Questions & Answers about Imam četiri, a ti imaš pet.
Do the numbers četiri and pet change their form here?
No, these are the basic dictionary forms of the numbers four and five. Because we are just stating the numbers on their own without attaching them to a noun (like "four cars" or "five cats"), we simply use the bare sequence words you are learning in this lesson.
Why is there no word for "I" before imam, but there is a ti (you) before imaš?
Croatian usually drops pronouns like ja (I) and ti (you) because the verb endings already show who is doing the action. However, ti is included here to emphasize the contrast: I have four, whereas you have five.
Why does the sentence use a for "and" instead of i?
Croatian has two words for "and". You use i to simply add things together. You use a to show a contrast or a shift in focus between two different things or people. Here, it contrasts what "I" have versus what "you" have, so it acts a bit like "while" or "and on the other hand".
How do the verb endings work in imam and imaš?
Both words come from the verb imati (to have). The -m ending in imam always signals "I" (I have), while the -š ending in imaš signals "you" (you have, speaking to one person informally).