Questions & Answers about Njegova sestra je liječnica.
Why does the word for "his" end in "-a" (Njegova) if the owner is male?
In Croatian, possessive words like njegov (his) must match the gender of the person or thing being owned, not the owner. Since sestra (sister) is a feminine noun, the possessive word takes the feminine ending -a to become Njegova.
Why is there no word for "a" before liječnica?
Croatian does not use articles like "a", "an", or "the". You simply say the noun directly. So, liječnica can mean "doctor", "a doctor", or "the doctor" depending on the context.
Does the word liječnica only refer to a female doctor?
Yes! Croatian has specific words for professions based on the person's gender. Because the sister is female, we use liječnica (female doctor). If we were talking about a brother, we would use the masculine word liječnik (male doctor).
Why does je come after the two words Njegova sestra?
The verb je (is) is a short, unstressed word that usually needs to be in the second position of a sentence. However, Njegova sestra (his sister) counts as a single block of information, so je goes right after the whole phrase.