Word
Oni su umorni, a mi smo sretni.
Meaning
They are tired, and we are happy.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Oni su umorni, a mi smo sretni.
Why are oni and mi used here instead of being dropped?
Croatian usually drops subject pronouns like oni (they) and mi (we) because the verb words su and smo already tell us who is doing the action. However, they are kept here to create a strong contrast between the two groups. You are specifically highlighting that they are tired while we are happy.
Can I start the sentence with su or the second clause with smo?
No, su and smo are "clitics", which are short, unstressed words. A strict rule in Croatian is that clitics cannot be the very first word in a sentence or a clause. They naturally fall into the second position, which is why they are safely placed right after oni and mi.
Why do the adjectives umorni and sretni end in -i?
The -i ending on these adjectives means they are in the masculine plural form. In Croatian, you use the masculine plural when a group is all male, or a mixed group of males and females. If the groups of people being talked about were entirely female, the adjectives would end in -e (umorne, sretne), and the word for "they" would be the feminine pronoun one.
Why is a used for "and" here instead of i?