Expressing Means and Mediums
When talking about technology, broadcasting, or communication, we often need to express the medium or means through which an action happens. In Croatian, two very common prepositions for this are putem and pomoću.
Both of these are secondary prepositions, and both always require the noun that follows them to be in the genitive case.
The Preposition "putem" (via / through)
The word putem literally comes from the word for "path" or "way" (put). It translates to "via" or "through" and is used to indicate the channel, network, or medium of a transmission.
Because it takes the genitive case, regular masculine nouns following it will take the -a ending.
| We watch television via satellite. | Gledamo televiziju putem satelita. |
| The live transmission goes via the internet. | Prijenos uživo ide putem interneta. |
Adjectives describing the medium will also take their respective genitive endings:
| Transmission via the optical cable is very reliable. | Prijenos putem optičkog kabela je vrlo pouzdan. |
The Preposition "pomoću" (by means of / with the help of)
The preposition pomoću is related to the word for "help" (pomoć). It translates to "by means of," "using," or "with the help of." It is used when a specific tool, device, or piece of equipment enables an action to take place.
Just like putem, it takes the genitive case. Notice how the feminine noun antena changes to antene (the feminine genitive -e ending), while the masculine odašiljač changes to odašiljača (the masculine genitive -a ending):
| The transmitter sends a signal by means of the antenna. | Odašiljač šalje signal pomoću antene. |
| They will repair the radio signal by means of the transmitter. | Popravit će radijski signal pomoću odašiljača. |
Finally, here is an example showing how you might use both of these prepositions together to describe a complex action:
| By means of this software, we are conversing via a secure channel. | Pomoću ovog softvera razgovaramo putem sigurnog kanala. |
