Pas ima buvu na repu i krpelja na šapi.

to have

Breakdown of Pas ima buvu na repu i krpelja na šapi.

• i: and
• pas: dog
• na: on

Questions & Answers about Pas ima buvu na repu i krpelja na šapi.

Why is it pas, not psa?

Because pas is the subject of the sentence, so it stays in the nominative case.

• pas = dog / the dog
• Nominative is the basic dictionary form for the subject.

You would see psa in other roles, for example as a direct object:

• Vidim psa. = I see the dog.

But here the dog is the one that has something:

• Pas ima... = The dog has...

Why are buvu and krpelja not in their basic forms buva and krpelj?

Because they are direct objects of the verb ima (has), so they go into the accusative case.

• buva → buvu
• krpelj → krpelja

So:

• Pas ima buvu. = The dog has a flea.
• Pas ima krpelja. = The dog has a tick.

The changes happen for different reasons:

• buva is a feminine noun, and feminine nouns in -a often change to -u in the accusative singular.
• krpelj is a masculine animate noun, and masculine animate nouns often take the same form as the in the accusative singular, hence .