Expressing Age with the Dative
In English, you "are" a certain age. In Croatian, years "are to" you. To express age, Croatian uses the Dative experiencer construction.
Put the person whose age is being described into the Dative case, followed by je (is) and the number of years. You can also use Dative pronouns, like joj (to her) or mu (to him).
| Our grandfather is a hundred years old, he is now a centenarian. | Našem djedu je sto godina, on je sada stogodišnjak. |
| This female centenarian looks as if she is fifty. | Ova stogodišnjakinja izgleda kao da joj je pedeset. |
Animals and Things
This rule applies to everything, not just humans. Animals, plants, and objects experiencing the age also take the Dative case.
| Elephants live a long time; this elephant is only sixty years old. | Slonovi žive dugo, ovom slonu je samo šezdeset godina. |
| Oaks grow slowly, this oak is three hundred years old. | Hrastovi rastu polako, ovom hrastu je tristo godina. |
Future Age
To state how old someone or something will be, keep the subject in the Dative case and use the future tense će biti or bude.
| The parrot will be fifty years old tomorrow! | Papigi će sutra biti pedeset godina! |
| When that old man is a hundred years old, he will become a centenarian. | Kada tom starcu bude sto godina, postat će stogodišnjak. |
Turning an Age
To say someone is "turning" or "reaching" an age, use the verb navršiti. Unlike the Dative construction, this verb takes a standard Nominative subject.
| Grandfather turned eighty years old yesterday. | Djed je jučer navršio osamdeset godina. |
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