Breakdown of Ova knjiga je nova, a slike su stare.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
a
and / but
knjiga
book
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
nov
new
slika
picture
star
old
Questions & Answers about Ova knjiga je nova, a slike su stare.
Why does the word for picture, slika, become slike here?
In Croatian, regular feminine nouns that end in -a in the singular change that ending to -e to become plural (when they are the subject of the sentence). Because we are talking about multiple pictures, slika changes to slike.
Why is the word for old spelled stare instead of stara?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe. Because slike is a feminine plural noun, the adjective describing it also needs the feminine plural ending. Just like regular feminine nouns, these adjectives change their ending from -a (singular) to -e (plural). This is why stara becomes stare. Notice how slike su stare nicely matches its endings!
Why is the word for "and" translated as a instead of i?
In Croatian, i simply adds things together (like "apples and oranges"). The word a is used to show a slight contrast or comparison between two things. Since this sentence compares a new book with old pictures, a is the natural choice. It often translates to "and" or "but" in English depending on how strong the contrast is.
Why do we use je in the first half of the sentence but su in the second?
Both are forms of the verb "to be". You use je (is) for singular subjects, like ova knjiga (this book). You use su (are) for plural subjects, like slike (pictures).
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