Breakdown of Liječnik je prišao trkaču zbog ozljede.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
liječnik
doctor
zbog
because of
trkač
runner
prići
to approach (perfective)
ozljeda
injury
Questions & Answers about Liječnik je prišao trkaču zbog ozljede.
Why is trkaču in the Dative case here instead of the Accusative?
The verb prići (to approach) requires its object to be in the Dative case. Unlike in English where you simply approach someone, in Croatian this specific verb takes the Dative directly without any prepositions.
What is the infinitive of prišao, and how does its past tense work?
The infinitive is prići (to approach). Verbs built from ići (to go) have irregular past tense forms. For a masculine subject like liječnik, the past participle is prišao. If the doctor were female, it would be prišla.
Why is the word for injury (ozljeda) written here as ozljede?
It is in the Genitive case because of the preposition zbog (because of). The preposition zbog always forces the noun that follows it into the Genitive case. Since ozljeda is a feminine noun ending in -a, its Genitive ending is -e.
Could I use radi instead of zbog in this sentence?
Strictly speaking, no. Zbog indicates the cause of an action (the injury caused the doctor to approach). Radi indicates a goal or purpose (in order to do something). While native speakers sometimes mix them up in everyday speech, zbog is the grammatically correct choice here.
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