Breakdown of Pismenost djece je važna za budućnost.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
dijete
child
važan
important
budućnost
future
za
for (+ accusative)
pismenost
literacy
Questions & Answers about Pismenost djece je važna za budućnost.
Why is the adjective važna in the feminine form?
It agrees with the subject pismenost (literacy). In Croatian, abstract nouns ending in the suffix -ost are feminine, so the adjective must take the feminine singular ending -a.
What case is djece and why?
It is in the genitive case, expressing "of children". Remember that the collective noun for children, djeca, is grammatically treated as a feminine singular noun. Therefore, its genitive form is djece, following the exact same pattern as a regular feminine noun like žena changing to žene.
Why doesn't the word budućnost change its ending after the preposition za?
The preposition za requires the accusative case here because it points to a purpose or goal. Since budućnost is a feminine noun ending in a consonant, its accusative form is exactly the same as its nominative form, so the spelling doesn't change.
Could I say dječja pismenost instead of using the genitive pismenost djece?
Yes, you can! Using a relational adjective like dječja (children's) is perfectly natural and means exactly the same thing. You will often see the genitive case and relational adjectives used interchangeably in Croatian for this kind of phrase.
Learn Pismenost djece je važna za budućnost and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free