" - 4,500,000; "riječ je o" - 45,700,000. So it seems possible that there are preferences in Croatia.


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## Vanja

Srećna Nova godina!  (Zašto ste zaboravili vas dvojica da mu čestitate?)

_O čemu je (*zapravo*) reč?_ reminds of formal conversations and debates. I would say it's used in the context: What is the problem? What the matter is? What is the issue here? The general idea of this is...?
(When it's said in a monolog or at the beginning of a conversation, or asked by someone - TV presenter, professor....)

If you find yourself in the middle of conversation (often hullabaloo) and you have no idea what the people in a meeting/on TV etc. are talking about, _O čemu je reč?= Priča se o čemu?_


_
O čemu se radi?_ is pretty common, rather informal, when one talks about film, novel, as in Mag's example. 
_Radi se o_ ... can also be used when pinpointing a problem or gist

*O* čemu se radi (gde?)- *u* filmu/romanu.... = in the book, in the film, in the story....
or
*O* čemu je film? What's the film about? (the same meaning)

I don't know what confuses you here.... 
(*different colors different word cases).


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## Tassos

Vanja said:


> I don't know what confuses you here....
> (*different colors different word cases).



Well, many times when you are learning a language very different than yours, you tend to compare expressions and phrases with the equivalent in your native language. While a lot of times there is a good percentage of correspondence between the two languages (_Kako si mi ti_ for example, impossible to translate in English, can be translated word-for-word in Greek) here it is not like that. In Greek we use expressions similar to radi se o/riječ je o with the noun in the nominative. So when I read u + Loc it was unexpected and I wanted to know why, that's all...


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## Vanja

Tassos said:
			
		

> you've confused me a bit with the use of u + Loc for "film"



U + lokativ = mesto nalaženja (statički, pozicija)
U + akuzativ = mesto završetka radnje (dinamički, kretanje)

Moji             roditelji su u             kući. (lokativ)
Moji roditelji su ušli  u             kuću. (akuzativ) 


Predloge *u, na, po, o  *lokativ deli sa akuzativom.



lokativakuzativPolica se nalazi u ziduGledam u zid. Moja knjiga je na policiStavio sam knjigu na policu.Crtao je po knjizi.Otišao je  po knjigu.Pričao je  o njemu Ogrešio se o njega. 


More about lokativ


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## Anicetus

Tassos said:


> If the meaning of your phrase is "What is the film about?" and given that the expression "radi se o" is subjectless, shouldn't the word "film" be in the dative without a preposition, as the _logical subject_ (not my words, R.Alexander's) of the sentence?



Nope. I guess Ronelle's remark must refer to sentences such as _hladno mi je_, but it doesn't apply to all subjectless sentences. In fact, all examples of a logical subject in dative I can think of right now (not necessarily in subjectless sentences) denote the *person* who is concerned with the predicate, for example: _film joj se sviđa, treba ti san, valja mi pogledati film_...

Anyway, when referring to plot, _raditi se_ can also be used with a grammatical subject, for instance: _o čemu se radi film?_


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## Duya

In this case, _u filmu_ is just a regular locational phrase (_odredba_) rather than some kind of exotic indirect object: _What's going on? -- Where? -- In the movie_.


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## Vanja

Anicetus said:


> _O čemu se radi film?_



Maybe in Croatian, but this example sounds odd and unpaired in Serbian. I know that the reflexive pronoun is far more used in Croatian, but this sentence simply with "o" and "se" _ne štima_.

 If you ask: _O čemu se radi film?_ The answer would be: _Film se radi o_.... which is one "confusing" construction. This could be understood as _Radi se filmAcc o ..._  (_FilmNom se radi o_... is impossible since _film ne radi samog sebe_.)

_The movie about X is being shot (in Zagreb)....._ _Film o X se radi (u Zagrebu)._..... 
or _Film se radi na deset lokacija..._(example)
but:
_*U* filmu se radi o...
Sve u filmu se radi o....
Film govori o....
Film se vrti oko..._
_Film se odvija oko..._


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## Anicetus

Vanja said:


> Maybe in Croatian, but this example sounds odd and unpaired in Serbian. I know that the reflexive pronoun is far more used in Croatian, but this sentence simply with "o" and "se" _ne štima_.
> 
> If you ask: _O čemu se radi film?_ The answer would be: _Film se radi o_.... which is one "confusing" construction. This could be understood as _Radi se filmAcc o ..._  (_FilmNom se radi o_... is impossible since _film ne radi samog sebe_.)



I didn't make that up, see for yourself. 

By the way, _filmNom se radi_ isn't impossible. You can say _kuća se gradi_, but _kuća ne gradi samu sebe_ either. However, using _raditi_ in the sense of "make" like this (that is, _praviti_) does sound a little bit "wrong" to me, even though some people do it. 

Eh, anyway, I do find _u filmu se radi o_ to be a nicer formulation.


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## Vanja

No, no, no - that was Croatian... zloupotreba već preopterećenog i sirotog glagola _raditi_.


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