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Možemo premjestiti kauč bliže prozoru, da bude više svjetla.

Možemo premjestiti kauč bliže prozoru, da bude više svjetla.
We can move the couch closer to the window so there is more light.
FromLesson 43inHardcore Croatian
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Breakdown of Možemo premjestiti kauč bliže prozoru, da bude više svjetla.

biti
to be
moći
to be able to
prozor
window
više
more
da
so that
svjetlo
light
bliže
closer
kauč
couch
premjestiti
to move

Questions & Answers about Možemo premjestiti kauč bliže prozoru, da bude više svjetla.

Why does the sentence start with Možemo? Is that we can or can we?

Možemo is we can / we are able to (1st person plural present of moći).
As written, it’s a statement: We can move the couch...
To make it a question, you typically add li: Možemo li premjestiti... ? (Can we move...?)

Why is premjestiti in the infinitive, and what’s the difference between premjestiti and premještati?

After modal verbs like moći (can), Croatian commonly uses an infinitive: možemo + infinitive.
Aspect difference:

  • premjestiti = perfective (one completed move, result-focused)
  • premještati = imperfective (moving around in general, repeatedly, process-focused)
    Here the idea is a single, concrete action, so premjestiti fits.
Is kauč masculine, and why does it look the same here as in the dictionary form?
Yes, kauč is masculine. In this sentence it’s the direct object, so it’s in the accusative. For many masculine inanimate nouns, accusative = nominative, so kauč stays kauč.
Why is it bliže prozoru and not something like bliže prozor or bliže prozora?

bliže (closer) typically takes the dative: bliže + dative = closer to (something).
So prozor (window) becomes dative singular prozoru.

Can I also say bliže prozora?

Not in standard usage with this meaning. With bliže, Croatian normally uses the dative (bliže prozoru).
You might see blizu prozora (near the window), where blizu takes the genitive (prozora), but that’s near, not necessarily closer.

What part of speech is bliže here—an adverb or an adjective?
Here bliže functions as an adverb meaning closer (comparative of blizu). It modifies the action premjestiti (move closer), not the noun kauč directly.
What does da bude mean grammatically? Is it like so that it will be?

Yes. da + present tense is a very common way to express purpose/result, similar to so that...
da bude više svjetla literally uses present bude (from biti, to be), but the meaning is often future-oriented in English: so that there’s / will be more light.

Why is it bude and not je?

je is the present is form used for straightforward statements: Ima više svjetla / Više je svjetla (There is more light).
But in purpose clauses with da, Croatian uses a special present form often called the da-construction; for biti, that form is budem, budeš, bude...
So da bude is the normal choice in this structure.

Why is it više svjetla and not više svjetlo?

After quantity expressions like više (more), Croatian uses the genitive: više + genitive.
svjetlo becomes genitive singular svjetla. This is similar to how numbers/quantifiers trigger genitive in many Slavic languages.

Is svjetla singular or plural here?
Grammatically it’s genitive singular of svjetlo, but semantically it often behaves like an uncountable mass noun in English (light). So you translate it as more light, not more lights (unless you mean lamps).
Why is there a comma before da?

Croatian normally separates a main clause from a following purpose/result clause with a comma:
Možemo premjestiti kauč bliže prozoru, da bude više svjetla.
So the comma is standard punctuation here.

Could the word order be different, like Kauč možemo premjestiti...?

Yes, word order is flexible. Common alternatives include:

  • Kauč možemo premjestiti bliže prozoru, da bude više svjetla. (focuses on the couch)
  • Možemo kauč premjestiti bliže prozoru... (also fine)
    The original order is neutral and natural.
How would I pronounce Možemo and premjestiti?

A practical approximation for learners:

  • Možemo: roughly MO-zhe-mo (with ž like the s in measure)
  • premjestiti: roughly preh-MYEH-sti-tee (Croatian j is like English y in yes)
    Stress can vary by dialect, but these will be understood well.

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