Profesorica kaže da moramo točno upotrijebiti akuzativ.

Profesorica means female professor/teacher, while profesor is masculine.

So:

• profesor = a male professor
• profesorica = a female professor

Since the sentence is talking about a woman, Croatian uses profesorica.

Kaže means says or is saying.

It is the 3rd person singular present tense of kazati / reći in the sense of to say:

• ja kažem = I say
• ti kažeš = you say
• on/ona kaže = he/she says

Here, Profesorica kaže = The professor says.

In Croatian, da often introduces a subordinate clause, especially after verbs like say, think, know, want, must, and similar ideas.

So:

• Profesorica kaže da... = The professor says that...

This da often corresponds to English that, although in English that is sometimes omitted.

Moramo means we must.

It is the 1st person plural present tense of morati = to have to / must.

So the sentence means that we are the ones who must do something. Usually this includes the speaker and others, for example the class:

• moram = I must
• moraš = you must
• mora = he/she must
• moramo = we must

After morati, Croatian normally uses the infinitive.

So:

• moramo upotrijebiti = we must use

Here:

• moramo = finite verb
• upotrijebiti = infinitive

This is similar to English must use, not must we use or must use we.

Upotrijebiti means to use.

It is a perfective verb, which often suggests using something in a specific act or successfully applying it.

A very close imperfective partner is upotrebljavati or often simply koristiti, depending on context.

In this sentence, upotrijebiti fits well because the idea is about using the accusative correctly in a specific instance or exercise.

Točno can mean exactly, accurately, or correctly, depending on context.

In this sentence, the most natural meaning is:

• točno upotrijebiti akuzativ = to use the accusative correctly/accurately

So it is not mainly about mathematical exactness; it is about proper grammatical usage.

Here točno modifies upotrijebiti, so it tells us how we must use the accusative:

• moramo točno upotrijebiti akuzativ = we must use the accusative correctly

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but this version sounds natural and clear. You could also hear other word orders for emphasis, but this one is neutral.

Because here akuzativ is the direct object of upotrijebiti.

We are using something — namely the accusative — so the noun akuzativ itself is in the accusative singular.

For this noun, nominative and accusative have the same form:

• nominative: akuzativ
• accusative: akuzativ

That can feel confusing, but it is normal. Many masculine inanimate nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative singular.

Yes. Akuzativ is the Croatian name for the accusative case.

The sentence is talking about grammar, so it means:

• use the accusative correctly

It does not mean an object that happens to be in the accusative; it means the grammatical case itself.

Croatian has no articles like English a/an/the.

So:

• Profesorica kaže... can mean The professor says... or sometimes A professor says..., depending on context.
• akuzativ can mean the accusative.

Croatian relies on context rather than articles.

Yes. Croatian often uses the present tense for statements, instructions, rules, and obligations.

So:

• Profesorica kaže = present
• moramo = present
• upotrijebiti = infinitive after a present-tense modal

This is completely natural for expressing a current requirement: The professor says that we must use the accusative correctly.

Sometimes, yes, depending on context.

The most direct translation is:

• Profesorica kaže da... = The professor says that...

But in natural English, if this is classroom instruction, you might also express the idea as:

• The professor is telling us that...
• The teacher says we have to...

So the exact English wording can vary, even though the Croatian structure stays the same.

Yes, very typical.

A very common pattern is:

• [person] + kaže + da + [clause]

For example:

• On kaže da je umoran. = He says that he is tired.
• Mama kaže da moram učiti. = Mom says that I have to study.
• Profesorica kaže da moramo točno upotrijebiti akuzativ.

So this sentence uses a very common Croatian reporting structure.