To ask what something is or what is happening, use the question word Što (what) followed by the verb je (is).
Accusative Pronouns
When a pronoun is the direct object of a verb (such as me, you, him, or her), Croatian uses short accusative pronouns:
- me (me)
- te (you, singular)
- ga (him / it)
- ju (her)
The Second Position Rule
These short pronouns are "clitics." They follow a very strict rule in Croatian: they must take the second position in the sentence.
This means they usually come right after the first word, regardless of whether that first word is a noun, a subject pronoun, or an adverb.
This rule is so strong that it dictates the sentence flow even when starting with a question word or a time word:
The exact same strict placement applies to the third-person pronouns ga (him/it) and ju (her):
Because the pronoun is securely locked into the second position, the rest of the sentence is quite flexible. In English, we usually say "The family is waiting for me at home," but in Croatian, you can start with "At home" (Doma) as long as the pronoun me takes the second spot: