Živim blizu parka, a ona živi u gradu.

she

Breakdown of Živim blizu parka, a ona živi u gradu.

• grad: city
• u: in
• a: and

Questions & Answers about Živim blizu parka, a ona živi u gradu.

Why is it parka and not park?

Because blizu (“near/close to”) governs the genitive case. The genitive singular of park is parka. Other examples:

• blizu kuće (near the house)
• blizu škole (near the school)
• blizu centra (near the center)

What case is u gradu, and when do I use it?

u with a static location takes the locative case, so you get u gradu (“in the city”). With motion into a place, u takes the accusative: u grad (“to the city”).

• Static: Radim u gradu. (I work in the city.)
• Motion: Idem u grad. (I’m going to the city.)

What does the conjunction a do here? Could I use i or ali instead?

• a signals a mild contrast or comparison, often translated as “and/while/whereas.”
• i is a plain “and” that just adds information, with little or no contrast.
• ali is a stronger “but.” In this sentence, a nicely contrasts “I live near the park” with “she lives in the city.” You could use i, but you’d lose the contrast. ali would sound too adversative.