Questions & Answers about Trgovina je u prizemlju.
Why do we use u here? Doesn't Croatian usually use na for floors in a building?
This is a specific exception! While Croatian does use na for upper floors (like na prvom katu for the first floor), the ground floor is treated differently. You must always use u with prizemlje.
What grammatical case is prizemlju?
It is in the locative case. The dictionary form is the neuter noun prizemlje. Because the sentence describes a fixed location using the preposition u, the noun takes the locative case, which changes its ending from -e to -u.
Is there a trick to remembering the word prizemlje?
Yes, it helps to look at its roots. It is made up of pri (by or near) and zemlja (earth or ground). So prizemlje literally describes the floor right by the ground.
Is the word trgovina related to trg (square)?
Exactly! Trg means city square or marketplace. From this root we get trgovina (shop or store), because the town square was historically the center of all buying and selling.
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