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Questions & Answers about Pas je dobar.
What is the role of je in the sentence Pas je dobar?
je is the third person singular present tense of the verb biti (to be). In Pas je dobar, it functions as the copula “is,” linking the subject pas (dog) with the predicate adjective dobar (good).
Why does dobar end in -ar and not -ra or -ro?
Adjectives in Croatian agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.
- pas is masculine, singular, nominative
- Therefore, the adjective takes its masculine, singular, nominative form: dobar.
If the noun were feminine (e.g., žena), you’d say dobra, and if neuter (e.g., mjesto), dobro.
Why is there no word for “the” or “a” before pas?
Croatian does not use definite or indefinite articles. Context and word order convey whether you’re talking about a specific dog (“the dog”) or any dog (“a dog”).
How would you turn Pas je dobar into a negative sentence?
You insert ni into the verb je, forming nije (is not).
Pas nije dobar.
This means “The dog is not good.”