Breakdown of Ova jezera su velika.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
velik
big
jezero
lake
Questions & Answers about Ova jezera su velika.
Why do the words ova and velika end in -a? Don't words ending in -a usually mean they are feminine?
It is true that -a is the standard ending for feminine singular words. However, jezera (lakes) is a neuter noun in the plural. In Croatian, neuter plural words almost always end in -a. Because they describe the lakes, the words ova (these) and velika (big) must match this neuter plural form, so they also end in -a. The singular is ovo jezero je veliko.
What is the singular form of jezera?
The singular is jezero (lake). Nouns that are neuter usually end in -o or -e in the singular. To make them plural, you simply drop the -o or -e and add -a.
Why is the word su placed after jezera? I learned that short words like su must be in the second position.
The word su (are) is a short verb that likes to sit in the second position. However, Croatian grammar usually counts complete phrases rather than single words. Here, Ova jezera (These lakes) acts together as a single subject phrase in the first position, so su safely takes the second spot right after it.