Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Croatian: Uzorak je jednostavan. - The pattern is simple.

Hardcore Croatian
/Making pottery with friends at a workshop
/Uzorak je jednostavan.

Uzorak je jednostavan.

Word

Uzorak je jednostavan.

Meaning

The pattern is simple.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Croatian

Lesson

Making pottery with friends at a workshop

Breakdown of Uzorak je jednostavan.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Croatian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Croatian now

Questions & Answers about Uzorak je jednostavan.

Why is je used here?

Je is the 3rd person singular present-tense form of biti (to be), so it means is.

So:

Uzorak = the sample / the pattern
je = is
jednostavan = simple

Croatian often uses je exactly where English uses is in sentences like this.

Can je be omitted?

Normally, no. In a regular present-tense statement like Uzorak je jednostavan, you keep je.

Croatian sometimes omits forms of to be in certain styles, headlines, or informal contexts, but for normal learner-level sentences, you should treat je as necessary here.

Why is jednostavan in that form?

Because it has to agree with uzorak.

Uzorak is:

singular
masculine
nominative

So the adjective also appears in the masculine singular nominative form:

masculine: jednostavan
feminine: jednostavna
neuter: jednostavno

Examples:

Uzorak je jednostavan.
Metoda je jednostavna.
Rješenje je jednostavno.

How do we know uzorak is masculine?

A very common clue in Croatian is the ending of the noun.

Nouns ending in a consonant are often masculine, and uzorak ends in -k, so it is masculine.

That is why the adjective is also masculine: jednostavan.

Is uzorak in the nominative case here?

Yes. Uzorak is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular.

In a sentence like Uzorak je jednostavan, the subject is nominative, and the predicate adjective also matches that nominative form.

So this is the basic dictionary-like form of both words:

uzorak
jednostavan

Why is there no word for the or a?

Because Croatian does not have articles like English a and the.

So Uzorak je jednostavan can mean:

The sample is simple
A sample is simple
The pattern is simple

Which English version is best depends on context.

Croatian usually leaves that kind of definiteness to context instead of using articles.

Can the word order be changed?

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral, straightforward order is:

Uzorak je jednostavan.

But you could also change the order for emphasis, for example:

Jednostavan je uzorak.

That sounds more marked or stylistic, with extra focus on jednostavan.

For learners, Uzorak je jednostavan is the safest and most natural basic order.

How would I make this sentence negative or turn it into a question?

To make it negative, use nije (is not):

Uzorak nije jednostavan. = The sample is not simple.

To make it a yes/no question, a common pattern is Je li ... ?

Je li uzorak jednostavan? = Is the sample simple?

You may also hear:

Je li jednostavan uzorak?

But Je li uzorak jednostavan? is the clearest standard version for learners.

How is je pronounced?

Je is pronounced roughly like yeh.

A few helpful points:

j in Croatian sounds like English y in yes
e is a clear short e, like eh

So je is not pronounced like English jee or jay. It is closer to yeh.

Do I need a pronoun like it in this sentence?

No. Croatian does not require a separate pronoun here.

English often says:

It is simple.

But in Croatian, if the noun is already there, you just say:

Uzorak je jednostavan.

The noun uzorak already tells you what is being talked about, so no extra it is needed.

Could jednostavan come before the noun, like jednostavan uzorak?

Yes, but that creates a different structure.

Uzorak je jednostavan. = The sample is simple.
jednostavan uzorak = a simple sample / simple pattern

So:

Uzorak je jednostavan is a full sentence.
jednostavan uzorak is just a noun phrase, not a complete sentence by itself.

That difference is important:

Adjective after the verb here = predicate adjective
Adjective before the noun = adjective directly modifying the noun

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io