Breakdown of Škola počinje ujesen, u rujnu.
škola
school
u
in, into
rujan
September
počinjati
to begin, to start (imperfective)
ujesen
in the autumn
Questions & Answers about Škola počinje ujesen, u rujnu.
Why is ujesen written as one word instead of two?
In Croatian, ujesen is a temporal adverb meaning "in the autumn" or "in the fall". Over time, the preposition u and the noun jesen merged into a single word when expressing when something happens.
Could I use na jesen instead of ujesen here?
Yes, absolutely! Both ujesen and na jesen are used interchangeably in everyday Croatian to mean "in the autumn". You will hear both, so just pick the one that is easier for you to remember.
Why does the word for September change from rujan to u rujnu?
When you say "in" a specific month, you must use the preposition u followed by the locative case. The dictionary form is rujan. When you add the locative ending -u, the letter a drops out because it is a "fleeting a" (nepostojano a), resulting in u rujnu.
Why do we use the imperfective verb počinje instead of the perfective počne?
This sentence is stating a general fact and a recurring event: school starts every autumn. Because it happens repeatedly, Croatian requires the imperfective verb počinjati (which becomes počinje for "it starts").
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