Breakdown of Miriše kao da je vino slatkasto.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
vino
wine
kao
like, as
da
that (conjunction)
mirisati
to smell (nice), to give off a scent (imperfective)
slatkast
sweetish
Questions & Answers about Miriše kao da je vino slatkasto.
How is slatkasto formed, and what does the -kast suffix do?
The suffix -kast is added to adjectives to mean "somewhat" or "-ish", creating an approximative adjective. Here, it is added to the root of sladak (sweet). Because d comes before the voiceless consonant k, it changes to t, making the word slatkasto (sweetish).
Why do we use kao da instead of just da?
Kao da translates to "as if" or "as though". Using just da here would mean "It smells that the wine is sweetish", which sounds just as unnatural in Croatian as it does in English. You need kao da to express that you are guessing the wine's property based on its smell.
Why does the adjective slatkasto end with an -o?
It describes the noun vino (wine), which is a neuter noun in the nominative case. Adjectives must always match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe, so slatkast takes the neuter singular ending -o.
Could I use this same phrasing if the wine smelled spoiled?
No, because the verb mirisati specifically implies a pleasant or neutral smell. If you wanted to say it smells bad or spoiled, you would use the verb smrdjeti (to stink) instead.
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