Breakdown of Punomoć i rukoznak su valjani.
biti
to be
i
and
punomoć
power of attorney
rukoznak
a signature mark
Questions & Answers about Punomoć i rukoznak su valjani.
Why is the verb su plural when punomoć and rukoznak are both singular words?
Because they form a compound subject: punomoć i rukoznak = power of attorney and hand-sign/manual mark.
In Croatian, two singular nouns joined by i (and) normally take a plural verb:
- Punomoć je valjana. = The power of attorney is valid.
- Rukoznak je valjan. = The hand-sign is valid.
- Punomoć i rukoznak su valjani. = The power of attorney and the hand-sign are valid.
So su is the correct form of to be here.
Why is the adjective valjani and not valjana or valjane?
The adjective has to agree with the subject in number and gender.
Here the subject is plural because it contains two items. But the two nouns have different genders:
- punomoć = feminine
- rukoznak = masculine
When Croatian has a mixed-gender plural subject, the normal default agreement is masculine plural. That is why you get:
- valjani
If both nouns were feminine, you would expect valjane.
What genders are punomoć and ?