Breakdown of Žena s crvenom tetovažom je otišla.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
žena
woman
crven
red
otići
to leave, to go away
s
with
tetovaža
tattoo
Questions & Answers about Žena s crvenom tetovažom je otišla.
Why do both crvena and tetovaža end in -om in this sentence?
The preposition s (meaning "with" to describe physical features) requires the instrumental case. For feminine words that end in -a in their basic form, like crvena (red) and tetovaža (tattoo), the ending changes to -om.
Could I say sa crvenom instead of s crvenom?
You should stick to s here. You only need to use sa when the following word starts with a sound like s, z, š, or ž (for example, sa sestrom). Since crvenom starts with c, the shorter s is correct.
Why is the little helper word je placed after tetovažom? Doesn't it have to be the second word?
It needs to be in the second position, but not necessarily the second word. In this sentence, the entire phrase Žena s crvenom tetovažom acts as one single block (the subject). The word je takes the second position right after that whole block.
Why use otišla instead of just išla?
Išla comes from ići (to go), while otišla comes from otići (to leave or go away). Because the sentence specifically means she departed or left the area, otišla is the correct choice.
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