Breakdown of Volim jesti tjesteninu s peršinom i bosiljkom.
i
and (additive)
voljeti
to love, to like
jesti
to eat
tjestenina
pasta
s
with
peršin
parsley
bosiljak
basil
Questions & Answers about Volim jesti tjesteninu s peršinom i bosiljkom.
Why does the word for basil change from bosiljak to bosiljkom?
The base word is bosiljak. It contains a fleeting a (nepostojano a) in the final syllable, which drops out when you add case endings. This leaves the stem bosiljk-, to which we attach the instrumental ending -om.
Why do we say volim jesti instead of using da with the present tense?
When the subject of both verbs is the same, standard Croatian strongly prefers the infinitive (jesti) after verbs of preference or desire like voljeti (to like). Using da plus the present tense (da jedem) is understood but is characteristic of Serbian rather than standard Croatian.
Why do we use the imperfective verb jesti here rather than the perfective pojesti?
Verbs that express general likes, dislikes, or habits, such as voljeti, are almost always followed by an imperfective verb. You are describing the ongoing, general activity of eating pasta, rather than the completion of a specific meal.
Why is the preposition s used here instead of the longer form sa?
The short form s is the default for expressing accompaniment. You only switch to the longer form sa if the following word starts with a sibilant consonant (s, š, z, ž) or certain difficult consonant clusters. Since peršinom starts with the letter p, the short form s is required.
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