Breakdown of Lan je grublji nego pamuk, ali je savršen za ljeto.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ali
but (strong contrast)
pamuk
cotton
savršen
perfect
nego
than
ljeto
summer
za
for (+ accusative)
lan
linen
grub
rough
Questions & Answers about Lan je grublji nego pamuk, ali je savršen za ljeto.
Why does the comparative of grub have an l in grublji?
The base adjective is grub (rough). In this lesson, we form comparatives by adding -ji. However, when a word ends in b (as well as p, m, or v), adding j triggers a sound change that inserts an extra l. So, grub + ji becomes grublji.
Could I say od pamuka instead of nego pamuk here?
Yes, both are perfectly correct ways to say "than cotton" in Croatian. You can either use nego followed by the same case as the first noun (nominative pamuk), or you can use the preposition od followed by the genitive case (od pamuka).
Why is there no word for "it" before je savršen?
Croatian frequently drops subject pronouns like "it". Since we already know the subject is lan (linen), which is a masculine noun, the masculine form of the adjective savršen and the verb je are enough to clearly mean "it is perfect".
What case is ljeto taking after the preposition za?
It is in the accusative case. The preposition za takes the accusative when it means "for" an intended purpose, season, or time. Because ljeto is a neuter noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative (dictionary) form.
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