Breakdown of Nemoj raspršiti previše vode po cvijeću.
voda
water
previše
too many / too (with an adjective)
nemoj
do not (sg., pl. nemojte)
po
across, around
cvijeće
flowers
raspršiti
to spray
Questions & Answers about Nemoj raspršiti previše vode po cvijeću.
How does the prefix in raspršiti relate to dispersion, and why is it ras- instead of raz-?
The base verb pršiti means to sprinkle or spray. The prefix raz- adds the meaning of scattering or spreading out in multiple directions. It becomes ras- because of voice assimilation: the following letter p is voiceless, which forces the voiced z to change into the voiceless s to match it.
Why is the word for water in the form vode instead of the accusative vodu?
The word previše (too much) is an adverb of quantity. In Croatian, words that express a quantity always require the noun that follows them to take the genitive case. Therefore, voda becomes vode.
What case is cvijeću, and why do we use the preposition po here?
cvijeću is in the locative case. The preposition po paired with the locative is used to describe an action happening all over a surface or distributed across an area. It perfectly describes scattering water over the surface of the plants.
The English translation says flowers in the plural, but is cvijeću grammatically plural?
No, grammatically cvijeće is a singular neuter noun. It is a collective noun that represents a whole group of flowers as one single mass. Because of this, it takes singular neuter endings, making its locative form cvijeću.
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