Breakdown of Želim zadržati svoje stare navike.
star
old
željeti
to want
svoj
one's own
navika
habit (f)
zadržati
to keep (retain)
Questions & Answers about Želim zadržati svoje stare navike.
Why does the sentence use svoje instead of moje for "my"?
In Croatian, when the possessive word refers back to the subject of the sentence, you must use a form of svoj. Since "I" am the subject who wants to keep the habits, and they are "my" habits, we use svoje. If you used moje, people would understand you, but svoje is the grammatically correct and natural choice here.
Why does svoj take the form svoje with an "-e" at the end here?
The word svoj acts like an adjective, so it must match the noun it describes. The noun navike (habits) is feminine plural, and because it is the direct object being "kept," it is in the accusative case. The accusative feminine plural form of svoj is svoje.
Does stare follow the same matching rule as svoje?
Yes! Stare (old) is an adjective describing navike (habits). Just like svoje, it has to match the noun's gender, number, and case. The accusative feminine plural ending for adjectives is -e, giving us stare.
Why is zadržati used in its infinitive (dictionary) form?
When you use a verb that expresses a desire, intention, or obligation (like želim - I want), the verb that immediately follows it stays in the infinitive form. So, želim is conjugated to match "I", and zadržati (to keep) stays in the infinitive.
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