Trebamo novi teleskop za promatranje planeta.
We need a new telescope for the observation of planets.
Breakdown of Trebamo novi teleskop za promatranje planeta.
nov
new
trebati
to need / should (ought to)
planet
planet
za
for (+ accusative)
teleskop
telescope
promatranje
observation
Questions & Answers about Trebamo novi teleskop za promatranje planeta.
Why is it trebamo novi teleskop instead of treba nam novi teleskop?
The verb trebati (to need) can be used personally when followed by a direct object, so trebamo (we need) followed by the accusative object novi teleskop is grammatically correct. You will also frequently hear the impersonal construction treba nam novi teleskop (literally: a new telescope is needed to us), which is very common in everyday speech.
Why do we use za promatranje instead of just a verb like "to observe"?
While you could use a verb phrase like da bismo promatrali (in order to observe), using the preposition za with the accusative verbal noun promatranje (observation) is a very natural and concise way to express the purpose of an object. It literally translates to "for the observation".
What case is planeta here, and why does it end in -a?
It is in the genitive plural case. We use the genitive here to mean "the observation OF planets". For most masculine nouns like planet, the genitive plural ending is -a. In spoken Croatian, this -a is pronounced with a longer vowel sound to distinguish it from the genitive singular, which is spelled exactly the same way.
Why didn't novi teleskop change its ending in the accusative case?
Because teleskop is an inanimate masculine noun (a non-living thing). For inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative case looks exactly the same as the nominative case. If it were a living thing, the adjective and noun would take an -a ending.
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