Breakdown of Prespavala je, tako da kasni na posao.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
posao
job / work
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
kasniti
to be late
tako da
so
prespavati
to oversleep
Questions & Answers about Prespavala je, tako da kasni na posao.
How does the prefix pre- change the meaning of the base verb to make prespavati?
The base verb is spavati (to sleep). In this lesson, we see that the prefix pre- can indicate doing something to excess or crossing a limit. Adding it creates prespavati, which means to sleep longer than you should have (to oversleep). It also changes the verb from imperfective to perfective, focusing on the completed result.
Could prespavati mean anything else besides oversleeping?
Yes! Besides doing an action to excess, the prefix pre- can also indicate crossing a spatial limit or transitioning. Because of this, prespavati can also mean to sleep over or to spend the night at someone's house. You can always tell which meaning is intended by the context.
Why do we use the present tense kasni right after a past tense verb?
Why is posao in the accusative case (na posao) instead of the locative?
The verb kasniti (to be late) implies an active deadline or a destination you are trying to reach. Because there is a sense of moving toward the job in time or space, Croatian uses the preposition na with the accusative case (posao) to show a goal, just like when you say idem na posao (I am going to work).
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