Breakdown of Voda je hladna, ali perem lice.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
voda
water
ali
but (strong contrast)
hladan
cold
prati
to wash
lice
face
Questions & Answers about Voda je hladna, ali perem lice.
Wait, this lesson is about reflexive verbs. Shouldn't it be perem se because I am washing myself?
Good catch! The verb prati (to wash) is reflexive (prati se) when you are washing your whole body. However, when you state exactly what you are washing, like lice (face) or ruke (hands), you drop the se because you now have an explicit direct object.
The translation says 'my face', but I don't see the Croatian word for 'my' here. Why is that?
In Croatian, possessive words like moje (my) are usually dropped when talking about body parts, clothing, or family members if the context makes it obvious. Since perem already means 'I wash', it is naturally assumed you are washing your own face.
Why is the word for cold hladna instead of hladno or hladan?
Adjectives always have to match the gender of the noun they describe. The word voda (water) is a feminine noun because it ends in -a. Therefore, the adjective takes the feminine ending -a, becoming hladna.
Is lice the direct object? If so, why didn't its ending change?
Yes, lice is the direct object receiving the action of the washing, so it is in the accusative case. It doesn't change its ending because lice is a neuter noun. For neuter nouns, the accusative case form is always exactly the same as the dictionary (nominative) form.
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