Breakdown of Ovaj izdavač ima mnogo štandova na sajmu.
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
imati
to have
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
mnogo
much, a lot of (+ genitive)
sajam
fair
izdavač
publisher
štand
stand
Questions & Answers about Ovaj izdavač ima mnogo štandova na sajmu.
Why do we use mnogo štandova here instead of using the adjective mnogi?
Here, mnogo acts as an invariant quantity word (meaning "a lot of") and forces the following noun into the genitive case (štandova). If you wanted to use the declinable adjective mnogi (many), it would need to match the case of the object (accusative), making it Ima mnoge štandove. Using mnogo plus the genitive is the most common way to express quantities.
Why does štandova have that -ova ending?
The dictionary form is štand, a one-syllable masculine noun. Most short masculine nouns get the extra syllable -ov- (or -ev-) in their plural forms. Because mnogo requires the genitive plural, we take the plural base štandov- and add the genitive plural ending -a, resulting in štandova.
The dictionary word for "fair" is sajam. Why did the second "a" disappear in na sajmu?
This is because of the "fleeting a" (nepostojano a). Many masculine nouns ending in a consonant have an a in their final syllable that drops out as soon as you add a grammatical ending. When we add the locative ending -u for "at the fair", the a disappears: sajam becomes sajmu.
Why do we use the preposition na for "at the fair" instead of u?
In Croatian, events, public gatherings, and open spaces generally take the preposition na (on/at) rather than u (in). Because a fair (sajam) is considered an event and traditionally an open-air market, it uses na sajmu.
Learn Ovaj izdavač ima mnogo štandova na sajmu and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free