Breakdown of Možete li piti vodu iz čaše od plastike?
voda
water
li
question particle
piti
to drink
čaša
glass
moći
can
iz
out of
od
from
plastika
plastic
Questions & Answers about Možete li piti vodu iz čaše od plastike?
Why does the word for glass change to čaše?
The preposition iz (out of / from) always requires the noun that follows it to be in the Genitive case. The dictionary form is čaša (a feminine noun ending in -a). To make it Genitive, the -a changes to -e, giving us iz čaše.
How do you say "made of" in Croatian?
You use the preposition od (from/of) followed by the material in the Genitive case. Here, plastika (plastic) becomes plastike in the Genitive. So, od plastike literally means "of plastic".
Isn't it contradictory to say a "glass" is made of plastic?
In English, "glass" usually implies the material. But in Croatian, čaša simply refers to the shape and function of the drinking vessel (a cup without a handle), regardless of what it's made of. So a plastic cup is a čaša od plastike.
Why is it vodu instead of voda?
Vodu is the direct object of the verb piti (to drink) — it is the thing being drunk. Therefore, it needs to be in the Accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -a like voda, the ending changes to -u in the Accusative.
What is li doing in this sentence?
li is a question particle used to form yes/no questions. You put the verb first (Možete, meaning "you can"), followed immediately by li, to turn the statement into the question "can you?".
Learn Možete li piti vodu iz čaše od plastike and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free