Moramo orezati ružmarin prije proljeća.

Moramo means we must, we have to, or we need to, depending on context.

Its dictionary form is morati = to have to / must.

In this sentence, moramo is the 1st person plural present tense form:

• ja moram = I must
• ti moraš = you must
• on/ona mora = he/she must
• mi moramo = we must
• vi morate = you must
• oni moraju = they must

So Moramo orezati... literally starts as We must prune...

Because after moramo, Croatian normally uses the infinitive of the main verb.

So the structure is:

• moramo = we must
• orezati = to prune

Together:

• Moramo orezati = We must prune

This works much like English must + base verb:

• We must prune
• Moramo orezati

Croatian does not need a separate word like to before the infinitive here.

Rezati is the general verb to cut.

Orezati is more specific: it means to prune, to trim back, or to cut back, especially for plants, trees, shrubs, and similar things.

So in a gardening sentence, orezati ružmarin is much more natural than simply rezati ružmarin.

Very roughly:

• rezati = to cut
• orezati = to prune / trim back

Orezati is a perfective verb. In Croatian, perfective verbs often describe a completed whole action.

Here, the idea is not just to be pruning rosemary in general, but to get the pruning done before spring. That is why orezati fits well.

A learner-friendly way to think about it:

• perfective = do the action as a complete event
• imperfective = focus on the process, repetition, or ongoing activity

So Moramo orezati ružmarin prije proljeća suggests:

• this pruning needs to be completed before spring arrives

It is in the object case, but for this noun the form happens to look the same.

Ružmarin is a masculine inanimate noun. In the singular, masculine inanimate nouns usually have:

• nominative = same form
• accusative = same form

So:

• ružmarin = rosemary
• orezati ružmarin = to prune rosemary

That is normal.

Compare this with a masculine animate noun, where the accusative often changes:

• pas = dog
• vidim psa = I see the dog

But with ružmarin, there is no visible change.

Proljeća is in the genitive singular.

The basic form is:

• proljeće = spring

After the preposition prije = before, Croatian uses the genitive.

So:

• prije + genitive
• prije proljeća = before spring

This is something you usually just learn as a fixed rule:

• prije ljeta = before summer
• prije zime = before winter
• prije proljeća = before spring

Because prije requires the genitive case, not the nominative.

So the correct form is:

• prije proljeća

not:

• prije proljeće

This is very common in Croatian: many prepositions always go with a specific case, and prije always takes the genitive.

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

So ružmarin can mean:

• rosemary
• the rosemary

And prije proljeća can mean:

• before spring
• before the spring

The exact meaning depends on context.

This is normal in Croatian. Learners often want to insert a word for the, but Croatian simply does not use one.

Because Croatian often drops subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb ending.

The ending -mo in moramo already tells you the subject is we.

So:

• Moramo orezati ružmarin. = We have to prune rosemary.
• Mi moramo orezati ružmarin. = We have to prune rosemary.

Both are correct, but the version without mi is more neutral and natural in many contexts.

If you add mi, it often gives extra emphasis, such as:

• we have to prune it, not someone else

Grammatically, moramo is present tense, but the whole sentence expresses a current obligation about a future action.

So the meaning is something like:

• We have to prune the rosemary before spring
• We need to prune the rosemary before spring

In other words:

• the obligation exists now
• the pruning will happen before spring

This is very normal in both Croatian and English.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The given sentence:

• Moramo orezati ružmarin prije proljeća.

is a very neutral, natural order.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Ružmarin moramo orezati prije proljeća.
• Prije proljeća moramo orezati ružmarin.

These versions change the focus or emphasis, not the basic meaning.

For example:

• Prije proljeća moramo orezati ružmarin. puts more emphasis on before spring

So for learners, the original order is a good default, but it is useful to know that Croatian is flexible.

A simple English-friendly guide:

• ružmarin ≈ roozh-ma-rin
• proljeća ≈ pro-lye-cha

A few useful sound notes:

• ž sounds like the s in measure
• lj sounds like a soft ly
• ć is a soft ch sound

So:

• ružmarin: the ž is not like English z
• proljeća: the lj is one combined sound, and ća is softer than a hard English cha

Yes. Depending on context, orezati can be translated as:

• prune
• trim back
• cut back

So all of these could work:

• We must prune the rosemary before spring.
• We have to trim back the rosemary before spring.
• We need to cut back the rosemary before spring.

The best English choice depends on style and how technical or natural you want the sentence to sound. For gardening, prune is often the clearest match.