Question 1

How do we get spavam from the dictionary form spavati?

Accepted Answer

Spavati (to sleep) is a regular verb ending in -ati. To make the present tense for "I", you drop the -ti from the dictionary form to get the base (spava-), and then add the "I" ending -m. This gives us spavam (I sleep).

Question 2

If a woman is speaking, does the word umoran change?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Umoran is the masculine form of the adjective for "tired", meaning the speaker here is male. If a woman is saying this sentence, she would say Nisam umorna by adding the feminine ending -a.

Question 3

Is nisam one word or a combination of words?

Accepted Answer

It is written as one word, but it is a combination. In Croatian, to say "I am not", you attach the negative word ne to the short form of the verb "to be" (sam). The e drops out, combining them into the single word nisam.

Question 4

Why aren't we saying "Ja nisam umoran jer ja često spavam"?

Accepted Answer

In Croatian, you usually leave out the pronoun (like ja for "I") because the verb ending already tells you who is acting. Both nisam (I am not) and spavam (I sleep) are specifically in the "I" form, so adding ja is only done for strong emphasis.

Nisam umoran jer često spavam.

Breakdown of Nisam umoran jer često spavam.

Questions & Answers about Nisam umoran jer često spavam.

Learn Nisam umoran jer često spavam and more in Croatian