Breakdown of Danas možete svirati gitaru.
danas
today
moći
can
svirati
to play (an instrument)
gitara
guitar
Questions & Answers about Danas možete svirati gitaru.
Why is the verb for "can" written as možete here?
Možete is the "you" (plural or formal) form of the verb moći (can or to be able to). If you were talking to a friend or someone younger, you would use the informal singular form, možeš.
Why does svirati stay in its dictionary form (the infinitive)?
This is exactly how modal verbs like moći work! Just like in English where we say "can play" rather than "can playing", Croatian uses the conjugated modal verb (možete) followed directly by the infinitive of the action verb (svirati).
Can I use svirati to say I want to "play a game" or "play football"?
No, svirati is strictly used for playing musical instruments. If you want to talk about playing sports or games, you must use a completely different verb: igrati.
Why is it gitaru instead of gitara?
The dictionary word for guitar is gitara, which is a feminine noun. Because the guitar is the thing receiving the action (the direct object), its ending changes from -a to -u. This grammar rule is called the accusative case.
Where is the word for "you" in this sentence?