Log inSign up

Obrazac možeš poslati e-mailom, ili ga možeš donijeti osobno.

Obrazac možeš poslati e-mailom, ili ga možeš donijeti osobno.
You can send the form by email, or you can bring it in person.

Breakdown of Obrazac možeš poslati e-mailom, ili ga možeš donijeti osobno.

moći
to be able to
ili
or
donijeti
to bring
e-mail
email
poslati
to send
ga
it
obrazac
form
osobno
in person
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Croatian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Croatian now

Questions & Answers about Obrazac možeš poslati e-mailom, ili ga možeš donijeti osobno.

Why is obrazac at the start—what case is it, and is it the subject?

Obrazac is the direct object of poslati/donijeti (so it’s in the accusative).
For an inanimate masculine noun like obrazac, nominative = accusative in the singular, so it looks like a subject form. Word order is flexible, and putting the object first is very normal in Croatian.

What does možeš mean here, and why isn’t there a word like to (as in to send)?

Možeš is 2nd person singular present of moći (you can / you may).
Croatian uses an infinitive without “to”:

  • možeš poslati = you can send
  • možeš donijeti = you can bring
Why is možeš repeated? Could it be said only once?

It’s repeated because there are effectively two separate options/clauses:

  • (ti) možeš poslati…
  • (ti) možeš donijeti…

You can avoid repeating it in some styles, but the given version is the most straightforward and natural, especially in instructions.

Why is it poslati (perfective) and not slati (imperfective)?

Poslati is perfective, focusing on one completed action: send it (once).
Slati is imperfective, more like to be sending / to send repeatedly / in general.
In instructions about completing a task, Croatian often prefers the perfective.

Same question for donijeti vs donositi—what’s the difference?

Donijeti (perfective) = bring it (successfully/once, to completion).
Donositi (imperfective) = bring (habitually / repeatedly / as an ongoing action).
Here it’s one form you either send or bring one time, so donijeti fits.

What is e-mailom grammatically, and why that ending -om?

e-mailom is instrumental case, used for means/instrument: by email / via email.
Many masculine nouns take -om in instrumental singular, so e-mail → e-mailom.

Can I also say preko e-maila or something similar?

Yes, there are a few natural options, with slight stylistic differences:

  • e-mailom / mailom = very common, concise (by email)
  • preko e-maila = more like through/by means of email (a bit heavier)
  • You may also see elektroničkom poštom, more formal.
Why is ga there, and what exactly does it refer to?

ga is an accusative clitic pronoun meaning him/it. Here it means it, referring back to obrazac (the form).
Croatian often avoids repeating the noun in the second clause, so ga = it.

Why is the pronoun placed like this: ili ga možeš donijeti, not ili možeš ga donijeti?

Because ga is a clitic, and clitics normally go in the second position of their clause (after the first “full” element).
In the second clause, after ili, the clitic comes immediately: ili ga…
ili možeš ga… is generally felt as less natural (or only acceptable in special emphatic/colloquial contexts).

Could the pronoun be omitted—can I just say ili možeš donijeti osobno?

You can, and it will often still be understood from context, but it sounds less complete. Croatian prefers using the object (noun or pronoun) when it’s clearly required by the verb:

  • Natural: ili ga možeš donijeti osobno
  • Possible but more context-dependent: ili možeš donijeti osobno
What does osobno mean here grammatically—is it an adjective or an adverb?

Here osobno is an adverb meaning in person / personally.
It modifies donijeti (the action), not the noun.

Is the comma before ili necessary?

It’s common to use a comma here because you’re separating two coordinated options, and the second one has its own structure (with ga možeš…). In simpler phrases, the comma is often omitted, but in instructional writing this comma is very typical.

Is možeš informal? What would be the polite/formal version?

Yes—možeš is singular informal (you to one person you address as ti).
Polite/formal (or plural) is:

  • Obrazac možete poslati e-mailom ili ga možete donijeti osobno.