Breakdown of Želim jesti ono pecivo.
željeti
to want
jesti
to eat
onaj
that (over there) / the one (who)
pecivo
roll
Questions & Answers about Želim jesti ono pecivo.
Why does this sentence use the infinitive jesti instead of da jedem?
In Croatian, when the subject of the main verb (Želim) and the dependent verb is the same, using the infinitive (jesti) is the standard and preferred choice. You might hear da jedem in Serbian or some regional dialects, but in standard Croatian it sounds less natural for a single-subject sentence.
Croatian has three words for 'this' and 'that' (ovo, to, ono). What exactly does ono tell us about the roll's location?
The pronoun ono indicates that the object is physically distant from both the speaker and the listener. If the roll were near the speaker, you would say ovo pecivo, and if it were near the person being spoken to, you would use to pecivo.
What case is ono pecivo in here, and why does it look exactly like the dictionary form?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb jesti. It looks identical to the nominative (dictionary) form because pecivo is a neuter noun, and all neuter nouns share the exact same endings for the nominative and accusative cases.
Jesti is an imperfective verb. Could we say Želim pojesti ono pecivo instead?
Yes, and it changes the nuance slightly. Pojesti is perfective and focuses on completion, meaning you want to eat the whole roll and finish it. Using the imperfective jesti focuses simply on the action or general experience of eating it.
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