Questions & Answers about Srećo moja, gdje si sada?
Why does the word for luck or happiness end in -o here (srećo)?
Because it is in the vocative case, which is used when calling or addressing someone directly. The dictionary form is the feminine noun sreća. To form the vocative for feminine nouns ending in -a, that letter usually changes to -o.
If sreća means luck or happiness, why does the sentence translate it to dear?
Literally, srećo moja translates to my happiness. In Croatian, this is a very common and affectionate term of endearment, used exactly like my dear or my darling in English.
Why doesn't the possessive word moja (my) change its ending for the vocative case?
For feminine singular nouns, possessive words and adjectives have the exact same form in the vocative case as they do in the nominative (dictionary) case. Because of this, it simply stays moja.
I learned that small verb words like si must be in the second position. Why is it the third word here?
Words used to call out to someone, like the vocative phrase Srećo moja, are treated as being completely separate from the main sentence structure. The main sentence actually begins with gdje (where), making si (are) the correct second word of that specific clause.
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