Questions & Answers about Slastičar pravi tortu za rođendan.
Why is it tortu and not torta?
Because tortu is the accusative singular form of torta.
In this sentence, torta is the direct object of the verb pravi (makes / is making), so Croatian changes the noun ending:
- torta = nominative
- tortu = accusative
This is very common with feminine nouns ending in -a:
- knjiga → knjigu
- kava → kavu
- torta → tortu
Why is it za rođendan? What case is rođendan here?
After the preposition za, Croatian often uses the accusative case when it means for.
So in za rođendan, rođendan is in the accusative singular.
For this noun, the nominative and accusative forms look the same:
- rođendan = nominative
- rođendan = accusative
That is why you do not see a change in the form, even though the case has changed.
What does pravi mean exactly? Is it makes or is making?