Breakdown of Ovaj most povezuje dva grada.
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
grad
city
dva
two
most
bridge
povezivati
to connect
Questions & Answers about Ovaj most povezuje dva grada.
How does the verb povezivati (seen here as povezuje) fit into the pattern of aspectual derivation we are learning?
It is an imperfective verb formed from the perfective povezati (to tie together or connect). By taking the perfective base and adding the suffix -ivati, we create an imperfective verb that describes an ongoing state. We need the imperfective here because the bridge continuously connects the two cities.
If the infinitive is povezivati, why is the present tense form povezuje instead of "poveziva"?
Verbs that end in the suffix -ivati (as well as -ovati and -evati) usually change that part of the suffix to -uj- before adding the present tense endings. Therefore, povezivati becomes povezujem, povezuješ, and in the third-person singular, povezuje.
What is the underlying root of povezuje, and how does it relate to its meaning?
The root comes from the base verb vezati (to tie or bind). When you add the prefix po- (which often implies bringing things together), you get the perfective povezati. Deriving it back into an imperfective gives us povezivati, which literally means "to be continuously tying together" — hence, "to connect."
Since "two cities" is the direct object of the sentence, why isn't it in the accusative plural?
In Croatian, the numbers 2, 3, and 4 require the following noun to be in the genitive singular, regardless of the grammatical role the phrase plays in the sentence. Instead of using an accusative plural form, we must use the genitive singular grada after dva.
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