Breakdown of Imam dvije nove fotografije frizure; pokazat ću ti ih poslije šišanja.
Questions & Answers about Imam dvije nove fotografije frizure; pokazat ću ti ih poslije šišanja.
Croatian numerals agree with the gender of the noun:
- dvije = two for feminine nouns
- dva = two for masculine and neuter nouns
Since fotografija is feminine, you say dvije fotografije.
After 2–4 (and numbers ending in 2–4, except 12–14), Croatian uses a special “counted” structure (often described as a paucal construction). The noun is typically in a form that matches genitive singular in many nouns.
With feminine nouns ending in -a:
- genitive singular of fotografija = fotografije
- nominative plural of fotografija = fotografije
So it looks like a normal plural, but structurally it’s the “after 2–4” counted pattern. (You can see the difference better with masculine nouns: dva psa is not dva psi.)
Adjectives agree with the noun phrase they modify. In dvije nove fotografije, the adjective nove matches the feminine form used with the numeral phrase.
Also, for feminine -a adjectives:
- genitive singular of nova = nove
- nominative plural of nova = nove
So again the form you see overlaps, but the key idea is: the adjective agrees with the counted noun phrase.
fotografije frizure literally means photos of the hairstyle.
frizure is genitive singular of frizura and marks a relationship similar to English of.
So:
- fotografije = photos
- frizure = of (a) hairstyle
- fotografije frizure (genitive singular) tends to mean photos of one specific hairstyle (or “the hairstyle” in context).
- fotografije frizura (genitive plural) tends to mean photos of hairstyles in general / multiple hairstyles.
Both can be grammatical; the choice depends on whether you mean one hairstyle or several.
Because ću is an auxiliary clitic (a short unstressed form) and in standard writing it stays separate:
- pokazat ću = I will show
It behaves like a second-position element in the clause (see below), so it doesn’t normally attach into one word in standard Croatian.
The full infinitive is pokazati (to show). In everyday Croatian, the -i is very often dropped in speech and informal writing:
- pokazati → pokazat
So pokazat ću is a very common colloquial/neutral form. The more “dictionary” form would be pokazat ću or pokazat ću based on pokazati, but in practice you’ll constantly see pokazat ću.
In Croatian, clitics like ću usually come in the second position of the clause (after the first “chunk”):
- Pokazat ću ti ih... (first chunk = Pokazat, then ću)
You can also say Ja ću pokazat... because then the first chunk is Ja, so ću is still in second position:
- Ja ću pokazat ti ih... (though the clitic order with pronouns still matters; see next question)
But plain ću pokazat without something before ću is generally not how neutral word order works.
Both ti and ih are clitic pronouns:
- ti = to you (dative singular)
- ih = them (accusative plural)
When multiple clitics appear, Croatian has a fairly fixed order. A useful shortcut is: auxiliary (ću) + dative (ti) + accusative (ih)
So pokazat ću ti ih is the natural, standard order.
Yes, if it’s clear from context:
- Pokazat ću ih poslije šišanja. = I’ll show them after the haircut.
- Pokazat ću ti poslije šišanja. usually sounds incomplete unless the object is understood (like what you’ll show).
Croatian often drops pronouns when the meaning is obvious, but here ih is useful because it clearly points back to dvije nove fotografije.
poslije requires the genitive case, so the following word goes into genitive.
šišanje is a noun meaning cutting / haircut, and:
- nominative: šišanje
- genitive: šišanja
So poslije šišanja = after the haircut / after cutting (hair).
No. A couple of common alternatives are:
- nakon šišanja (very similar to poslije šišanja; nakon also takes genitive)
- A full clause: kad se ošišam / nakon što se ošišam = when/after I get my hair cut
poslije šišanja is just a compact, natural way to express it.