Breakdown of Nije dobro igrati se opasnim alatom.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ne
no, not
dobar
good
igrati se
to play
alat
tool (m)
opasan
dangerous
Questions & Answers about Nije dobro igrati se opasnim alatom.
Why does the adjective opasan change to opasnim here?
It has to match the noun it describes, alatom, which is in the instrumental case. For masculine and neuter adjectives in the instrumental singular, you use the ending -im.
The translation says 'with a dangerous tool', so why is there no s or sa before opasnim alatom?
In Croatian, you only use the preposition s or sa (with) before the instrumental case when you are talking about company, like playing with a friend. When you do something using an object or an instrument (like a tool), you just use the noun and adjective in the instrumental case on their own without the preposition.
Why do we use the reflexive word se with igrati (to play)?
When playing means playing a game, playing around, or playing with objects (like a toy or a tool), Croatian uses the reflexive verb igrati se. If you drop the se, the verb igrati is mostly used for playing sports, like igrati tenis (to play tennis).
Why is the word for 'good' written as dobro instead of dobar?
The sentence starts with the impersonal phrase 'It is not good'. Because there isn't a specific masculine or feminine noun being described, Croatian defaults to the neuter singular form of the adjective, which ends in -o.
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