Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Learning in the rain

I have no more excuses.  It's raining. Beli is at grandma's. I pulled out the Croatian lesson book. I sit at the table facing the window, then I notice a pretty flower out in the balcony. "Should I cut it or leave it out there?" I wonder. Ah, why not I need color inside the house so I cut it and I place it in a vase next to my books. I turn on the radio and begin to review the grammar rules:





Nouns in Croatian are characterized by gender( masculine,feminine, and neuter), number (singular and plural) and case (there are seven of them).

For now I will tackle the singular and plural forms of nouns. for nouns that are masculine you simply add -i.
prijatelj->..prijatelji.....................friend-friends...........amigo-amigos
student->>studenti......................student-students......estudiante-estudiantes
prozor->>prozori........................window-windows.....ventana-ventanas

with one exception: if it's a noun with one vowel then you add -ov plus -i.
stol->>stolovi............table-tables........mesa-mesas
zid->>zidovi..............wall-walls..........pared-paredes

another exception: if it's a noun with one vowel but noun ends in lj,j, č,š,ž then you add -ev plus i 
miš-miševi...............mouse-mice  .......raton-ratones
jež -ježevi----------hedgehog-hedgehogs.....???(no idea in spanish)
puž -puževi--------snail-snails........caracol-caracoles

another exception: if it's more than one vowel present but noun ends in K change K to C then add i.
jastuk-jastuci-----pillow-pillows.....almohada-almohadas

but if noun ends in H change H to S then  and i.
tepih--tepisi------rug-rugs....tapete-tapetes

AND if noun ends in G change G to Z then and i.
jastog-jastozi......lobster-lobsters...langosta-langostas


I don't mind learning all the rules, because it's easy to memorize them. The difficult part is to put all these rules together and have a conversation, that's the challenging part.  I continue for about an hour. Then I get hungry, so I make salsa and I'm munching away and reading. So far so good! Then Beli and hubby arrive and I can't wait for Beli's reaction when she sees all those stuffed animals I arranged on the bed.
She walks into the room and at first looks around, she doesn't know which toy to grab first. There are too many!



And this flower is also a token of my appreciation for everyone who gave me wonderful words of support. Thank you! Tomorrow I will continue studying, my goal is a minimum of one hour.

13 comments:

  1. Its raining here too and those tiny rainboots are adorable. Great that you are setting yourself goals with the language...I also try to practice my Hungarina 3 times a week:)...I love all those cute stuffed animals.
    Kisses,sweetie

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  2. Oh my gosh, you're the queen. Just reading your post made my brain hurt. Learning a new language is so hard. I speak English, Portuguese, and Spanish all three I learned when I was young. I totally thought I had a knack for languages so I tackled Japanese in college. It was a no go.

    Good luck.

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  3. Keep up the good work! :-))

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  4. Elisa, I am so proud of you and your continuing quest to learn Croatian. Just reading your notes, it seems like a very difficult language to learn (languages have never been my strong point!). I think your dedication is really amazing - and it sets such a positive example for gorgeous Beli! :)
    Even though you don't celebrate Thanksgiving over there, I am thankful for you, and for the opportunity to get to know you through blogging! It's always a joy reading your posts and looking at your beautiful pictures!

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  5. ah good for your for learning! It's not easy to learn new languages as adults! But the kids certainly pick it up fast don't they?

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  6. I am so with you on the whole learning a new language as I'm learning german. the hardest part for me is to remember which of the 3 a noun is (it's like that too) ughhhhh

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  7. Diana. the boots are a gift from Grandma, very cute! Good luck on your weekly studies as well.

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  8. Damaris, well thank you but I'm far from being proficient. I'm doing it so one day Beli won't have to translate for me!

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  9. Allison, thank you. that's very sweet of you. I'm also thankful for people like you. Have a wonderful thanksgiving with your family. I enjoy reading your recipes as well!

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  10. @style'n , Yes! Beli speaks whole sentences! whereas I speak in phrases.hehe. but I'm trying.

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  11. Oh my! you've been progressing and Beli is so big. I missed your blog and all the fantastic stories you tell. good to be back =)

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  12. Želim vam puno kišnih dana.
    And in case you need a little help, go to "Google translate", not as good as the "real stuff", but it helps.

    Pozdravi, pim.
    ps.
    the weather in Holland is plain shit: grey, cold, snow coming and...........maaaamaaaahhhh,
    I want to go back to Svinisce.

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