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Učitelj je jutros šetao.

Učitelj je jutros šetao.
The teacher walked this morning.
From Lesson 43:The past tense: l-participle (radio, radila)·Croatian

Questions & Answers about Učitelj je jutros šetao.

Why does the verb šetao end in -o if this lesson is about the l-participle?
In Croatian, the masculine singular form of the past tense originally ended in -l (and still does for plurals, like šetali). However, over time, an -l at the very end of a word changed into an -o. For a masculine subject like učitelj, you take the infinitive šetati, drop the -ti, and add -o to get šetao.
What is je doing in this sentence?
The word je is a helping verb (the short form of biti for he/she/it). In Croatian, the past tense is made of two parts: this helping verb and the main action word (šetao). Together, je šetao translates to he walked.
Why is je placed right after Učitelj instead of next to šetao?
The word je is an enclitic, which is a weak word that strictly demands the second position in a sentence. It jumps right after the first word (Učitelj), naturally separating itself from the main verb (šetao) at the end of the sentence.
How does the word jutros differ from just saying jutro?
The word jutro is the noun for morning. Adding the -s to the end turns it into an adverb meaning specifically this morning. You will see this same -s ending in words like večeras (this evening) or danas (today).
How would this sentence change if the teacher were a woman?
The noun would change to učiteljica (female teacher). Because the past tense action word must match the gender of the subject, the masculine šetao changes to the feminine form šetala. The whole sentence becomes: Učiteljica je jutros šetala.

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