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Questions & Answers about Ti si Luka.
Why is the subject pronoun ti used when si already indicates “you”?
Croatian is a pro-drop language, meaning the verb ending usually tells you the subject. The form si alone is enough to mark second-person singular. However, with biti (“to be”) the short form si can feel ambiguous or abrupt, so speakers often include ti for clarity or emphasis (“YOU are Luka”). In very casual or elliptical replies (e.g. answering Tko si?), you might simply say Luka without any pronoun or verb.
What exactly is si, and why isn’t it je?
si is the second-person singular present tense form of the irregular verb biti (“to be”). The full present-tense conjugation is:
• ja sam (I am)
• ti si (you are)
• on/ona/ono je (he/she/it is)
• mi smo (we are)
• vi ste (you (pl./formal) are)
• oni/one/ona su (they are)
So je is the third-person singular (“he/she/it is”), not used for “you.”
When would you use ste instead of si?
ste is the second-person plural or formal singular form of biti. You use vi ste when:
• Addressing more than one person (“You all are Luka.”)
• Speaking formally to one person (“You, sir/madam, are Luka.”)