6 | 2 | Lekcija 1: Mislimo na druge

| The Dative Case

The Dative case might seem tricky because the rules on when to use it are not very straightforward. Fortunately, the noun and adjective endings for the Dative case are identical to those used in the Locative, so you only have to learn them once. The Dative is most commonly used without prepositions as an indirect object, mostly describing to whom something is given or for whom something is done:

| Confused by direct and indirect objects?

Consider sentences where the verb is followed by two nouns:

One of those nouns will be the direct object; it directly receives the action of the verb. You can identify it by asking “whom” or “what” after the verb.

In the second example, “toys” is the direct object. In the Croatian translation of these sentences, the direct object will be expressed by nouns in the Accusative case.

The other noun following the verb in the example sentences is the indirect object.  You can identify it by asking “to whom” or “for whom” after the verb.

Indirect objects express the beneficiary of an action. In the Croatian translation of these sentences, the indirect object will be expressed by nouns in the Dative case. Note: Because the Dative case expresses the idea of «to whom?» and «for whom?» an action happens, the case is often used with proper names.

| Foreign Names

Foreign names like Sonia and John will decline because they fit easily into typical Croatian declension patterns. If the foreign names do not fit into Croatian declensional patterns, they will not decline. For example, names like Rachel or Emme do not decline because they are women's names that end in a consonant like a masculine noun (Rachel) or in a vowel other than -a (Emme).

6.2 Zadatak 1. Pokloni

Look at the picture and choose the correct sentence that corresponds to a picture.

6.2 Zadatak 2. Kome što pokloniti

Read the following statements for each person. It tells you what each family member likes. Then, read the sentences and indicate for whom each gift would be the most appropriate.

6.2 Zadatak 3. Kome ćeš pokloniti?

Who is the intended recipient? Listen to the sentences and indicate who will receive a gift. Mark on for any masculine noun recipient, ona for feminine noun recipients, or oni for any plural nouns recipients).

6.2 Zadatak 4. Kome pokloniti?

Read the following statements for each group of people. It tells you what each group likes. Then, read the sentences and indicate for whom each gift would be the most appropriate.

*Remember – nouns braća (brothers) and djeca (children), grammatically follow the feminine singular declension pattern, even though they are technically plural.

| The Verb MOĆI

The verb moći means to be able to, to have the possibility or permission to do something. It is a modal verb and is always followed by another verb in its infinitive form. The most frequent translation of the verb also implies the notion you can do something. You already encountered this verb in Unit 4.

As you can see, the verb has the same form in the 1st person singular (ja) and 3rd person plural (oni/one/ona). Usually the context of your speech will help the interlocutors understand who the conversation is about.

6.2 Zadatak 5. Što možemo kupiti?

Read the following sentences and indicate who is the subject in each sentence. Remember that a 3rd person singular and plural have the same form.

6.2 Zadatak 6. Kome ćeš pokloniti?

Choose the correct statement.

Images used in this document are from these sources.