Breakdown of Neka redar provjeri osobne iskaznice!
provjeriti
to check
osobna iskaznica
identity card
neka
let
redar
bouncer
Questions & Answers about Neka redar provjeri osobne iskaznice!
How does the word neka make this a command if there is no imperative verb form used?
In Croatian, there is no specific imperative verb form for the third person (he/she/it/they). Instead, you use the particle neka followed by the regular present tense verb. Here, neka combined with the present tense provjeri translates to "let him check" or "have him check".
Why is the perfective verb provjeri used here instead of the imperfective provjerava?
We use the perfective verb provjeriti (here as provjeri) because the speaker wants the bouncer to complete the action of checking the IDs. If we used the imperfective provjerava, it would mean "let him be checking (continuously)" or focus on the ongoing process rather than getting it done.
Is osobne iskaznice in the accusative case here? It looks exactly like the nominative plural.
Yes, it is in the accusative plural because it is the direct object receiving the action of the verb provjeri. For feminine nouns ending in -a (like iskaznica) and their adjectives, the nominative plural and the accusative plural forms are identical, both ending in -e.
I have seen osobna used on its own to mean "ID card". Do we always have to add iskaznica?