Čudo je da je predana prtljaga stigla.

to be

Breakdown of Čudo je da je predana prtljaga stigla.

• da: that
• stići: to arrive
• predana prtljaga: checked baggage

Questions & Answers about Čudo je da je predana prtljaga stigla.

Why are there two je in this sentence?

They are the same word, but they do two different jobs.

• In Čudo je ..., je is the present tense of biti and works like the English is.
• In da je ... stigla, je is the auxiliary used to form the perfect tense.

So:

• Čudo je = It is a miracle / It’s surprising
• je stigla = has arrived / arrived

Croatian often uses the same form of biti both as a main linking verb and as a tense auxiliary.

What does Čudo je da ... mean grammatically?

It is a very common Croatian pattern for commenting on a situation.

Literally, čudo means miracle, wonder, or surprising thing.
So Čudo je da ... is literally something like:

• It is a miracle that ...
• It’s surprising that ...
• It’s amazing that ...

Grammatically, čudo is a noun, but the whole expression functions like an English comment clause.

Similar Croatian patterns are:

• Šteta je da ... = It’s a pity that ...
• Dobro je da ... = It’s good that ...
• Važno je da ... = It’s important that ...