Breakdown of Kako se ovo koristi?
kako
how
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
sebe
oneself (stressed reflexive)
koristiti
to use
Questions & Answers about Kako se ovo koristi?
Why is the word se used here if nobody is doing anything to themselves?
In Croatian, se isn't just for reflexive actions (like washing oneself). As this lesson shows, it is also used to make a sentence passive or impersonal. By adding se, the active verb koristi (uses) becomes the passive 'is used'. This is a very common way to ask how things are done in general.
Is ovo the subject or the object of this sentence?
Because of the passive se, ovo (this) acts as the subject of the sentence. The grammatical structure is basically 'How does this use itself?'. That is why the verb koristi is in the third-person singular, directly matching the subject ovo.
Why do we use the neuter form ovo instead of ovaj or ova?
We use the neuter form ovo when referring to a general, unnamed thing, a concept, or an object whose grammatical gender we simply don't know yet. If you were holding a specific masculine object like a mobile phone (mobitel), you would use the masculine form and ask Kako se ovaj koristi?.
Could I change the word order and ask Kako ovo koristi se?
No, because se is an enclitic (a short, unstressed word) that has strict rules about where it belongs. It must take the second position in the sentence. Here, the question word Kako takes the first spot, so se must come immediately after it.
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