Questions & Answers about Boja rajčice je crvena.
Why does the sentence use rajčice instead of the dictionary word rajčica?
Here, the tomato is the owner of the color. To show possession, Croatian uses the genitive case. For feminine nouns that end in -a like rajčica, the ending changes to -e in the genitive singular.
Does the adjective crvena (red) agree with the color or the tomato?
It agrees with boja (color). The core of the sentence is that the color is red. Because boja is a feminine noun in the nominative case (the subject of the sentence), the adjective must take the feminine ending -a, becoming crvena.
Why is the word order boja rajčice? Could I say rajčice boja?
In Croatian, when you use the genitive case to show possession, the possessing noun almost always comes directly after the thing being possessed. So, you literally say color of the tomato (boja rajčice). Saying rajčice boja would sound unnatural.
I usually hear people say paradajz for tomato. How would that change this sentence?
Rajčica is the standard word, but paradajz is extremely common in everyday speech. If you use it, the sentence becomes Boja paradajza je crvena. Because paradajz is a masculine noun, it takes the masculine genitive ending -a instead of -e.
Learn Boja rajčice je crvena and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free