Breakdown of U njihovoj priči astronaut leti raketom prema dalekoj galaksiji.
Questions & Answers about U njihovoj priči astronaut leti raketom prema dalekoj galaksiji.
Priči is in the locative singular (feminine).
In Croatian, the preposition u can take either:
- locative = in, inside (static location)
- accusative = into (movement into something)
Here, u njihovoj priči means “in their story” (a place where something happens, not movement into it), so u needs the locative:
- nominative: priča (story)
- locative: (u) priči → “in (the) story”
The possessive pronoun njihov (“their”) has to agree in case, gender, and number with the noun it modifies.
- priča is feminine, singular, locative: (u) priči
- So njihov must also be feminine, singular, locative: njihovoj
Paradigm (feminine singular of “their”):
- nominative: njihova priča – “their story”
- locative: u njihovoj priči – “in their story”
So njihova priča would be “their story” as a subject or object, but u njihovoj priči needs the locative forms for both words.
Here u means “in” and takes the locative: u njihovoj priči – “in their story.”
But u can also be used with the accusative to mean “into” (movement to the inside of something):
- u priči (locative): “in the story”
- u priču (accusative): “into the story”
Some pairs:
- U kući sam. – I am in the house. (locative)
- Idem u kuću. – I’m going into the house. (accusative)
So you choose locative vs. accusative depending on whether it is static location or motion into.
Croatian has no articles (“a / an / the”). The bare noun astronaut can mean “an astronaut” or “the astronaut,” depending on context.
In many narrative contexts, your English translation will naturally use “the astronaut” once that character is known or unique in the story. But grammatically, astronaut here is just nominative singular, with no explicit definiteness marking.
So:
- astronaut leti → can be “an astronaut is flying” or “the astronaut is flying”
- The story/context decides which article you choose in English.
Leti is 3rd person singular, present tense of the verb letjeti (to fly).
Conjugation of letjeti (present):
- ja letim – I fly
- ti letiš – you fly (sg)
- on/ona/ono leti – he/she/it flies
- mi letimo – we fly
- vi letite – you fly (pl/formal)
- oni/one/ona lete – they fly
So in the sentence:
- astronaut leti = “the astronaut flies / is flying”
Raketom is instrumental singular of raketa.
The instrumental case is used for:
- means or instrument: by/with what?
- company: with whom?
Here, it indicates means of transport:
- astronaut leti raketom = “the astronaut is flying by rocket / in a rocket”
Forms of raketa:
- nominative: raketa (rocket – subject)
- accusative: raketu (I see a rocket.)
- instrumental: raketom (by/with a rocket)
So raketom answers “How / by what means does he fly?” → “by rocket.”
Both can describe travel by rocket, but they emphasize slightly different things:
leti raketom – literally: flies by rocket
Uses instrumental to express means of transport. Very neutral, often used for vehicles.leti u raketi – literally: flies in a rocket
Uses u + locative to emphasize location (inside the rocket).
In practice, leti raketom is the most natural way to say “(he) is flying by rocket.”
Leti u raketi sounds more like you’re stressing his position inside the rocket.
The preposition prema (“towards”) always takes the dative case.
- galaksija (nominative)
- galaksiji (dative singular)
- daleka → dalekoj (dative singular feminine to agree with “galaksiji”)
So:
- prema galaksiji – towards a galaxy
- prema dalekoj galaksiji – towards a distant galaxy
The dative is used with prema to express direction, orientation (often without implying that the goal is necessarily reached).
prema dalekoj galaksiji = towards a distant galaxy
→ Movement in the direction of the galaxy; you may or may not arrive.u daleku galaksiju (accusative) = into a distant galaxy
→ Movement into the galaxy; much stronger sense of entering it.
So you’d say:
- leti prema dalekoj galaksiji – he is heading in that direction.
- ulazi u daleku galaksiju – he is entering that galaxy.
Because daleka galaksija has to be put into the dative case to follow prema.
Base form:
- daleka galaksija – “a distant galaxy” (nominative)
With prema (which requires dative):
- adjective: daleka → dalekoj
- noun: galaksija → galaksiji
So:
- prema dalekoj galaksiji = “towards a distant galaxy”
Both adjective and noun must agree in gender, number, and case.
Croatian word order is flexible, and this sentence can be rearranged while keeping the same core meaning, though the emphasis changes. For example:
- Astronaut u njihovoj priči leti raketom prema dalekoj galaksiji.
- Astronaut leti raketom prema dalekoj galaksiji u njihovoj priči.
The original order:
- U njihovoj priči astronaut leti… puts focus first on the frame / setting (in their story), then introduces what happens there.
Other orders are grammatically correct but may sound slightly more or less natural depending on context and intonation.
You would need plural forms and agreement in number:
Singular (original):
- astronaut leti raketom prema dalekoj galaksiji.
One natural plural version:
- Astronauti lete raketama prema dalekim galaksijama.
- astronauti – astronauts (nom. pl.)
- lete – (they) fly (3rd pl.)
- raketama – by rockets (instr. pl.)
- dalekim galaksijama – towards distant galaxies (dat. pl. after “prema”)
So everything that refers to them (subject, verb, objects/adjectives) changes to plural where appropriate.