Questions & Answers about Moramo pokazati put gostu.
Why does the word for guest have a -u at the end (gostu)?
Gostu is in the dative case. We use the dative case for the receiver of an action, also known as the indirect object. Since gost (guest) is a masculine noun, it takes the ending -u in the dative case to show to whom the way is being shown.
Is put (the way) also in a special case here?
Yes, it is the direct object of the verb pokazati (to show), meaning it is the thing being shown. That puts it in the accusative case. However, for masculine nouns that are inanimate (objects and concepts, not living beings) like put, the accusative form looks exactly the same as its basic dictionary form.
Why do we use the dictionary form pokazati (to show) instead of conjugating it?
Because it follows the verb moramo (we must). The first verb in the chain is conjugated to match "we", while the second verb stays in its base form (the infinitive). This works just like English, where we say "we must show" rather than "we must we show".
Could I switch the word order to match English and say pokazati gostu put (show the guest the way)?
Yes, you absolutely can! Because Croatian uses word endings like the -u on gostu to clearly signal who is receiving the action, the word order is quite flexible. Both pokazati put gostu and pokazati gostu put are perfectly natural and mean the exact same thing.