Breakdown of Trebam uslugu, možeš li mi posuditi auto?
li
question particle
auto
car (short form)
trebati
to need / should (ought to)
moći
can
Questions & Answers about Trebam uslugu, možeš li mi posuditi auto?
Why is the order of the little words li mi?
This is because of Croatian's strict ordering rules for "enclitics" (small, unstressed words). When multiple enclitics group together, the question word li is the VIP—it always comes first. Later in the line come dative pronouns like mi (to me), and finally accusative pronouns if the sentence had one.
Why is the word for favor uslugu instead of usluga?
Usluga is a feminine noun. Here, it is the direct object of the verb trebam (I need), so it takes the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -a, the accusative ending is -u.
Why doesn't auto change its ending if it is also a direct object?
Auto is the direct object of posuditi (to lend), so it is indeed in the accusative case! However, even though it ends in -o, auto is actually a masculine noun. For non-living (inanimate) masculine nouns, the accusative form looks exactly the same as the basic dictionary form.
Why doesn't the sentence say Ja trebam or ti možeš?
In Croatian, the verb endings already tell you who is doing the action. Trebam means exactly "I need" and možeš means "you can". You only add the personal pronouns ja (I) or ti (you) if you want to add special emphasis or contrast.