Grebalica je blizu skrovišta.

to be

Breakdown of Grebalica je blizu skrovišta.

• blizu: near
• grebalica: a scratching post
• skrovište: a hiding place; shelter

Questions & Answers about Grebalica je blizu skrovišta.

Why is je used in this sentence?

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti (to be).

So:

• Grebalica = the subject
• je = is
• blizu skrovišta = near the hiding place

Literally, the structure is X is near Y.

Croatian often uses biti in simple location sentences just like English does:

• Mačka je ovdje. = The cat is here.
• Grebalica je blizu skrovišta. = The scratching post is near the hiding place.

Why is it skrovišta and not skrovište?

Because blizu normally requires the genitive case.

The base form is:

• skrovište = hiding place, shelter

But after blizu (near), it changes to genitive singular:

• blizu skrovišta = near the hiding place / near a hiding place

This is a very common pattern in Croatian:

• blizu kuće = near the house
• blizu grada = near the city
• blizu skrovišta = near the hiding place

What case is grebalica in?