Breakdown of Označili su svaku kutiju crvenom naljepnicom.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
crven
red
kutija
box
svaki
every, each
označiti
to mark
naljepnica
sticker
Questions & Answers about Označili su svaku kutiju crvenom naljepnicom.
Why isn't there a Croatian word for "with" before crvenom naljepnicom?
In Croatian, when an object is used as a tool or instrument to accomplish an action, you use the instrumental case entirely on its own. You only add the preposition s or sa when "with" implies accompaniment, like being in the company of a person or carrying an item with you. Because the sticker is the means of marking, no preposition is used.
Why is the perfective verb označiti used here instead of its imperfective pair označavati?
Označili su focuses on the successfully completed action of marking the boxes. If you used the imperfective form označavali su, it would shift the focus to the ongoing process in the past, translating more like "they were marking" or "they used to mark."
Could I use a form of sav (all) here instead of svaku (each/every)?
Not without changing the rest of the phrase. Svaku kutiju is singular and specifically means "each box" or "every individual box." If you wanted to say they marked "all the boxes," you would need to switch to the plural accusative form: sve kutije.
Why does this sentence start with the past participle Označili rather than the auxiliary verb su?
The auxiliary verb su is an enclitic, which is a "weak" or unstressed word that strictly cannot start a sentence. Because the subject pronoun Oni (They) is dropped, the main verb participle Označili steps into the first position so that su can safely occupy its mandatory second position.
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