Learn Croatian: Ne razumijem ove dvije rečenice. - I do not understand these two sentences.

Ne razumijem ove dvije rečenice.

I do not understand these two sentences.

Breakdown of Ne razumijem ove dvije rečenice.

ovaj

this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)

Questions & Answers about Ne razumijem ove dvije rečenice.

Why do we use dvije here instead of dva?

In Croatian, the number two has different forms depending on the noun's gender. Because the word for sentence (rečenica) is feminine, we must use the feminine form dvije. If the noun were masculine or neuter, we would use dva.

Why is the word for sentence spelled rečenice here instead of rečenica?

After the numbers 2, 3, and 4, nouns change to the genitive singular form. The dictionary form of the word is rečenica. Since it is a feminine noun ending in -a, its genitive singular form ends in -e, making it rečenice.

Does the word ove (these) also change because of the number 2?

Yes! Just like the noun, any adjective or pointer word describing it must also match its grammatical case after the number 2. The base feminine word is ova (this), and its genitive singular form is ove.

Why is 'I do not understand' written as two separate words (ne razumijem)?

In Croatian, the word ne (no/not) is written separately from most verbs. The only common exceptions you have seen so far where they merge into one word are nisam (I am not), neću (I will not), and nemam (I do not have).