Questions & Answers about Meso režemo oštrim nožem.
Why is there no word for "with" in this sentence?
In Croatian, when you use an object as a tool to do something (like a knife to cut meat), you use the instrumental case without the preposition s or sa. You only use s or sa when talking about company, like doing something "with a friend".
Why does the adjective oštrim end in -im?
Oštrim is the instrumental masculine singular form of the adjective oštar (sharp). For masculine and neuter adjectives in the instrumental case, the ending is always -im. It must match the noun it describes, nožem (knife), in gender, number, and case.
Why does the noun nožem end in -em instead of -om?
The noun nož (knife) is masculine. Usually, masculine nouns take the ending -om in the instrumental case. However, if a masculine noun ends in a "soft" consonant like c, č, ć, j, š, or ž, the instrumental ending becomes -em.
The dictionary word for "to cut" is rezati. Why does it change to režemo?
Many Croatian verbs have a consonant change in the present tense to make them easier to say. For rezati, the z changes to a ž before adding the present tense endings, making the forms režem, režeš, reže, and so on.