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Questions & Answers about Nemam kutiju kave.
Why does the word for coffee end in -e here (kave)?
This is the genitive case, which is used here to express "of" something. The dictionary form is kava (coffee), which is a feminine noun. To form the genitive singular for feminine nouns ending in -a, we change the ending to -e, making it kave.
Why is "box" written as kutiju instead of kutija?
Kutija (box) is the direct object of the verb—it is the thing you do not have. This means it must be in the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -a, the accusative ending changes to -u, giving us kutiju.
Doesn't nemam usually take the genitive case for its object?
Often, yes! Negative verbs frequently use the genitive case for their objects in Croatian (like saying you don't have time or water). However, for specific, concrete, countable objects like a box (kutija), it is very common and perfectly correct to use the accusative case (kutiju) instead.