Word
Držite ruke iznad lončarskog kola.
Meaning
Hold your hands above the potter's wheel.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Držite ruke iznad lončarskog kola.
iznad
above
držati
to hold
ruka
hand
lončarsko kolo
potter's wheel
Questions & Answers about Držite ruke iznad lončarskog kola.
What form is držite here?
Držite is the imperative form of držati, meaning to hold / keep.
In this sentence, it means hold or keep as a command.
A useful thing to know is that držite can also be the present tense form meaning you hold / you are holding. Croatian often relies on context to show whether something is a statement or a command. Here, the sentence is clearly an instruction, so it is understood as an imperative.
Is držite addressed to one person or more than one person?
It can be either:
- to several people: you all hold / keep
- to one person formally: please hold / keep
Croatian uses the same 2nd person plural form for:
- real plural you
- formal singular you
If you were speaking to one person informally, you would say:
Drži ruke iznad lončarskog kola.
Why is ruke in that form?