Questions & Answers about Zgrada je crna i bijela.
Why do the adjectives crna and bijela end in -a?
In Croatian, adjectives have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because zgrada (building) is a feminine noun, the adjectives take the feminine ending -a. If you were describing a masculine noun, they would be crn and bijel.
How can I tell that zgrada is a feminine noun?
The easiest way to spot a feminine noun in Croatian is by its ending. Most nouns that end in -a in their basic, dictionary form (the nominative case) are feminine. Since zgrada ends in -a, it is a feminine noun.
If I look up the adjectives for black and white in a dictionary, will I find crna and bijela?
Dictionaries list adjectives in their masculine singular form. You will actually find crn for black and bijel for white. When you learn new adjectives, you will need to apply the -a ending yourself when describing feminine nouns like zgrada.
Why does je come right after zgrada, and could I put it at the end of the sentence?
You cannot put je at the end. The word je is a type of word called an enclitic, which just means it is a small, unstressed word. A strict rule in Croatian is that enclitics must sit in the second position of the sentence, which here is right after the first word, Zgrada.