Questions & Answers about Dijete se igralo u parku.
Why does the verb end in -lo (igralo) instead of -o or -la?
Why is the word se used in this sentence?
The verb for playing around or playing generally is igrati se. It is a reflexive verb, meaning it requires the short word se to complete its meaning. You only drop the se if you are naming a specific game or sport being played, like igrati nogomet (to play football).
Where is the helper verb je? Shouldn't the past tense have it?
Yes, usually the third-person singular past tense needs the helper verb je. However, when a verb uses the reflexive word se, Croatian speakers almost always drop the je because saying se je sounds clunky. So, instead of dijete se je igralo, it becomes just dijete se igralo.
Why does park change to parku here?
The preposition u (in) is being used to show a static, fixed location (where the playing happened), so the noun must be in the locative case. For masculine nouns like park, the locative case is formed by adding -u to the end.
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