Breakdown of Mnoge obitelji žive u siromaštvu.
živjeti
to live
obitelj
family (f)
u
in, into
mnogi
many (adjective)
siromaštvo
poverty
Questions & Answers about Mnoge obitelji žive u siromaštvu.
Why do we use the adjective mnoge here instead of the adverb mnogo?
If you used the adverb mnogo (a lot), the sentence would be Mnogo obitelji živi u siromaštvu. When using adverbs of quantity, the verb is usually singular (živi). Here, mnoge is an adjective ('many') that directly agrees with the noun in the plural, so the verb is also plural (žive).
The noun obitelj ends in a consonant, so why does it take the feminine plural adjective mnoge?
The noun obitelj (family) is a feminine noun that ends in a consonant, belonging to the 'i-declension' group. Its plural form is obitelji. Adjectives modifying it must still take the standard feminine plural endings, which is why we use mnoge (nominative feminine plural).
Why is siromaštvu in the locative case rather than the accusative?
The preposition u takes the accusative case for destination or movement, and the locative case for a static location or state of being. Since 'living in poverty' is an ongoing state rather than a movement towards something, it takes the locative form siromaštvu.
How is the abstract noun siromaštvo (poverty) formed?
It is formed by combining the root of the adjective siromašan (poor) with the suffix -stvo (which often shifts to -štvo). This suffix is frequently used to create abstract neuter nouns in Croatian, similar to '-ty' or '-ness' in English (for example, bogatstvo for wealth, or prijateljstvo for friendship).
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