Learn Croatian: Jesu li studenti zauzeti?

To ask a yes/no question using the question word li, you must use the full (emphatic) form of the verb "to be" at the very beginning of the sentence. The full form for "they are" is jesu. You cannot use the short form su here because short verb forms are never allowed to be the first word in a Croatian sentence.

Does the question word li always come right after the verb?

Yes, in this type of question structure, the tiny question word li must come immediately after the full verb. You will always see the pairing Jesu li, Jesi li, Jesmo li, etc. You cannot separate them by putting other words in between.

Is there another way to ask this question using the short form su?

Yes! You can use the popular question phrase Da li at the start of the sentence instead. If you do that, you use the short form su: Da li su studenti zauzeti? Both versions are very common and mean exactly the same thing.

Why does the word for busy, zauzeti, end with an -i?