When taking clothes to a tailor for an alteration, you will need to describe how the garment should change.
State Change Verbs with "u-"
To express bringing something into a new state, Croatian often forms verbs directly from adjectives. This is done by adding the prefix u- and a verbal suffix like -iti or -ati to the adjective's root (or its comparative form).
For example, manji (smaller) becomes umanjiti (to reduce), and savršen (perfect) becomes usavršiti (to perfect).
State Change Verbs with "o-"
The prefix o- is used in the exact same way to describe acquiring or imparting a new quality. The choice between u- and o- depends on the specific adjective, so treat them as set vocabulary.
From težak (heavy/difficult), we get otežati (to make difficult).
Causing vs. Experiencing a Change
Many of these state-change verbs can be used transitively (when someone intentionally changes an object) or intransitively (when the object naturally changes on its own). Notice how omekšati (to soften, from mekan) functions in both ways:
Adjusting the Fit
When discussing the cut of a garment, these verbs are essential for explaining what needs to be fixed. For instance, a good alteration might ease (olakšati, from lak) a problem caused by a tight fit.
Similarly, materials can naturally weaken (oslabiti, from slab), requiring a tailor to strengthen (učvrstiti, from čvrst) them.
If clothes are too tight, they will need to be loosened (olabaviti, from labav).