Breakdown of Gurni tu kutiju pod krevet.
krevet
bed
kutija
box
taj
that (masculine)
pod
under (+ instrumental)
gurnuti
to push
Questions & Answers about Gurni tu kutiju pod krevet.
Why does pod take the accusative case (krevet) here instead of the instrumental case?
Because the action involves motion towards a destination. You are pushing the box to a place under the bed. If the box were already resting there with no change of location (e.g., "The box is under the bed"), you would use the instrumental case instead: pod krevetom.
Is krevet really in the accusative case here? It looks just like the dictionary form.
Yes, it is! Krevet is a masculine inanimate noun (it represents an object, not a living being). For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative case looks exactly the same as the nominative (dictionary) form.
What verb form is gurni?
It is the imperative (command) form for "you" (singular, informal) of the perfective verb gurnuti (to push). You use the perfective aspect here because you are telling someone to complete a single, specific action.
Why use tu kutiju instead of onu kutiju if both translate to "that box"?
Tu (from taj) usually refers to something closer to the person you are speaking to, or it acts as a generic "that". Onu (from onaj) specifically means "that one over there," implying the box is far away from both the speaker and the listener.
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