Questions & Answers about Stari ljudi su spori.
Why do the adjectives stari and spori both end in -i?
In Croatian, adjectives must match the gender and number of the noun they describe. Because ljudi (people) is a masculine plural noun in the nominative case, the adjectives take the masculine plural ending, which is -i.
What are the base singular forms of those adjectives?
The standard dictionary forms (masculine singular) are star (old) and spor (slow). You simply add -i to make them masculine plural.
Is ljudi a regular masculine noun?
No, ljudi (people) is an irregular noun. It is the plural form of čovjek (man/human). However, even though the word changes completely, it still counts as a masculine plural noun for grammar, which is why it forces the adjectives to take the -i ending.
Why is su placed right after Stari ljudi instead of after the very first word?
Su (are) is a 'clitic'—a short, unstressed word that usually needs to be in the second position of a sentence. Because Stari ljudi (old people) is a single connected phrase acting as the subject, it counts together as the first position. So, su naturally follows the whole block.
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