Collective Nouns for Young Animals: The Suffix -ad
To refer to a group of offspring or young animals, Croatian uses collective nouns ending in the suffix -ad. Instead of a standard plural, this suffix creates a single word for the whole group.
| calves | telad |
Feminine Singular Agreement
Although these words translate to English plurals, they are always grammatically feminine singular in Croatian.
Any adjectives, pronouns, or verbs used with these nouns must take feminine singular endings (like ova, mala, and past-tense verbs ending in -a).
| These calves are hungry and must enter the barn. | Ova je telad gladna i mora ući u štalu. |
| The small piglets are running fast around the barn. | Mala prasad brzo trči oko štale. |
This rule applies not just to farm animals, but also to human offspring, like grandchildren (unučad).
| Our grandchildren came in order to celebrate the birthday. | Naša unučad došla je kako bi slavila rođendan. |
Genitive Case: Adding -i
Because nouns ending in -ad are feminine nouns that end in a consonant, their genitive form simply adds -i (for example, štenad becomes štenadi). You will use this form after quantities and fractions.
| Half of the puppies slept in the warm house. | Polovica štenadi spavala je u toploj kući. |
| A third of the grandchildren already go to school. | Trećina unučadi već ide u školu. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
