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Questions & Answers about Ne znamo cijenu karte.
Why is there no word for “we” in the sentence?
Croatian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person and number. The ending in znamo (-mo) already tells you it’s “we.” You can add Mi ne znamo for emphasis (“We don’t know”), but it isn’t required.
What form is the verb znati here?
Znamo is the present tense, 1st person plural of znati (“to know”). Present-tense paradigm:
- ja znam
- ti znaš
- on/ona/ono zna
- mi znamo
- vi znate
- oni/one/ona znaju
How does negation work with ne znamo?
Place ne directly before the verb: ne znamo. There’s no contraction with znati. With the verb “to be” (jesam), there are contractions (e.g., nisam, nisi, nije), but not here.
Why is it cijenu and not cijena?
Because cijenu is the accusative singular, used for a direct object. Cijena is a feminine noun:
- nominative: cijena (subject form)
- accusative: cijenu (direct object)
- genitive: cijene (“of the price”)
In this sentence, “price” is the object of znamo, so it must be cijenu.
What case is karte, and why?
Karte is genitive singular (“of the ticket”). The noun cijena (“price”) takes a genitive complement to express “price of X”: cijena + GEN → cijenu karte = “(the) price of the ticket.”
Could I say Ne znamo cijena karte?
No. The head noun “price” is the direct object and must be in the accusative (cijenu), not nominative (cijena). The correct form is Ne znamo cijenu karte.
How do I know that karte here is genitive singular and not nominative plural?
Context and syntax: after cijena/cijenu, the following noun is normally genitive (“price of X”). Also, nominative plural would change the meaning (“tickets”), which doesn’t fit the “price of…” pattern.
Can I move the object to the front?
Yes, for emphasis: Cijenu karte ne znamo. This sounds like “The ticket price, we don’t know.” The neutral word order is Ne znamo cijenu karte.
Are there articles like “the” or “a” in Croatian?
No. Croatian has no articles. Ne znamo cijenu karte can mean “We don’t know the price of the ticket” or “We don’t know a ticket’s price,” depending on context.
Is karta the right word for “ticket” in all situations?
- karta commonly means a travel ticket (bus, tram, train, plane) and also “map.”
- ulaznica is an admission/entry ticket (concert, museum, match). Your sentence likely refers to a travel ticket; for an event, you’d typically say cijena ulaznice.
How would I talk about multiple tickets?
- “We don’t know the price of the tickets” (one price that applies to tickets in general): Ne znamo cijenu karata (genitive plural of “karta” = karata).
- “We don’t know the prices of the tickets” (several prices): Ne znamo cijene karata (plural “prices”).
Can I replace cijenu with a pronoun?
Yes:
- Feminine accusative clitic: Ne znamo je. (“We don’t know it [the price].”) Note placement: the clitic je goes after the first stressed element; Ne znamo je is correct, Ne je znamo is not.
- Neutral demonstrative: Ne znamo to. (“We don’t know that.”)
How would I ask “Do we/you know the ticket price?” in Croatian?
- “Do we know…?” Znamo li cijenu karte?
- “Do you (plural/polite) know…?” Znate li cijenu karte? The particle li forms a yes/no question and typically comes right after the verb.
Are there natural alternative ways to say the same thing?
Yes:
- Ne znamo koliko košta karta. (“We don’t know how much the ticket costs.”)
- Ne znamo kolika je cijena karte. (“We don’t know what the ticket price is.”) All are idiomatic; the original is slightly more concise.
Any quick pronunciation tips for the tricky parts?
- c is like “ts” in “cats.”
- j is like English “y.”
- cijenu roughly “TSYEH-noo” (the ije makes a “yeh” sound).
- znamo begins with a consonant cluster “zn” (pronounce both: “ZNAH-mo”). Overall: Ne znamo cijenu karte ≈ “NEH ZNAH-mo TSYEH-noo KAR-teh.”