Breakdown of Ako itko vidi zločinca, zovite policiju.
vidjeti
to see
zvati
to call
policija
police (f)
ako
if
zločinac
criminal
itko
anyone
Questions & Answers about Ako itko vidi zločinca, zovite policiju.
Why is itko used here instead of netko (someone) or svatko (everyone)?
Words starting with the i- prefix, like itko (anyone) or išta (anything), are typically used in "if" clauses (conditionals) and questions. While netko means "someone" (a specific but unknown person), itko means "absolutely anyone at all." Because this sentence starts with ako (if), itko is the natural choice.
Why is the verb vidi (sees) in the singular? Doesn't "anyone" cover a group of people?
In Croatian, the pronoun itko grammatically acts as a singular, third-person subject, just like "he" or "she". So, even though it can refer to a whole crowd of potential witnesses, the verb must be in the singular form: itko vidi (anyone sees).
Why does the noun zločinac (criminal) change to zločinca in this sentence?
Two things happen here. First, the criminal is the direct object being seen, so it must be in the accusative case. For living masculine nouns (people and animals), the accusative adds an -a. Second, it loses its final -a- before adding the ending. This is a common spelling rule called the "fleeting a", making it zločinca instead of "zločinaca".
Why use zovite instead of zovi for "call"?
Zovite is the imperative (command) form for "you" in the plural or formal sense. The speaker is either addressing the public generally (plural) or speaking formally to an individual. If they were giving this instruction to a single friend, they would use the informal singular zovi.
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