Breakdown of Knjiga košta trideset, a rječnik četrdeset.
a
and / but
knjiga
book
rječnik
dictionary
koštati
to cost
trideset
thirty
četrdeset
forty
Questions & Answers about Knjiga košta trideset, a rječnik četrdeset.
How do we get the words trideset and četrdeset for 30 and 40?
They are built by combining the base numbers with the word for ten (deset). So, tri (three) + deset (ten) gives you trideset (thirty). For forty, četiri (four) + deset (ten) gets slightly shortened to make četrdeset.
Do trideset and četrdeset change their endings depending on their role in the sentence?
No, cardinal numbers from five upwards are completely fixed. They don't change their form to match gender or case, which makes them very easy to drop into sentences like this!
The English translation says "and", so why does the Croatian sentence use a instead of i?
The word i is used for simply linking similar things together. Here, a is used because we are pointing out a contrast between two different items and their prices (the book's price versus the dictionary's price). A often translates to "and" or "but" when you switch focus from one subject to another.
Why is there no verb for the dictionary in the second half of the sentence?
Just like in English, Croatian allows you to drop a repeated verb if the meaning is perfectly clear. Because the first half says the book košta (costs), you don't need to repeat košta after rječnik.
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