Breakdown of Oni nas gledaju sa zavišću.
mi
we
oni
they
gledati
to watch
sa
with (before certain consonants)
zavist
envy
Questions & Answers about Oni nas gledaju sa zavišću.
Why is the ending of zavišću so different from its base form zavist?
Zavist (envy) is a feminine noun that ends in a consonant, meaning it belongs to the i-declension group. In the instrumental case, these nouns can take the ending -ju. When the -st at the end of zavist combines with the j from the ending, it triggers a sound change (jotation) and becomes -šć. That is how zavist + ju becomes zavišću.
Could I say sa zavisti instead of sa zavišću?
Yes, you can! Feminine i-declension nouns have two valid endings in the instrumental singular: the simpler -i ending (zavisti) and the jotated -ju ending (zavišću). Both are grammatically correct and mean the exact same thing, though the jotated forms are very common with abstract nouns like emotions.
Why does the sentence use sa instead of the shorter s for the word with?
You must use the longer form sa when the next word starts with the letters s, z, š, or ž. Because zavišću starts with z, using just s would be too hard to pronounce, so we add the a.
Which case is nas in, and why?
Nas is in the accusative case, which is the direct object form of mi (we). While in English you look at something, in Croatian, the verb gledati (to look at, to watch) takes a direct object in the accusative case without needing any extra prepositions.
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