Questions & Answers about Sela nisu daleko.
Why do we use nisu here instead of another form like nije?
nisu is the "they" form of the negative verb "to be" (are not). Since sela (the villages) is plural, we treat it as "they" and must use the matching plural verb nisu.
Wait, doesn't the -a ending on sela mean it is a feminine singular word?
It looks like it, but this is a special rule for neuter words! The singular word for village is selo (neuter, ending in -o). When neuter words become plural, their ending changes to -a. So sela means "villages".
Do I need to change the ending of daleko to match the plural noun sela?
No, you do not. In this sentence, daleko (far) acts as an adverb describing the location. Adverbs do not change their shape to match the noun, so it will always stay daleko no matter what is far away.
If I wanted to just say "They are not far", how would I say that?
You would say Ona nisu daleko. Because sela is a neuter plural noun, the correct Croatian word for "they" in this case is ona. You can also just drop the pronoun completely and say Nisu daleko!
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