Breakdown of Žene su ovdje, a studenti su tamo.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
a
and / but
ovdje
here
tamo
there
žena
woman
student
student
Questions & Answers about Žene su ovdje, a studenti su tamo.
Why does žena become žene in the plural, while student becomes studenti?
They belong to different noun genders. Žena (woman) is a regular feminine noun ending in -a. These nouns form their plural by changing the -a to -e (žene). On the other hand, student is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, which typically takes an -i ending in the plural (studenti).
The translation says "and", so why use a instead of i?
In Croatian, i simply connects things (like a standard "and"), while a shows a contrast or comparison. Since this sentence contrasts two different groups located in two different places, a is the natural choice. Think of it as meaning "whereas" or "while" in this context.
Why is the verb su placed exactly where it is in both halves of the sentence?
Su (are) is an enclitic, which is a short, unstressed word that strongly prefers the second position in a sentence or clause. In the first part, it comes right after the first word (žene), and in the second clause after the conjunction, it takes the second spot right after studenti.
What is the exact difference between ovdje and tamo?
Ovdje means "here" (close to the person speaking), and tamo means "there" or "over there" (far away from both the speaker and the listener). You might also remember the word tu, which means "there" but specifically implies being close to the person you are talking to. Contrasting ovdje and tamo is perfect for pointing out two widely separated groups.
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