Breakdown of Tko je onaj muškarac s bradom i ožiljkom?
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
tko
who
i
and (additive)
muškarac
man
s
with
onaj
that (over there) / the one (who)
brada
beard
ožiljak
scar
Questions & Answers about Tko je onaj muškarac s bradom i ožiljkom?
Why do the words for beard and scar end in -om here?
Because they follow the preposition s (with), which requires the instrumental case. The feminine noun brada (beard) changes its ending from -a to -om to become bradom. The masculine noun ožiljak (scar) takes the masculine instrumental ending -om, becoming ožiljkom. This is the standard way to describe someone's physical features.
Why does the sentence use s instead of sa for "with"?
You only need the longer form sa when the next word starts with a hissing sound like s, z, š, or ž, making it easier to pronounce. Because bradom starts with a b, we just use the standard short form s.
Where did the "a" go in the word ožiljkom? The base word is ožiljak.
This is an example of the "fleeting a." Many Croatian masculine nouns ending in -ak drop that last a whenever you add a grammatical ending. So, ožiljak loses its a before adding the instrumental ending -om, giving us ožiljkom.
What is the difference between using onaj and taj for "that" in this sentence?
Onaj points to a man who is far away from both the speaker and the listener (meaning "that man over there"). If you used taj, it would imply the man is closer to the person you are speaking to, or you are referring to a man you were both just talking about.
Can I use čovjek instead of muškarac here?
Yes, you can. Muškarac specifically means "male" (the opposite of woman), which highlights his gender. Čovjek means "man" but can also mean "human" or "person." In an everyday context like pointing someone out, both words are perfectly natural to use.
Learn Tko je onaj muškarac s bradom i ožiljkom and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free