Breakdown of Žao mi je, nismo poslali teret za to odredište.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ja
I
za
for / at (a table) (+ instrumental)
poslati
to send
žao
sorry
taj
that (masculine)
teret
freight
odredište
destination
Questions & Answers about Žao mi je, nismo poslali teret za to odredište.
Why do we use the accusative case for za to odredište?
The preposition za takes the accusative case when it expresses a destination or purpose, like "for that destination" here. Because odredište is a neuter noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary form, and the pronoun to stays the same too.
Why is "I am sorry" translated as žao mi je? Where is the word for "I"?
Croatian often expresses feelings and states using the dative case. Žao mi je translates literally to "It is a pity to me." The word mi is the short dative form of ja (I).
Teret is the direct object (the freight being sent). Why doesn't its ending change?
Teret is a masculine noun. In Croatian, masculine nouns that are inanimate (things, not people or animals) have an accusative form that is exactly the same as their nominative (subject) form.
Why does nismo come before poslali instead of the other way around?
Nismo is the negative form of the helper verb "to be." Unlike the standard short helper verbs (like smo), negative helper verbs are full, stressed words. This means they do not have to be stuck in the strict second position of the sentence, and they naturally come right before the main action verb (poslali).
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