Bivši kralj vidi kraljicu.

to see

Breakdown of Bivši kralj vidi kraljicu.

• kralj: a king
• bivši: former; ex-
• kraljica: a queen

Questions & Answers about Bivši kralj vidi kraljicu.

How do I know who is seeing whom in this sentence?

Because Croatian uses case endings.

• bivši kralj is in the nominative case, which usually marks the subject
• kraljicu is in the accusative case, which usually marks the direct object

So the structure is:

• bivši kralj = the former king
• vidi = sees
• kraljicu = the queen

English mostly relies on word order to show this. Croatian uses word order too, but the endings are very important.

Why is it kraljicu and not kraljica?

Because kraljicu is the accusative singular form of kraljica.

The dictionary form is:

• kraljica = queen

But after a verb like vidi when it is the thing/person being seen, Croatian uses the accusative:

• kraljica → kraljicu

So:

• kraljica = subject form
• kraljicu = object form

This is one of the most basic patterns in Croatian grammar.

Why is the adjective bivši in that form?