Question 1

Wait, where is the helping verb je for the past tense? Shouldn't it be "Je li je..."?

Accepted Answer

Good catch! Normally, the past tense for "he" needs the helping verb je. But because the yes/no question already starts with Je li, adding another je would sound repetitive (Je li je...). In Croatian, we always drop that second je. So, Je li se odmarao? means "Did he rest?".

Question 2

What is the word se doing in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

It is part of the verb! In Croatian, the verb "to rest" is odmarati se. It is a reflexive verb, which means it always needs that little word se. Because se is a short word that needs to lean on others (an enclitic), it jumps to the second position in the sentence, right after Je li.

Question 3

How do we know the sentence means "Did HE rest" and not "she"?

Accepted Answer

We know it is "he" because of the ending on the main verb, odmarao. In the past tense, verbs change their endings based on gender. The -o ending tells us it is masculine. If it were a female resting, the verb would end in -la (Je li se odmarala?).

Question 4

Why don't the words for "last week" (prošli tjedan) change their endings here?

Accepted Answer

They actually are in a different case! When expressing a time phrase like "last week", Croatian uses the accusative case. However, because tjedan (week) is a masculine noun that is inanimate (not alive), its accusative form looks exactly the same as its basic dictionary form.

Je li se odmarao prošli tjedan?

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