Questions & Answers about Kost je u ruci.
Why is it u ruci and not u ruka?
Because after the preposition u meaning in, Croatian uses the locative case when you are talking about a location.
- basic form: ruka = hand / arm
- locative singular: ruci
So:
- u ruci = in the hand
- u ruka is not correct
This is one of the most important things to notice in the sentence: Croatian nouns change form depending on their role in the sentence.
What case is ruci?
Ruci is in the locative singular here.
The preposition u can take different cases, but in this sentence it shows location, so it requires the locative:
- u ruci = in the hand
A useful contrast is:
- u ruci = in the hand (location, locative)
- u ruku = into the hand (movement toward, accusative)
So the form ruci tells you this is about where something is, not where it is going.
Why does u sometimes mean one thing with one case and something slightly different with another case?