Breakdown of Voda često teče kroz ove male rupe.
voda
water
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
mali
small
često
often
kroz
through
teći
to flow
rupa
hole
Questions & Answers about Voda često teče kroz ove male rupe.
Why is the phrase ove male rupe in the accusative case here?
The preposition kroz (through) requires the accusative case when it describes physical movement or passage through a space. Since the water is moving through the holes, the entire phrase ove male rupe must be in the accusative.
The accusative plural ending for rupa is -e. Isn't that the same as the nominative plural?
Yes! For feminine nouns that end in -a in the singular (like rupa), the nominative plural and the accusative plural are identical. Because of this, ove male rupe (these small holes) looks exactly the same whether it is the subject of a sentence or following an accusative preposition like kroz.
What is the infinitive of the verb teče, and why is its conjugation a bit tricky?
The infinitive is teći (to flow). Verbs ending in -ći instead of the usual -ti often have stem changes in the present tense. It conjugates as: ja tečem, ti tečeš, on/ona/ono teče, mi tečemo, vi tečete, but then changes to oni/one/ona teku. Notice how the č changes to k in the 'they' form!
Could the adverb često be placed somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes, adverbs of frequency like često (often) are somewhat flexible. Putting it right between the subject and the verb is the most neutral, standard word order, but you could also put it at the very beginning (Često voda teče...) if you wanted to put extra emphasis on how frequently this happens.
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