Stijenka je tanka.

to be

Breakdown of Stijenka je tanka.

• tanak: thin
• stijenka: the wall of a vessel; thin wall

Questions & Answers about Stijenka je tanka.

What does each word do in Stijenka je tanka.?

• stijenka = a noun, the subject of the sentence
• je = is, the 3rd person singular present tense of biti (to be)
• tanka = an adjective, describing the subject

So the structure is:

noun + is + adjective

This is a very common Croatian sentence pattern.

Why is it tanka and not tanak?

Because tanka has to agree with stijenka.

In Croatian, adjectives change form to match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• often case

Here, stijenka is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

• masculine: tanak
• feminine: tanka
• neuter: tanko

That is why tanka is the correct form here.

How do I know that stijenka is feminine?