Breakdown of Obrtnik prodaje svašta, od igračaka do rukotvorina.
prodavati
to sell
igračka
toy
od
from
do
to, until, up to / in the mood for (nije mi do)
Questions & Answers about Obrtnik prodaje svašta, od igračaka do rukotvorina.
Why does the sentence use svašta instead of sve?
Both words can translate to 'everything', but they have different flavors. Sve means literally everything in a complete or total sense. Svašta implies 'all sorts of things', 'a little bit of everything', or a random variety. Since the craftsman sells a mixed assortment of items, svašta is the natural choice.
What case is the pronoun svašta in here?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb prodaje (sells). For the pronoun svašta, the accusative form is identical to its nominative dictionary form, which makes it very easy to use!
Why do the words for 'toys' and 'handicrafts' end in '-a' here?
They are in the genitive plural. The sentence uses the pattern od (from) plus the genitive, and do (to) plus the genitive. The base words are feminine nouns: igračka and rukotvorina. Notice how igračka gets an extra 'a' inserted in the middle to become igračaka? This is a 'fleeting a' used to break up the clunky '-čk' consonants in the genitive plural form.
How is the word rukotvorina formed?
It is a compound word that is very logical to break down. It combines ruka (hand) and the root of the verb tvoriti (to create, to form). So a rukotvorina is literally something created by hand.