Learn Croatian: Ovo jelo je stvarno dobro.

Ovo jelo je stvarno dobro.

This dish is really good.

Breakdown of Ovo jelo je stvarno dobro.

dish, meal (prepared food)

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Questions & Answers about Ovo jelo je stvarno dobro.

Why do ovo, jelo, and dobro all end in -o?

In Croatian, words describing a noun must match its gender. The noun jelo (dish) is neuter, which usually means it ends in -o or -e. Because of this, the word for 'this' must be the neuter form ovo, and the adjective for 'good' must be the neuter form dobro.

Stvarno also ends in -o. Is it matching the neuter gender of jelo too?

Actually, no! In this sentence, stvarno acts as an adverb meaning 'really' (describing how good the dish is), so its ending never changes. It just so happens that in Croatian, most adverbs look exactly like the neuter singular form of an adjective, which is why it also ends in -o.

Could I use hrana instead of jelo here?

You could say Ova hrana je stvarno dobra (notice how the endings change to -a because hrana is feminine!). However, hrana means 'food' in general, while jelo specifically refers to a prepared 'dish' or a 'meal'. Since you are likely commenting on a specific plate of food, jelo is the most natural choice.

I learned that short verbs like je must be in the second position. Why is it the third word here?