Yes/No Questions with "li"
To ask a yes/no question in Croatian, the most common formal structure is to put the main verb at the very beginning of the sentence and immediately follow it with the question particle li.
| Does the employer know about that job vacancy? | Zna li poslodavac za taj natječaj? |
The Clitic Cluster Order
Croatian sentences frequently use clitics—short, unstressed words like the reflexive se or pronouns like vam and ga. These clitics must cluster together in the second position of the sentence.
When you form a question using li, the golden rule of the clitic cluster applies: li always takes the absolute first position in the cluster, ahead of any other short words.
| to introduce oneself | predstaviti se |
| Can you introduce yourself, sir? | Možete li se predstaviti, gospodine? |
Notice how li comes right after the first word, pushing the reflexive se further down the line. This strict order remains in place even when you add more pronouns to the mix.
| Do you like his resume? | Sviđa li vam se njegov životopis? |
Working with "Je li"
When asking questions using the third-person singular of the verb to be, you will start with Je, followed immediately by li. Any additional pronoun clitics will then line up right after li.
| Is that candidate familiar to you? | Je li vam taj kandidat poznat? |
| Did the employer give him the resume? | Je li mu poslodavac dao životopis? |
Job Interview Practice
Let's put this strict clitic order into practice with vocabulary you might hear during a job interview. No matter how much information is packed into the question, li always protects its spot at the very front of the cluster.
| Are you afraid of that working responsibility? | Bojite li se te radne odgovornosti? |
| Can you introduce yourself fluently in Croatian? | Možete li se tečno predstaviti na hrvatskom? |
