Learn Croatian: On ima stan i auto. - He has an apartment and a car.

On ima stan i auto.

He has an apartment and a car.

Breakdown of On ima stan i auto.

Questions & Answers about On ima stan i auto.

Why does the verb change to ima instead of staying as imati?

Imati is the dictionary form (the infinitive) meaning 'to have'. To say 'he has', you must change the verb to match the subject On (he), which makes it ima.

How would I make this sentence negative? Would I say 'On ne ima'?

No, imati is a special verb! Instead of using ne + ima, Croatian combines them into a single word: nema. So, 'He does not have an apartment and a car' would be On nema stan i auto.

Don't words usually change their endings when they are the object of a verb? Why are stan and auto unchanged?

You are thinking of the accusative case! Normally, objects receiving an action do change their endings. However, stan (apartment) and auto (car) are masculine inanimate nouns (non-living objects). For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative form is exactly the same as the basic dictionary form.

Do I have to include the word On (he), or can I just say Ima stan i auto?