Breakdown of Obratite se direktoru ako imate problem.
problem
problem
imati
to have
direktor
director, manager (of a company)
ako
if
Questions & Answers about Obratite se direktoru ako imate problem.
Why is the word for director in the form direktoru instead of the accusative direktora?
The verb obratiti se (to turn to, to contact) requires its object to be in the dative case. Because direktor is a masculine noun, it takes the -u ending in the dative. Thinking of the English translation 'turn to someone' can help you remember to use the dative here.
What form of the verb is obratite?
It is the imperative, or command form. The -ite ending shows that you are giving an instruction to a group of people or speaking formally to one person. To give this instruction informally to a single friend, you would just say obrati se.
What is the purpose of the word se in this sentence?
It makes the verb reflexive. The base verb obratiti means to turn a physical object around or to convert someone. By adding se, it becomes obratiti se, which means to turn yourself toward someone, or in this context, to approach or contact them.
Why does problem not have an accusative ending since it is the object of the verb imate?
It actually is in the accusative case! The word problem is a masculine noun. For masculine things that are not alive (inanimate nouns), the accusative case is always identical to the nominative case.