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Learn Hardcore Croatian: Mač je star. - The sword is old.

Hardcore Croatian
/Spending a weekend at a music festival
/Mač je star.

Mač je star.

Word

Mač je star.

Meaning

The sword is old.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Croatian

Lesson

Spending a weekend at a music festival

Breakdown of Mač je star.

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Questions & Answers about Mač je star.

What does je mean here?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti, which means to be.

So:

mač = sword
je = is
star = old

In Croatian, unlike in some other Slavic languages, this verb is normally not omitted in a standard sentence like this.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Croatian does not have articles.

So mač can mean:

a sword
the sword

Which one is meant depends on the context. English requires an article, but Croatian usually leaves that information implicit unless something else makes it clear.

Why is it star and not stari?

Because after je Croatian normally uses the short adjective form in this kind of predicate sentence.

So:

Mač je star. = The sword is old.

But before a noun, you will often see:

stari mač = an old / the old sword

Very roughly:

star = the form commonly used after to be
stari = a form commonly used before a noun

This is a very common thing learners notice, so it is worth remembering early.

What gender is mač, and does that matter?

Mač is masculine singular, and yes, that matters because adjectives must agree with the noun.

That is why the adjective is star:

masculine singular: star
feminine singular: stara
neuter singular: staro

Compare:

Mač je star. = The sword is old.
Kuća je stara. = The house is old.
Selo je staro. = The village is old.

What case is mač in?

It is in the nominative singular.

That is because mač is the subject of the sentence, and the subject is normally in the nominative.

So in Mač je star:

mač = nominative singular subject
je star = predicate

How do I pronounce mač and č?

Č is pronounced roughly like ch in church.

So:

mač sounds roughly like mahch
je sounds roughly like yeh
star is star, with a clear Croatian r

A rough English-friendly pronunciation of the whole sentence is:

Mahch yeh star

The letter č is different from ć, although many beginners may not hear the difference clearly at first.

How would I make this into a question?

The standard way is:

Je li mač star? = Is the sword old?

In everyday speech, you may also hear:

Je l' mač star?

If you simply say Mač je star? with rising intonation, that usually sounds more like surprise or checking, not the most neutral way to ask.

How do I make it negative?

You use nije, the negative form of je:

Mač nije star. = The sword is not old.

So:

je = is
nije = is not

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

If English would use it, what would Croatian use?

Croatian usually uses a pronoun that matches the noun’s grammatical gender, not the English-style neutral it.

Since mač is masculine, you would use on:

Mač je star. On je skup.
The sword is old. It is expensive.

So even for things, Croatian often uses:

on for masculine nouns
ona for feminine nouns
ono for neuter nouns

That can feel unusual to English speakers at first, but it is completely normal in Croatian.

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