Breakdown of U zalihi ima tek kap vode.
voda
water
imati
to have
u
in, into
tek
only, not until
zaliha
supply
kap
drop
Questions & Answers about U zalihi ima tek kap vode.
Could I use samo instead of tek in this sentence?
Yes, you could say samo kap vode to mean "only a drop of water". However, using tek emphasizes how extremely small or insufficient the amount is. While samo is a neutral "only", tek acts as a restrictive particle that adds the feeling of "merely" or "barely", perfectly highlighting the scarcity of the supply.
Why is the verb ima used here if there is no specific subject?
In Croatian, the verb imati is very often used impersonally in the third-person singular to mean "there is" or "there are". The thing that "exists" (here, kap) is treated as the direct object and takes the accusative case.
If ima requires a direct object, why doesn't the feminine noun kap have the usual accusative ending -u?
The word kap (drop) is indeed feminine, but it belongs to a specific group of feminine nouns that end in a consonant (i-declension), like noć (night) or stvar (thing). For these nouns, the accusative form is identical to the nominative form.
Why is the word for water in the genitive case (vode)?
This is the partitive genitive. It is used because it follows a noun expressing a quantity or measurement. Just like in English where we say "a drop OF water", Croatian uses the genitive case after words like kap (drop), komad (piece), or čaša (glass).
Why is it u zalihi instead of u zalihu?
The preposition u takes the locative case here because it describes a static location (answering "where?"). If you used the accusative case (u zalihu), it would imply motion or direction, as in adding something "into the supply".
Learn U zalihi ima tek kap vode and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free