The usage of the accusative without prepositions in modern Croatian language

Abstract

The paper discusses the examples of more frequent usage of accusative without prepositions in contemporary Croatian media and in spoken language. Examples of such usage are classified into several groups: 1. syntagms with a defective verb and prepositionless accusative; 2. verb + *nominal word (A) + nominal word (A) < verb + od + nominal word (G) + nominal word (A); 3. intransitive verb → transitive verb. Among the syntagms with the accusative case changes can also be observed in the following group, 4. verb + cognate object → verb + hyponimic object (marginal direct object?). The description confirms that the accusative as full, central case, by which an object is fully comprised, imposes itself upon the marginality of other peripheral cases, e.g. instrumental (with the verb kontaktirati). In spite of the norm that does not recommend the usage of two accusatives without prepositions with verbs of searching but suggests the usage of one prepositionless accusative (or partitive genitive) with a genitive with the preposition od, there are numerous examples of the usage of the verb tražiti with two accusatives without prepositions.

Keywords

• accusative
• direct object
• transitive verbs
• intransitive verbs