Learn Croatian: Vidim majstora kako rezbari drvo za violinu. - I see the master carving wood for the violin.

After verbs of perception like vidjeti (to see) or čuti (to hear), Croatian commonly uses kako followed by a conjugated verb to describe an ongoing action. You can literally think of it as saying 'I see the master how he carves'.

The sentence uses the noun drvo (wood). How would we use the material adjective if we wanted to say 'wooden violin'?

You would use the derived material adjective drven (wooden). Since violina is feminine and in the accusative case here, the phrase would become za drvenu violinu.

If the master is making a wooden violin (drvena violina), could we say his violin is 'more wooden' than another?

No, because material adjectives like drven (wooden), staklen (glass), or zlatni (gold) describe an absolute state of what something is made of. Because an object either is or isn't made of wood, these adjectives do not have comparative or superlative forms in Croatian.

Is the verb rezbariti related to the basic verb rezati (to cut)?

Yes! While rezati is the general verb for cutting, rezbariti is a more specific derived verb meaning to carve or whittle. It usually implies artistic craftsmanship or detail work, which fits perfectly for making a violin.