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Questions & Answers about Ti piješ mlijeko.
What does ti mean, and is it always necessary in Croatian sentences?
ti is the second-person singular informal pronoun meaning you. It is often dropped in Croatian because the verb ending -eš already marks the subject as second person singular. You include ti when you want extra emphasis or clarity.
What is the verb piješ, and how is it related to the infinitive piti?
piješ is the present-tense, second-person singular form of the verb piti (to drink). To conjugate, start with the root pij- and add the ending -eš for ti.
Why is mlijeko in this form, and what case is it?
mlijeko is a neuter noun in the accusative case, used here as the direct object of the verb. For neuter inanimate nouns, the accusative singular form is identical to the nominative singular.
How do you express definiteness or indefiniteness without articles like the or a?
Croatian does not use articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context, word order, or can be specified with demonstratives such as ovaj (this) or taj (that).
How do you make the sentence negative?
Place ne before the verb: Ti ne piješ mlijeko. You can also drop ti: Ne piješ mlijeko.
How would you turn this statement into a question?
You can use question intonation without changing the word order: Piješ mlijeko? Or add the question particle li after the verb: Piješ li mlijeko?
How do you say this sentence politely or formally?
Use the formal pronoun Vi and the verb ending -te: Vi pijete mlijeko. The pronoun Vi can be omitted if the context is clear.
What is the typical word order in Croatian, and how flexible is it?
The neutral word order is Subject–Verb–Object, as in Ti piješ mlijeko. Croatian allows flexibility for emphasis: for example, Mlijeko ti piješ shifts focus to mlijeko.
How do you pronounce piješ and mlijeko?
piješ is pronounced /ˈpi.jeʃ/ (“PEE-yesh”).
mlijeko is pronounced /ˈmlɪ.jɛ.ko/ (“MLI-yeh-ko”).