Breakdown of Jesi li se odmarao jučer?
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
li
question particle
jučer
yesterday
odmarati se
to rest
Questions & Answers about Jesi li se odmarao jučer?
Why does this past tense question start with Jesi (are) instead of a word for "did"?
In Croatian, there is no direct translation for the helper word "did." Instead, the past tense is always built using the verb biti (to be). Since you are asking "you" (singular), you use jesi. To make it a yes/no question, you add the question particle li right after it.
Why is the word se placed between li and the main verb?
The verb for "to rest" is odmarati se, which is a reflexive verb, meaning it always needs that little se. Short, unstressed words like li and se have to bunch together near the start of the sentence in a strict order. The question word li always comes first in this group, so se is placed right after it.
Does this sentence change if I am asking a woman?
Yes, it does! In the Croatian past tense, the main action word must match the gender of the person doing the action. The verb odmarao ends in -o, which means we are asking a male. If you were asking a female, the verb would need an -a ending: Jesi li se odmarala jučer?
What happened to the pronoun ti (you)?
Croatian usually drops subject pronouns like ja (I) or ti (you) because the helper verb (jesi) already makes it completely clear who you are talking to. You would only add ti if you really wanted to emphasize "you" specifically.
Learn Jesi li se odmarao jučer 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