Breakdown of Brzi biciklist je pao s bicikla.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
bicikl
bicycle
brz
fast
s
from, off (+ genitive)
Questions & Answers about Brzi biciklist je pao s bicikla.
Why does this sentence use s to mean "off"? Doesn't s usually mean "with"?
The preposition s/sa means "with" when used with the Instrumental case. However, this lesson introduces its other meaning: downward motion or leaving a surface, which requires the Genitive case. Because you ride on a bike (na biciklu), falling off it takes s + Genitive.
Wait, bicikl is a masculine noun. Why does it end in -a here (bicikla)?
That's the Genitive case ending. Because the preposition s (when meaning "from" or "off") triggers the Genitive case, the masculine noun bicikl takes the standard Genitive -a ending to become bicikla.
Why is the adjective brzi and not just brz?
The -i at the end of brzi is the definite adjective ending for masculine singular nouns in the Nominative case. It is used here because the sentence is about a specific subject ("The fast cyclist") rather than an unspecified one ("A fast cyclist").
Would it be wrong to say sa bicikla instead of s bicikla?