Breakdown of Oblači se i gleda u ogledalo.
i
and (additive)
gledati
to watch
u
in, into
oblačiti se
to get dressed
Questions & Answers about Oblači se i gleda u ogledalo.
Why do we need the word se after oblači?
The verb oblačiti means "to dress" (like dressing a child). To say someone is dressing themselves (getting dressed), you add the reflexive pronoun se. So, oblači se means "she is getting dressed".
Does the se also apply to the second verb, gleda?
No, it only belongs to oblači. The second part of the sentence is just gleda u ogledalo (she is looking into the mirror). If you wanted to say "she is looking at herself", you would use the reflexive form gleda se.
How do we know it means "she" if there is no word for "she" in the sentence?
In Croatian, you often drop subject pronouns like ona (she) or on (he) when it's clear who you are talking about. The verbs oblači and gleda both have the standard ending for "he, she, or it". You would know from the context of the conversation that it refers to "she".
Why does ogledalo not change its ending after the preposition u?
It actually is in the Accusative case, but you just can't see a change! The preposition u (in/into) uses the Accusative case here because she is directing her gaze into the mirror. Because ogledalo (mirror) is a neuter noun ending in -o, its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its basic dictionary form.