Questions & Answers about Ona je sjela na stolicu.
Why is it stolicu and not stolici? Doesn't na usually take the locative case for locations?
You use the locative case (like na stolici) when describing where something is already resting. But because she is moving onto the chair, the preposition na takes the accusative case here to show destination. That is why the ending changes to -u in stolicu.
Why use the verb sjela instead of sjedila?
Croatian uses different verbs to show if an action is ongoing or completed. Sjela comes from sjesti, which means the completed action of sitting down. If you used sjedila (from sjediti), it would mean she was in the ongoing state of sitting.
Why does sjela end in "-a"?
In the Croatian past tense, the main action word must match the gender of the subject. Because ona (she) is feminine, the verb takes the feminine singular ending -a. If a man sat down, it would be sjeo.
Can I drop the word Ona and just say "Je sjela na stolicu"?
You can drop the pronoun Ona, but you cannot start a sentence with the short word je. If you leave out Ona, the verb parts must swap places so that je is in the second position: Sjela je na stolicu.
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