Breakdown of Ovo je poklon od brata iz Njemačke.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
brat
brother
poklon
gift
iz
out of
Njemačka
Germany
od
from
Questions & Answers about Ovo je poklon od brata iz Njemačke.
The word poklon is masculine. Why do we use the neuter word ovo instead of the masculine ovaj?
When introducing something with the phrase "This is", Croatian uses the fixed neuter pronoun ovo no matter what gender the following noun has. You would only use the masculine ovaj if it were directly attached to the noun, like in the phrase ovaj poklon.
Why do we use both od and iz in this sentence if they both translate to the English word "from"?
In Croatian, the preposition you use changes based on the source. You use od when something comes from a person, like od brata. You use iz when something comes from a geographic location or from inside a place, like iz Njemačke.
Why do the dictionary words brat and Njemačka change to brata and Njemačke here?
The prepositions od and iz both force the noun that follows them into the Genitive case to show origin. To form the Genitive case, masculine nouns ending in a consonant like brat add an -a, and feminine nouns like Njemačka change their -a ending to an -e.
Could od brata also be translated to show possession, like saying it is the brother's gift?
Yes! The Genitive case with the preposition od is very commonly used to show possession in Croatian. Depending on the context, poklon od brata can mean a gift from the brother or the brother's gift.
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