Questions & Answers about Moja ruka je čista.
Why do both Moja and čista end in -a?
In Croatian, possessive words (like Moja) and adjectives (like čista) must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because ruka (hand) is a feminine noun, both of these words take the feminine singular ending -a.
Does ruka mean "hand" or "arm"?
It actually means both! In Croatian, ruka is used for the entire arm from the shoulder to the fingertips. You usually figure out whether it means "hand" or "arm" based on the context of the conversation.
Could I put the verb je earlier and say Moja je ruka čista?
Yes, you can. The word je is a "clitic" (a small, unstressed word) that needs to be in the second position of a sentence. It can count the first full phrase (Moja ruka) as position one, or just the very first word (Moja). Both are grammatically correct.
How would this sentence change if I used a masculine noun, like prst (finger)?
You would need to change the possessive word and the adjective to their masculine forms. "My finger is clean" would be Moj prst je čist. Notice how the feminine -a endings disappear for masculine words.