Note
dobar changes to dobra because voda is feminine.
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Questions & Answers about Voda je dobra.
Why is there no article like the or a before voda?
Croatian has no definite or indefinite articles. The noun voda on its own can mean either “water” in general or “the water” depending on context. You rely on context, demonstratives (like ta voda = “that water”) or possessives (like moja voda = “my water”) if you need more specificity.
What part of speech are voda, je, and dobra? Could you break down the sentence?
- voda: noun (feminine, singular, nominative) meaning “water.”
- je: verb, third person singular present of biti (“to be”), meaning “is.”
- dobra: adjective (feminine, singular, nominative) meaning “good,” agreeing with voda in gender, number, and case.
Why does the adjective end in -a in dobra?
Adjectives in Croatian must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. The base form is dobar (masculine). For a feminine noun like voda, you change the ending to -a, giving dobra. If the noun were neuter (e.g., mjesto), you would use dobro.
How do we know voda is feminine?
Most Croatian nouns ending in -a are feminine (with a few exceptions). Since voda ends in -a, it follows the regular pattern for feminine nouns. Learning these typical endings helps you identify noun gender.
Could you change the word order to Dobra je voda? If yes, does it change the meaning?
Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible. Saying Dobra je voda simply puts more emphasis on dobra (“good”), but the core meaning (“water is good”) remains the same.
How would you make the sentence negative – “The water is not good”?
Insert the negation particle ne before the verb. So you get Voda nije dobra, where nije is the contracted form of ne + je.
What case is voda in this sentence, and why?
It’s in the nominative case because it functions as the subject of the sentence. In Croatian, subjects typically appear in the nominative.