Word
Možete li mi, molim vas, još jednom objasniti zašto je u toj rečenici subjekt izostavljen, a predikat ostaje u jednini?
Meaning
Could you please explain to me once again why in that sentence the subject is omitted, while the predicate remains in the singular?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Možete li mi, molim vas, još jednom objasniti zašto je u toj rečenici subjekt izostavljen, a predikat ostaje u jednini?
biti
to be
u
in
moći
to be able to
mi
me (dative short form)
Questions & Answers about Možete li mi, molim vas, još jednom objasniti zašto je u toj rečenici subjekt izostavljen, a predikat ostaje u jednini?
What does Možete li mean here?
Možete li is a polite way to ask Can you...?/Could you...?
- možete = you can (2nd person plural)
- li = a question particle used to form yes/no questions
So Možete li mi objasniti... literally means something like Can you explain to me..., and in natural English it is often best translated as Could you explain to me...
Why is možete plural if the speaker may be talking to just one person?
Croatian often uses the 2nd person plural as a polite form when addressing one person, similar to formal you.
So here:
- omitted subject = vi
- vi can mean you all or formal you to one person
That is why možete is plural in form, even if only one person is being addressed.
Why does li come after the verb?