Welcome to the course!
This grammar explanation will be quite thorough, which is essential for understanding the Croatian language, especially if you do not speak any Slavic language, as you might not easily grasp the logic behind certain grammatical structures otherwise.
However, if you are already familiar with a Slavic language and understand how to use the verb "to be," determine noun gender, and other fundamental concepts explained here, feel free to skip ahead.
Conjugation of 'biti' (To Be)
The verb "to be" (biti) is essential for talking about existence or identity. Its present tense forms are used to say "I am," "you are," "he is," etc., or to indicate where something is located. The present tense forms are:
- Ja sam (I am)
- Ti si (You are, singular informal)
- On/Ona/Ono je (He/She/It is)
- Mi smo (We are)
- Vi ste (You are, plural or singular formal)
- Oni/One su (They are)
- Examples: Ja sam student (I am a student). Moja sestra je dobra (My sister is good). Mi smo dobri prijatelji (We are good friends). Oni su ovdje (They are here).
How to Determine the Gender of a Word
Croatian nouns belong to one of three genders: Masculine, Feminine, or Neuter. Knowing the gender is crucial because it affects the endings of adjectives and other words used with the noun. Generally, the gender is evident from the noun's ending in its basic form (nominative singular):
- Masculine: Most nouns ending in a consonant are masculine (e.g., dom - house, stol - table, učitelj - teacher).
- Feminine: Most nouns ending in -a or -ija are feminine (e.g., žena - woman, knjiga - book, zemlja - earth/land, policija - police).
- Neuter: Most nouns ending in -o or -e are neuter (e.g., selo - village, proljeće - spring).
- Keep in mind: There are some exceptions to these rules, but they apply to the majority of words.
The Nominative Case: The Subject and Naming
The Nominative case is the basic form of a noun or adjective, primarily used for the subject of a sentence (who or what performs the action) or simply to name things. This is the form you will find words in dictionaries.
Nouns: Singular forms follow the gender rules (consonant for M, -a/-ija for F, -o/-e for N). Plural nouns often end in -i, -e, or -a.
- Examples: Singular: dom (m), žena (f), selo (n). Plural: domovi, žene, sela.
Adjectives: Agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Adjectives have different endings for hard and soft stems.
- Hard Stem Examples: Singular: dobar (m), dobra (f), dobro (n). Plural: dobri (all genders).
- Soft Stem Examples: Singular: nježan (m), nježna (f), nježno (n). Plural: nježni (all genders).
Examples: Dobar dom je star (A good house is old). Nježno cvijeće je lijepo (Tender flowers are beautiful). Lijepe žene govore (Beautiful women are speaking).
Demonstrative Pronouns (Nominative) and Why Use Them
Demonstrative pronouns help us specify particular nouns, similar to using "this" or "that" in English. In the Nominative case, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to. Using them helps to clarify exactly which item you mean from a group.
- Singular: ovaj (m), ova (f), ovo (n) - (this, close to the speaker) / taj (m), ta (f), to (n) - (that, close to the listener) / onaj (m), ona (f), ono (n) - (that, far from both)
- Plural: ovi (all genders) - (these) / ti (all genders) - (those) / oni (all genders) - (those, far)
- Examples: Ovaj dom je velik (This house is big). Ta knjiga je moja (That book is mine). Ono je naše selo (That is our village). Ovi ljudi su veseli (These people are cheerful).