Potpisni certifikat služi za elektronički potpis.

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Breakdown of Potpisni certifikat služi za elektronički potpis.

• služiti: to be for
• elektronički potpis: electronic signature
• potpisni certifikat: signature certificate

Questions & Answers about Potpisni certifikat služi za elektronički potpis.

What does potpisni certifikat mean literally, and why is potpisni an adjective?

Literally, potpisni certifikat is something like signature certificate or signing certificate.

In Croatian, it is very common to express this kind of idea with an adjective + noun structure:

• potpis = signature
• potpisni = signature-related, signing

So potpisni certifikat is not a full clause like certificate for signing, but a compact noun phrase where potpisni describes what kind of certificate it is.

This is very natural in Croatian. English often uses noun + noun combinations, but Croatian usually prefers an adjective where possible.

What form is certifikat, and why is it in that form?

Certifikat is in the nominative singular.

That is because it is the subject of the sentence:

• Potpisni certifikat = the signing certificate
• služi = serves / is used

So the structure is:

• Potpisni certifikat = subject
• služi = verb
• za elektronički potpis = purpose

In other words, the certificate is the thing doing the serving/being used, so it stays in the nominative.

What does služi mean here?