Question 1

How do we form the word sakupivši in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

This is the past verbal adverb, which you are currently learning! It is built from the perfective verb sakupiti (to gather). To form it, we drop the -ti from the infinitive to get the stem (sakupi-) and add the suffix -vši. It translates to "having gathered" or "after gathering."

Question 2

Could I just say "kad je sakupio zlato" (when he gathered the gold) instead of using sakupivši?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you could, and in everyday spoken Croatian, people usually do! The past verbal adverb (sakupivši) is a bit more formal or literary. It elegantly shows that this action was completely finished before the main action (bacio je) started. Just remember that you can only use it when both actions are done by the very same subject ("he").

Question 3

Why do we use the preposition iz (iz potoka) for "from the stream" rather than od?

Accepted Answer

Both prepositions can translate to "from" in English, and both are followed by the genitive case (potoka). However, iz specifically means "out of" or from the inside of something. It implies the gold was physically inside the water or the riverbed. Od usually implies moving away from the general area or the outside edge of something.

Question 4

What case is stari pijuk, and why doesn't the noun change its ending to -a?

Accepted Answer

It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object (the thing being thrown). As a quick refresher: for masculine nouns, only animate things (people or animals) take the -a ending in the accusative. Because a pickaxe (pijuk) is inanimate (a lifeless object), its accusative form stays exactly the same as its nominative (dictionary) form.

Sakupivši zlato iz potoka, bacio je stari pijuk.

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