Breakdown of Proučivši dokaze, porota je napisala presudu.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
napisati
to write (perfective)
dokaz
evidence
proučiti
to study
porota
jury
presuda
verdict
Questions & Answers about Proučivši dokaze, porota je napisala presudu.
How exactly is proučivši formed from the verb proučiti?
It is the past verbal adverb, meaning having studied. To form it, take the infinitive of a perfective verb like proučiti (to study completely), drop the -ti, and add the suffix -vši.
Could I use the imperfective verb učiti instead and say učivši?
Generally, no. The past verbal adverb is almost exclusively formed from perfective verbs because it describes an action that was completely finished before the main action (writing the verdict) began.
Why is dokaze in the plural here when the English translation says evidence?
In English, evidence is an uncountable noun, so it is always singular. In Croatian, dokaz (a piece of evidence or proof) is countable. In a legal context with multiple pieces of proof, Croatian uses the plural dokazi (here in the accusative case as dokaze).
Why does the verbal adverb proučivši take the accusative object dokaze instead of a different case?
Even though proučivši acts like an adverb in the sentence, it still keeps its verb-like properties. Just as the regular verb takes an accusative direct object (They studied the evidence), the verbal adverb also takes its object in the accusative case.
Why is the verb je napisala in the singular feminine form if a jury is made up of many people?
The noun porota (jury) is a feminine singular noun in Croatian, regardless of how many people are in it. Because it is grammatically singular and feminine, the past tense verb must match it exactly.
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