Learn Hardcore Croatian: Jedno rješenje je da recikliramo više, a drugo je da kupujemo manje plastičnih boca. - One solution is that we recycle more, and another is that we buy fewer plastic bottles.

Jedno rješenje je da recikliramo više, a drugo je da kupujemo manje plastičnih boca.

One solution is that we recycle more, and another is that we buy fewer plastic bottles.

Breakdown of Jedno rješenje je da recikliramo više, a drugo je da kupujemo manje plastičnih boca.

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Questions & Answers about Jedno rješenje je da recikliramo više, a drugo je da kupujemo manje plastičnih boca.

Why is it jedno rješenje, not jedna rješenje?

In Croatian, adjectives and numbers must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun.

rješenje (solution) is a neuter noun.
Therefore, the correct form of jedan (one) is the neuter form jedno.

So you must say:

jedno rješenje = one solution
not
jedna rješenje (incorrect, because jedna is feminine)

What does the pattern jedno rješenje je da… literally mean, and how does it compare to English?

The pattern is:

Jedno rješenje je da + (present tense clause)

Literally: One solution is that we recycle more…
In natural English, we’d say: One solution is to recycle more…

Croatian often uses da + present tense where English uses the infinitive to + verb. So:

Jedno rješenje je da recikliramo više.
≈ One solution is (for us) to recycle more.

Why is there da recikliramo instead of just an infinitive like reciklirati?

Croatian can use an infinitive, but it is more common and more natural in modern language (especially spoken) to use:

da + present tense

So:

Jedno rješenje je da recikliramo više. (very natural)
Jedno rješenje je reciklirati više. (possible, but sounds more formal, bookish, or instructional)

The da + present construction often corresponds to English to + verb or that we + verb and can imply a suggestion or recommendation:

da recikliramo ≈ that we recycle / for us to recycle

Why is the verb recikliramo in the first person plural (we)?

The subject of da recikliramo više is an implied we:

da recikliramo više = that we recycle more

In Croatian, it’s common to use first person plural for general recommendations that include the speaker and the listener:

Moramo reciklirati više. = We must recycle more.
Trebali bismo reciklirati više. = We should recycle more.

So recikliramo matches this implied we (mi).

What is the difference between a and i here? Why does the sentence use a drugo je… instead of i drugo je…?

Both a and i can be translated as and, but they are used differently:

i = and (simple addition, same direction)
a = and / while / whereas (contrast or slight opposition)

In this sentence:

Jedno rješenje je da recikliramo više, a drugo je da kupujemo manje plastičnih boca.

We are contrasting one solution with another solution. The connector a nicely signals:

One solution is X, whereas another is Y.

Using i would be grammatically okay, but a is stylistically better to mark the contrast between the two solutions.

Why is it kupujemo, not kupimo? What’s the aspect difference?

Croatian verbs come in two aspects:

Imperfective (ongoing, repeated, habitual actions)
Perfective (single, completed actions, result-focused)

kupovati (to buy, be buying) – imperfective
kupiti (to buy, to purchase once/completely) – perfective

The sentence uses:

da kupujemo manje plastičnih boca
because it’s about habit/regular behaviour: buying fewer plastic bottles in general.

If you said:

da kupimo manje plastičnih boca

it would suggest a particular act of buying less (e.g. on one shopping trip), not a general long‑term habit. For recommendations about ongoing behaviour, Croatian prefers the imperfective:

da jedemo zdravije = that we eat healthier (in general)
da trošimo manje novca = that we spend less money (habitually)
da kupujemo manje plastičnih boca = that we buy fewer plastic bottles (as a habit)

Why is it više after the verb (recikliramo više) and manje before the noun (manje plastičnih boca)?

više and manje are flexible and can go in different positions depending on what they modify:

više (more) here modifies the verb (recycling activity):
- recikliramo više = we recycle more (we increase the amount of recycling)
  You could also say više recikliramo, but recikliramo više is very natural and common.
manje (less/fewer) here directly modifies the noun phrase:
- manje plastičnih boca = fewer plastic bottles
  Here manje functions like an adjective/quantifier before a noun.

So the positions match what is being modified:

verb + više → more of the action
manje + noun → a smaller quantity of the thing

Why is plastičnih boca in the genitive plural, not nominative (plastične boce)?

In Croatian, quantities like manje, više, puno, malo are normally followed by the genitive case, especially in the plural.

manje plastičnih boca = fewer plastic bottles
- plastičnih = genitive plural feminine of plastičan
- boca → boca – boce – boca (genitive plural: boca)

Compare:

puno knjiga = many books (genitive plural)
više problema = more problems (genitive plural)
manje ljudi = fewer people (genitive plural)

So manje plastičnih boca is the standard quantity + genitive plural structure.

Why is it plastičnih, not plastične?

The form of the adjective must agree in case, number, and gender with the noun:

Noun: boca (bottle), feminine
In this sentence: boca is in genitive plural → boca (same spelling as nominative singular but different function)
The adjective plastičan must also be genitive plural feminine → plastičnih

So:

Nominative plural: plastične boce (plastic bottles)
Genitive plural: plastičnih boca (of plastic bottles / plastic bottles after a quantity word)

Because manje requires genitive, you get manje plastičnih boca.

Could the word order be manje boca od plastike instead of manje plastičnih boca?

You could say:

manje boca od plastike = literally: fewer bottles made of plastic

This is grammatically correct, but:

manje plastičnih boca is shorter, more natural, and more common.
od plastike tends to emphasize the material more explicitly, while plastičnih boca is the standard collocation for plastic bottles.

For everyday speech and writing, manje plastičnih boca is the preferred form.

Is the comma before a necessary in …, a drugo je da…?

Yes. In Croatian, you normally put a comma before a when it connects two independent clauses:

Jedno rješenje je da recikliramo više, a drugo je da kupujemo manje plastičnih boca.

Both parts (Jedno rješenje je… and drugo je…) are full clauses, so you separate them with a comma:

…, a … → comma is standard and expected here.