Word
Oni ne žele kuhati juhu.
Meaning
They do not want to cook soup.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Oni ne žele kuhati juhu.
Why does the word for soup end in "-u" (juhu) instead of "-a" (juha)?
Juha is a feminine noun. In this sentence, it is the direct object, meaning it is the thing being cooked. In Croatian, when a feminine noun ending in -a is the direct object (this is called the accusative case), the ending changes from -a to -u.
How does the negation "do not want" work here?
Unlike English, Croatian does not use a helping verb like "do" to make a negative sentence. You simply put the word ne directly in front of the verb. So, ne žele literally means "not they-want".
Why is the verb kuhati (to cook) not conjugated?
Just like in English, when you pair a verb like "want" with another action, the second verb stays in its base dictionary form (the infinitive). The first verb (žele) changes to match the subject "they", while kuhati remains in the infinitive.
Can we drop the word Oni (they) from the beginning of the sentence?
Yes! In Croatian, the pronoun is often dropped because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. The verb žele specifically means "they want". Including Oni just adds a bit of emphasis.