Breakdown of Direktor je radniku objasnio situaciju.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
direktor
director, manager (of a company)
radnik
worker
objasniti
to explain
situacija
situation
Questions & Answers about Direktor je radniku objasnio situaciju.
Why does the word for worker change to radniku?
It is in the dative case. The worker is the indirect object, meaning he is the one receiving the action (the explanation). For masculine nouns ending in a consonant like radnik, you add -u to make the dative singular.
Why does situaciju end in -u? Is it also in the dative case like radniku?
No, it is actually in the accusative case because it is the direct object (the thing that was explained). The dictionary form is situacija (a feminine noun). Feminine nouns ending in -a change their ending to -u in the accusative singular.
Why is the word je right after Direktor instead of next to the main verb objasnio?
In Croatian, je is a type of short, unstressed word called an enclitic. Enclitics have strict rules and must usually go in the second position in a sentence. Here, it correctly takes the second spot right after the first word, Direktor.
How does the verb objasnio show that the director is male?
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