Questions & Answers about Žena nosi torbu.
Why does the word for bag end in -u (torbu) instead of its dictionary form torba?
In Croatian, when a feminine noun ending in -a (like torba) is the direct object (the thing having the action done to it), the -a changes to -u. This is called the accusative case. Since the bag is the thing being carried, it becomes torbu.
Why doesn't žena change to ženu as well?
Žena (the woman) is the subject of the sentence (the person doing the carrying). The subject always stays in its base dictionary form (the nominative case). We only use the -u ending for the object being acted upon.
Does nosi mean 'carries' or 'is carrying'?
It means both! Croatian doesn't have a separate 'is doing' tense like English. Žena nosi can be translated as 'the woman carries' or 'the woman is carrying'. Fun fact: nositi also means 'to wear', so depending on context, this could also mean 'The woman is wearing a bag'.
Where are the words for 'the' and 'a' in this sentence?
Croatian doesn't use articles like 'a', 'an', or 'the'. The word žena can mean 'woman', 'a woman', or 'the woman', and torbu can mean 'bag', 'a bag', or 'the bag'. You simply figure it out from context.
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