Breakdown of Surađujete li sa znanstvenikom Ivanom?
li
question particle
surađivati
to collaborate
sa
with (before certain consonants)
Ivan
Ivan
znanstvenik
scientist
Questions & Answers about Surađujete li sa znanstvenikom Ivanom?
Why are both znanstvenikom and Ivanom in the instrumental case?
When a generic noun (like a title, profession, or relationship) is paired with a proper name (like Ivan), they must both match the case required by the sentence. Here, the preposition sa (with) requires the instrumental case, so both the profession (znanstvenik) and the name (Ivan) take the instrumental endings (-om).
Why does the sentence use sa instead of just s?
The basic word for 'with' is s. However, because the following word (znanstvenikom) starts with the letter z, you must use sa to make it easier to pronounce. You do this before words starting with s, z, š, and ž.
Will the profession and the name always have the exact same ending like they do here (-om)?
Not necessarily! They must both be in the same case (here, instrumental), but their actual endings depend on the specific word's stem. For example, if it were 'with the teacher Ivan', it would be s učiteljem Ivanom because učitelj ends in a soft consonant and takes -em, while Ivan takes -om.
Could I drop the word sa since the instrumental case can mean 'with' on its own?
No, you must keep sa here. When the instrumental case shows company or association (like collaborating with a person), you always use the preposition s or sa. You only drop the preposition when the instrumental case shows the tool or means used to do something (like writing with a pen).
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