Breakdown of Ta stara žena je lukava kao lisica.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
žena
woman
star
old
kao
like, as
taj
that (masculine)
lukav
cunning
lisica
fox (f)
Questions & Answers about Ta stara žena je lukava kao lisica.
Why do we just say lukava kao lisica instead of using jednako?
You can use either! Kao means "like" or "as", so lukava kao lisica is literally "cunning like a fox." Adding jednako (equally) to make it jednako lukava kao lisica is also correct, but for well-known comparisons and animal idioms, just using kao is the most natural and common choice.
What case is lisica (fox) in after kao?
It is in the nominative case (the basic dictionary form). When you compare two things using kao, the second noun takes the exact same case as the first noun. Since the subject, ta stara žena, is in the nominative, lisica must also be in the nominative.
Why does the adjective lukava end in -a?
It describes žena (woman), which is a feminine noun. Adjectives must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. Because žena is feminine singular, the base adjective lukav (cunning) takes the feminine ending -a to become lukava.
Why does the sentence use ta for "that" instead of ona?
Croatian has three demonstrative pronouns to point things out: ova (this, close to the speaker), ta (that, close to the listener or just mentioned), and ona (that over there, far from both). Ta stara žena is used here because the woman is likely someone you were just discussing, or she is standing near the person you are talking to.
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