Breakdown of Moraš imati snage i motivacije.
i
and (additive)
imati
to have
morati
must
motivacija
motivation
Questions & Answers about Moraš imati snage i motivacije.
Why are snage and motivacije in the genitive case here instead of the accusative?
This is the partitive genitive in action. Even though they are the direct objects of imati (to have), they are uncountable nouns where we mean an unspecified amount (some strength and motivation). Using the bare genitive case expresses this idea without needing an extra quantifier word.
Could I use the accusative case here instead (Moraš imati snagu i motivaciju)?
Yes, but it changes the nuance. Using the accusative (snagu i motivaciju) sounds more like 'You must have the strength and the motivation' referring to the specific requirements for a certain task. The genitive makes it a more general, uncountable amount.
Why isn't there a word for 'some' in the Croatian sentence?
In Croatian, the genitive case itself often carries the meaning of 'some' or 'a part of' when used with uncountable nouns as objects. You don't need to add a word like nešto (some/something) because the case ending already does the job perfectly.
What is the dictionary form (nominative) of the words snage and motivacije?
Their dictionary forms are snaga (strength) and motivacija (motivation). Because they are feminine nouns ending in -a, their genitive singular ending is -e.