Breakdown of Ovdje nema autentičnih dizajnerskih torbi, to su samo krivotvorine.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ovdje
here
to
that
torba
bag
samo
only
nemati
to not have
autentičan
authentic
dizajnerski
designer
krivotvorina
counterfeit
Questions & Answers about Ovdje nema autentičnih dizajnerskih torbi, to su samo krivotvorine.
Why is autentičnih dizajnerskih torbi in the genitive case?
The word nema (meaning "there is/are no" or "is lacking") always requires the noun and its adjectives to be in the genitive case. Because the sentence is talking about plural "bags," this phrase uses the genitive plural.
Wait, I thought the genitive plural ending for feminine nouns like torba was usually a long -a. Why is it torbi here?
You're right that most feminine nouns ending in -a take a long -a in the genitive plural. However, many nouns that have two consonants before the final -a (like the r and b in torba) can take the ending -i instead, which makes them easier to pronounce. Both torba and torbi are correct here, but torbi is very common.
Why do we use the singular pronoun to when translating "those are"?
When introducing, identifying, or pointing out what something is, Croatian uses the fixed neuter pronoun to (meaning this/that/these/those) alongside the verb biti (to be). Because the counterfeits are plural, the verb is plural (su), but to never changes form in this type of sentence structure.
Why isn't krivotvorine (counterfeits) also in the genitive case?
The first half of the sentence uses nema, which triggers the genitive case. However, the second half is a brand new clause using su (are). When saying "A is B", the noun after the verb "to be" takes the nominative case. Krivotvorine is the standard nominative plural of krivotvorina.
If I wanted to say "These bags are not the same, they are different" using this lesson's vocabulary, how would I do it?
You would say: Ove torbe nisu iste, drugačije su. Since torba is a feminine noun, the adjectives isti (the same) and drugačiji (different) must match it by taking the feminine nominative plural ending -e.
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