Breakdown of Umjesto da učim, ležim na kauču i gledam seriju.
i
and (additive)
gledati
to watch
učiti
to learn
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
ležati
to lie (down), to be lying
umjesto da
instead of
kauč
couch
serija
TV series
Questions & Answers about Umjesto da učim, ležim na kauču i gledam seriju.
Why does the sentence use da učim instead of a noun or an "-ing" verb for "studying"?
English uses an "-ing" verb here ("instead of studying"). However, Croatian prefers full clauses for this. To say "instead of doing something", you use the conjunction umjesto da (literally "instead that") followed by a conjugated verb. So, umjesto da učim literally translates to "instead that I study".
Why is the word for couch kauču instead of just kauč?
The preposition na (on) requires the locative case here because it describes a static location where an action is happening (where you are resting). Since kauč is a masculine noun, it takes the -u ending in the locative case to become na kauču.
I know the word for a TV series is serija. Why does it end in -u here?
It is the direct object of the verb gledam (I watch), which means it must be in the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -a, the accusative ending is -u, making it seriju.
Should I include the pronoun ja (I) somewhere to show who is doing all this?
No, it is actually much better to leave it out! Because the three verbs učim, ležim, and gledam all end in -m, it is already completely clear that "I" am the one doing the actions. Adding ja would make the sentence sound very unnatural and robotic.
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