Questions & Answers about Odakle ste? Mi smo iz Hrvatske.
Why do we use iz instead of od when they both mean "from"?
We use iz when coming from the inside of a geographic place, like a country, city, or building. We use od when coming from a person, or to indicate a starting time. Since Croatia is a country, we use iz.
Why is the word for Croatia spelled Hrvatske here instead of Hrvatska?
The preposition iz requires the noun after it to be in the Genitive case. The standard dictionary form of Croatia is Hrvatska. For most feminine nouns ending in -a, the Genitive ending is -e. So, Hrvatska becomes Hrvatske.
Is the word od (from) part of the question word odakle?
Yes! Odakle is built from od (from) and a root meaning "where". It is the standard question word to ask where someone or something originates from.
Why is the pronoun included in Mi smo (we are) but left out of Odakle ste (where are you from)?
In Croatian, you can usually drop pronouns because the verb ending tells you who the subject is. Odakle ste vi? is also correct, but dropping vi (you) is very natural. In the answer, adding Mi (we) adds a slight emphasis, contrasting "we" with the "you" who just asked the question.