Breakdown of Prije svega moramo sortirati odjeću.
morati
must
odjeća
clothes
sortirati
to sort
prije svega
above all, first of all
Questions & Answers about Prije svega moramo sortirati odjeću.
Why do we use svega here instead of the base form sve?
The preposition prije (before) always requires the Genitive case. Svega is the Genitive form of the neuter pronoun sve (everything).
Does prije svega literally mean "first of all"?
Literally, it translates to "before everything". It is the standard fixed phrase in Croatian used to mean "first of all" or "above all".
The English translation says "clothes", which is plural. Why is odjeću in the singular form?
In Croatian, odjeća is a collective noun meaning "clothing" or "clothes". It is grammatically a feminine singular noun, which is why it takes the singular Accusative ending -u here as the direct object of sortirati.
Could I say moramo da sortiramo instead of moramo sortirati?
While you might hear the "da + present tense" structure in some neighboring languages, standard Croatian strongly prefers using the infinitive (sortirati) directly after a modal verb like morati (must).
Learn Prije svega moramo sortirati odjeću and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free