Breakdown of Ovaj automobil je iz Njemačke, a ne iz Italije.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
a
and / but
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
automobil
car
ne
no, not
iz
out of
Njemačka
Germany
Italija
Italy
Questions & Answers about Ovaj automobil je iz Njemačke, a ne iz Italije.
Why are Njemačka and Italija spelled with an -e at the end here?
The preposition iz (from) always requires the noun that follows it to take the Genitive case. Both Njemačka (Germany) and Italija (Italy) are feminine nouns that end in -a. In the Genitive case, that -a changes to an -e.
Since we are learning both iz and od for 'from', why must we use iz here?
While both mean 'from', they have different uses. You use iz when something originates or comes out of a place, like a country, city, or building. You use od when something comes from a person, or to mark a starting point in time or distance.
Why is the word for 'and' a in this sentence instead of i?
In Croatian, a is a conjunction used to show contrast. You use it when comparing opposing facts, like being from Germany versus not being from Italy. The word i is used to simply add things together without any contrast.
Why is it Ovaj automobil instead of Ovo automobil?
The noun automobil is masculine. The word for 'this' must match the gender of the noun it directly describes, so we use the masculine form Ovaj. You use Ovo if the noun is neuter, or if you are just pointing to something generally, as in Ovo je automobil (This is a car).
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