Breakdown of Ta djevojka se bavi glumom, a ne arhitekturom.
a
and / but
ne
no, not
djevojka
girl; girlfriend
taj
that (masculine)
Questions & Answers about Ta djevojka se bavi glumom, a ne arhitekturom.
Why do the words for acting and architecture end in -om here?
The verb baviti se (to be engaged in, to practice) always requires the noun that follows it to be in the instrumental case. Since gluma (acting) and arhitektura (architecture) are feminine nouns ending in -a, their endings change to -om in the instrumental case.
I thought the instrumental case usually takes the preposition s or sa (with). Why is it missing here?
You use s or sa when the instrumental case shows accompaniment (doing something with someone or something). However, when a verb specifically forces the instrumental case to complete its meaning, like baviti se or ponositi se (to be proud of), you must use the bare instrumental without any preposition.
Does baviti se literally translate to "to do"?
Not exactly. It more closely means "to occupy oneself with" or "to be engaged in." While in English you say "she does acting" or "she plays sports," in Croatian you use baviti se plus the instrumental case to talk about someone's profession, hobby, or what they regularly spend their time doing.
Why does the sentence use a ne instead of ali ne for "not"?