Oni su iz Amerike, a ne iz Hrvatske.

Questions & Answers about Oni su iz Amerike, a ne iz Hrvatske.

Why do the countries end in -e (Amerike, Hrvatske) instead of -a?
The preposition iz (meaning "from") always requires the noun following it to be in the Genitive case. For feminine nouns that normally end in -a like Amerika and Hrvatska, the Genitive ending is -e.
Why does this sentence use a for "and" instead of i?
In Croatian, a is used to show contrast, often translating to "but", "whereas", or "and" when comparing two different things. Because we are contrasting where they are from with where they are not from, a is the correct choice.
Could I just say a ne Hrvatske and skip the second iz?
It is highly recommended to repeat the preposition iz here. In Croatian, repeating the preposition when making a contrast helps the sentence sound much more natural and clear.
Why do we include the word Oni (they) if Croatian usually drops subject pronouns?
While you can often drop the subject pronoun, the verb su is a "clitic" (a short, unstressed word) that is strictly not allowed to be the very first word in a sentence. Keeping Oni gives su a word to lean on.

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