The Universal Pronoun "sav" (Everything)
The pronoun sav (all, whole) is highly irregular. When used independently to mean "everything" in the neuter singular (sve), its form changes significantly depending on its grammatical case.
Here are the essential oblique (non-nominative) forms for sve:
- Genitive (of/from everything): svega
- Dative/Locative (to/about everything): svemu
- Instrumental (with everything): svime
Notice how svemu is used in the locative case after the preposition o (about):
| In the dry cleaner's, we take care of everything. | U kemijskoj čistionici brinemo se o svemu. |
The genitive form svega frequently appears after prepositions like od (from) or in the common expression prije svega (first of all):
| First of all, we must sort the clothes. | Prije svega moramo sortirati odjeću. |
| We sort delicate things separately from everything else. | Osjetljive stvari sortiramo odvojeno od svega drugog. |
When describing an action done "with everything," use the instrumental form svime:
| We treat the stains with steam and everything else. | Mrlje tretiramo parom i svime drugim. |
"Svima" for "Everyone"
When referring to a group of people, the Croatian word for "everyone" or "all of them" is the plural form svi.
In the Dative, Locative, and Instrumental cases, svi becomes svima. You will commonly use this form when addressing, giving to, or directing an action toward "everyone."
| We will explain the chemical labels to everyone. | Svima ćemo objasniti kemijske etikete. |
| We will return the coats on hangers to everyone in the office. | Svima u uredu vratit ćemo kapute na vješalicama. |
