Breakdown of Pritisnimo ovaj magnet na zid.
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
zid
wall
pritisnuti
to press
Questions & Answers about Pritisnimo ovaj magnet na zid.
Why is the verb pritisnimo instead of pritisnemo?
Pritisnemo is the present tense ("we press"). By using the -imo ending, the verb becomes the first-person plural imperative, which is used to make a suggestion translating to "let's press".
Why is zid in the accusative case here instead of the locative?
The preposition na takes the accusative case when it shows direction or motion toward a destination, like moving a magnet onto the wall. If you were describing a magnet that was already just sitting on the wall (location), you would use the locative case (na zidu).
Why doesn't ovaj magnet take the masculine accusative ending -a (like ovog magneta)?
Because magnet is an inanimate object. For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative case is always identical to the nominative case. The -a ending is only used for masculine nouns that are alive (animate), such as people or animals.
The verb here is perfective. Could we use the imperfective version, pritiskajmo, instead?
You would use pritiskajmo (from the imperfective pritiskati) if you wanted to say "let's keep pressing" or "let's press repeatedly". Since attaching a magnet to a wall is a single, completed action, the perfective pritisnimo is the correct choice here.