Singular pronouns and to be (sam, si, je)

Subject pronouns

To talk about yourself and others, use these singular subject pronouns:

• ja (I)
• ti (you, singular informal)
• on (he)
• ona (she)

The verb "to be" and dropping pronouns

The short, present-tense forms of biti (to be) for singular subjects are:

• sam (am)
• si (are)
• je (is)

Because these verbs clearly show who is performing the action, Croatian speakers usually drop the subject pronouns. You do not need to say "I" or "you" unless you are adding emphasis.

The second-position rule

The short forms of biti (sam, si, je) are unstressed "clitics." A major rule in Croatian grammar is that clitics cannot start a sentence. They must always sit in the second position of a sentence or clause.

When asking questions with words like tko (who) or gdje (where), the short form of "to be" tucks right into the second position, immediately after the question word.

When starting a statement with a location like ovdje (here), the clitic also goes second:

If you add a pronoun, the clitic sits directly after it:

Adding emphasis

Keep pronouns to emphasize or contrast two people or locations (like tamo, meaning "there"). This is often used with the conjunction a (and / but).