C8 M1 L2 Grammar
8 | Modul 1: Gramatika
Kvaliteta života
8 | 1 | Lekcija 2: Nešto za pregristi
| The verb JESTI
The verb jesti (to eat) belongs to the -sti group of verbs. The infinitive ending in –sti never has the same Present Tense and Infinitive bases.
SINGULAR | PLURAL | ||||
ja | je-d-em | mi | je-d-emo | ||
ti | je-d-eš | vi | je-d-ete | ||
on/-a/-o | je-d-e | oni/-e/-a | je-d-u | ||
The past tense of the verb jesti is also irregular.
singular | plural | |
masc. | Prijatelj je jeo tortu. | Prijatelji su jeli tortu. |
fem. | Prijateljica je jela tortu. | Prijateljice su jele tortu. |
neut. | Dijete je jelo tortu. | Djeca su jela tortu. |
Generally, verbs jesti and piti are followed by direct objects. This means that you need to use the Accusative case in the following noun after the verb jesti or piti. There are times when we can also use the Genitive case with verbs jesti and piti. There will be more about this in the following lessons.
8.1 Zadatak 3. Što jedemo? Što pijemo?
Read the sentences carefully and choose the appropriate logical ending.
8.1 Zadatak 4. Što jedemo? Što pijemo?
Read the sentences carefully and use the appropriate verb – jesti or piti. You might need to change the form of the verb based on the subject.
| The Genitive Case with PUNO and MALO
The Genitive case is used when you want to express a certain amount of quantity. So far you learned that you can say: Ja želim mlijeko (I want a milk); Ja želim tortu (I want a cake); Ja želim pivo (I want a beer). Implicitly, these sentences indicate that you want ‘’an entire bottle of milk,’’ ‘’an entire cake,’’ and ‘’a bottle of beer.’’ Thus, in those cases you use the Accusative case.
However, if you want to imply that you want to have just a little bit / few (malo), some (nekoliko), [quite] enough (dosta), or many (puno/mnogo) – you need to use the Genitive case.
The use of the Genitive indicates that you are taking a certain amount from a larger quantity. In Croatian the quantifiers (especially those indicating ''just a little bit'') are usually not used in speech, similar to English: “I want milk” usually means I want ‘some unspecified amount of’ milk. In this situation Croatian uses the Genitive case to express the same meaning.
Endings for the Genitive case:
Nominative | kolač | torta | pivo |
Genitive sing. | -a | -e | -a |
Genitive pl. | -â | -â | -â |
* Genitive plural -â is usually written just as -a. However, in speech it is pronounced as a long -a /aa/.
8.1 Zadatak 5. Jednina ili množina?
Listen to the following sentences and indicate whether each of the sentences indicates the singular or plural form of the Genitive case. Remember, the Genitive plural -â is pronounced longer than the singular -a ending.
8.1 Zadatak 6. Koliko?
Listen to the following sentences and indicate whether each of the sentences implies --the entire quantity-- or just --some unspecified amount-- of something.
8.1 Zadatak 7. Puno ili malo?
Finish the sentences so they are true for you and they represent your opinion. Use the following words.
mlijeko | pivo | sok | voda | vino | jogurt |
meso | riba | kolači | torta | banana | limun |
Images used in this document are from these sources.
