Questions & Answers about Dijete jede kocku čokolade.
Why does chocolate end in -e (čokolade) instead of its dictionary form čokolada?
Because it is in the genitive case. We use the genitive here to express 'a square OF chocolate'. For feminine nouns that normally end in -a like čokolada, the ending changes to -e in the genitive singular.
Why does the word for square (kocka) change to kocku?
The square is what the child is eating, making it the direct object of the verb jede (is eating). Direct objects take the accusative case. For feminine nouns like kocka, the -a ending changes to -u in the accusative case.
Dijete (child) also ends in -e. Is it also in the genitive case?
No, they just happen to look similar! Dijete is the subject of the sentence (the one doing the eating), so it stays in the basic nominative (dictionary) form. It is a neuter noun that naturally ends in -e. Čokolade only ends in -e because it is a feminine noun that changed its ending for the genitive case.
Does kocku strictly mean a flat square shape?
The dictionary form kocka literally means 'cube'. However, in everyday Croatian, it is used for many small block-shaped pieces. You will hear it used for a square of chocolate, an ice cube, a sugar cube, or a playing die.
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