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Questions & Answers about Oni jesu žedni.
Why is the verb jesu used here instead of the usual su?
Jesu is the full (or emphatic) form of the verb 'to be' for 'they'. You learned su earlier, which is the short form. We use the full form here to add emphasis, like saying 'They ARE thirsty' in English, perhaps to contradict someone who said they weren't.
Can I drop the pronoun oni and just say Jesu žedni?
Yes, you can. In Croatian, you can usually drop pronouns. However, keeping oni adds even more emphasis to the sentence. Also, remember that short forms like su cannot start a sentence, but full forms like jesu can.
Why does the adjective žedni end in -i?
Adjectives must match the pronoun they describe. Because oni (they) is a plural pronoun for a masculine or mixed-gender group, the adjective takes the masculine plural ending -i. If the group was entirely female (one), it would be žedne.
If I wanted to ask 'Are they thirsty?', would I use jesu?
Yes! Full forms of the verb 'to be' are used to ask yes/no questions. You would put jesu at the start of the sentence with the question word li, making it Jesu li oni žedni?.