Breakdown of Uvijek plaćam gotovinom jer nemam karticu.
jer
because
uvijek
always
nemati
to not have
plaćati
to pay (imperfective)
kartica
card
gotovina
cash
Questions & Answers about Uvijek plaćam gotovinom jer nemam karticu.
Why is it gotovinom and where is the preposition for 'in' or 'with'?
gotovinom is the instrumental case of gotovina (cash). When you use an object as a tool, means, or instrument to do something (like paying by means of cash), you use the instrumental case entirely on its own. Adding a preposition like s or sa here would be grammatically incorrect in Croatian.
How is the instrumental case formed for the word gotovina?
gotovina is a regular feminine noun ending in -a in its dictionary form. To make it instrumental, you drop the -a and add the ending -om, resulting in gotovinom.
Why does kartica (card) change to karticu in this sentence?
It changes because it is the direct object of the verb nemam (I don't have), which means it must be in the accusative case. Just like gotovina, kartica is a feminine noun ending in -a. In the accusative case, that -a always changes to -u.
The English translation says 'I always pay' and 'I do not have', but there is no ja (I) in the Croatian sentence. Why?
Croatian verbs like plaćam and nemam already contain the 'I' in their endings. You usually leave out the pronoun ja unless you want to heavily emphasize that you are the one doing the action, rather than someone else.
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