Dadilja čita slikovnicu poslušnom djetetu.
The nanny is reading a picture book to the obedient child.
Breakdown of Dadilja čita slikovnicu poslušnom djetetu.
dijete
child
čitati
to read
dadilja
nanny
slikovnica
picture book
Questions & Answers about Dadilja čita slikovnicu poslušnom djetetu.
Why is the word for "child" djetetu here instead of just adding a case ending to dijete?
The noun dijete (child) is highly irregular. In all singular cases except the nominative and vocative, its stem expands by adding a -t-. The stem becomes djetet-, and then you add the standard neuter case endings. Here, we add the dative ending -u to get djetetu.
Why does the spelling change from dije- to dje- in djetetu?
This is a classic Croatian spelling rule. The vowel sequence -ije- is long. When the word gets longer by adding the -t- expansion and case endings, the stress shifts and that syllable becomes short. In Croatian grammar, a shortened -ije- almost always turns into a shorter -je-.
Why are we using the dative case for poslušnom djetetu?
The dative case is used for the indirect object, which is the recipient of an action. The nanny is reading the book (the direct object in the accusative case, slikovnicu) to the child. The person receiving the reading goes in the dative.
What dictates the -om ending on the adjective poslušnom?