Breakdown of Moj brat je visok i mršav.
brat
brother
visok
tall / high (of amount, price)
moj
my
mršav
thin, skinny
Questions & Answers about Moj brat je visok i mršav.
Why do we use visok and mršav here instead of visoki and mršavi?
In Croatian, masculine adjectives have definite and indefinite forms. When an adjective is used after the verb to be to describe the subject, it usually takes the indefinite form. That is why we use the shorter forms visok and mršav without the extra -i at the end.
Can I use the word tanak instead of mršav to mean thin?
Usually not. In Croatian, mršav is used specifically to describe living beings (people or animals) as thin or skinny. The word tanak is used for inanimate objects, like a thin book or a thin slice of bread.
Why is the verb je placed right after Moj brat instead of just Moj?
The word je is an enclitic, which is a stress-free word that usually takes the second grammatical position in a sentence. Because Moj brat acts as a single, inseparable noun phrase meaning my brother, it counts as the entire first position. Therefore, je naturally falls into the second position right after the complete phrase.