Definite and Indefinite Adjectives — Croatian Grammar

Most Croatian adjectives come in two versions, a short one and a long one, and English has nothing corresponding to the choice. Croatian has no words for a and the; this pair does part of that job instead. The difference is easiest to see on a masculine noun acting as the subject, where the long form is simply the short one plus -i:

Indefinite: ((a) new)
Definite: (the (specific) new)

Roughly, the indefinite form behaves like English "a new (one)" and the definite like "the new (one)" - but the choice in Croatian depends less on articles (it has none) and more on the grammatical position, as below.

When to Use the Indefinite (Short) Form

Use the indefinite form when the adjective is a predicate - that is, after the verb (to be), telling you what the subject is like. This is extremely common, so you will hear short forms constantly after , and .

Auto je nov.
The car is new.
On je bolestan.
He is sick.
Zdrav sam.
I am healthy.

The indefinite form also fits a noun that is new to the conversation - one specimen among many, not a particular known one.

Trebam nov auto.
I need a new car (any new car).

When to Use the Definite (Long) Form

Use the definite form when the adjective marks a specific, already-known thing. It is the form that appears after demonstratives like (this) or (that), and it is the only form that classifying (relational) adjectives ever take.

Taj mali pas je sladak.
That little dog is cute.
Stari radio je tamo.
The old radio is over there.

The superlative is always definite, because "the most ..." singles out one specific thing.

Ovo je najbolji restoran.
This is the best restaurant.

How the Forms Differ

The masculine nominative singular is the clearest place - the definite adds -i:

(new), (old), (good)

A few adjectives drop a fleeting -a- when the ending is added: becomes , not "dobari".

In the masculine and neuter oblique cases the two also differ, the definite endings being longer. Modern Croatian, however, normally uses the long (definite) endings in these cases regardless, so in practice the masculine nominative singular is where you genuinely choose between the two.

Genitive: indefinite versus definite
Dative / locative: indefinite versus definite

The feminine forms, the neuter nominative, and the entire plural look the same in both: (f), (n), and / / in the plural. So the indefinite/definite split is really a masculine-and-neuter, mostly-singular affair.

The Adjective Still Agrees

Whichever form you pick, the adjective continues to agree with its noun in gender, number and case, exactly like any other adjective.

Ova voda je hladna.
This water is cold.
Vrijeme je hladno.
The weather is cold.
Oni nisu sretni.
They are not happy.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Croatian course

66 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 8. A few of them, with the words “Definite and Indefinite Adjectives” is about in bold:

Osjećam se odlično! Nisam bolestan. Zdrav sam.
I feel great! I am not sick. I am healthy.
Lesson 64
Dobar dan, doktore. Imam problem.
Hello, Doctor. I have a problem.
Lesson 91
Ona ima spor, jeftin auto.
She has a slow, cheap car.
Lesson 110

Comments

Loading comments…