Ovi vojnici će opkoliti dvorac sa svih strana.
These soldiers will besiege the castle from all sides.
Breakdown of Ovi vojnici će opkoliti dvorac sa svih strana.
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
sav
all (of a whole) / everyone, all (people) / everything
dvorac
castle
strana
side
vojnik
soldier
sa
from, off (+ genitive)
opkoliti
to besiege
Questions & Answers about Ovi vojnici će opkoliti dvorac sa svih strana.
How does the encompassing prefix taught in this lesson appear in the word opkoliti?
The verb opkoliti is built from the prefix ob- (meaning around or encompassing) and the root kolo (circle). When the voiced b in ob- meets the voiceless k in kolo, it undergoes sound assimilation and changes to a voiceless p, creating op-. So literally, it means to put a circle around, or to besiege.
Why do we use sa instead of s before svih strana?
The preposition s changes to sa when the following word begins with s, š, z, or ž to make pronunciation easier. Since svih starts with s, sa svih is required. Additionally, when sa means from or off of (as in from all sides), it always takes the genitive case, which is why we see the genitive plural svih strana.
Dvorac is the direct object of opkoliti. Why doesn't its ending change in the accusative case?
Dvorac is a masculine noun. For masculine nouns, the accusative case only takes a different ending (the genitive -a) if the noun is animate (a person or an animal). Because a castle is an inanimate object, its accusative form remains identical to its nominative form.
If we dropped the subject Ovi vojnici, how would the future tense be formed here?
If you start the sentence directly with the verb, the enclitic će cannot be the first word. It must follow the infinitive, and the infinitive drops its final -i, giving you the standard word order: Opkolit će dvorac sa svih strana.
Learn Ovi vojnici će opkoliti dvorac sa svih strana and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free