Breakdown of Labudovo perje izgleda mekše od perja guske, ali ga ne smijemo dirati.
ne
not
ali
but
smjeti
to be allowed to
od
than
Questions & Answers about Labudovo perje izgleda mekše od perja guske, ali ga ne smijemo dirati.
Why is perje treated like singular when feathers are plural in English?
In Croatian, perje is a collective/mass noun. It means feathers or plumage, but grammatically it behaves as singular neuter.
So Croatian says:
- Labudovo perje izgleda mekše... = The swan’s feathers/plumage look softer...
Because perje is singular, the verb is also singular:
- izgleda = looks
not a plural form.
What exactly does labudovo mean, and why does it end in -ovo?
Labudovo means swan’s or belonging to a swan.
It comes from the noun labud = swan, and Croatian often forms a possessive adjective from a noun:
- labudov = a swan’s
Then that adjective must agree with the noun it describes. Since perje is neuter singular, we get:
- masculine: labudov
- feminine: labudova
- neuter: labudovo
So:
- labudovo perje = swan’s feathers / swan plumage
Why is it and not or ?