Njen auto je ispred škole.

to be

Breakdown of Njen auto je ispred škole.

• škola: school
• auto: car
• ispred: in front of
• njen: her

Questions & Answers about Njen auto je ispred škole.

What is njen in this sentence and how does it work?

njen is the third-person feminine singular possessive pronoun, meaning her. In Croatian, possessive pronouns decline like adjectives and must agree with the noun’s gender (masculine), number (singular) and case (nominative here). Hence for a masculine noun like auto, the correct form is njen.

Why are there no words for the or a before auto and škole?

Croatian has no articles (no the or a). Definiteness and indefiniteness are understood from context, so you just use the noun in the needed case without adding an article.

Why does the verb je (is) appear here? Can it be omitted?

Je is the present-tense form of biti (to be) and links the subject (Njen auto) with its location. In standard Croatian you normally include je in such statements. Omitting it can sound very telegraphic or regional: Njen auto ispred škole is understandable but non-standard.

What case is škole, and why is it used instead of škola?

Škole is the genitive singular of škola (school). The preposition ispred (in front of) always requires the genitive case, so škola → škole.

What kind of word is ispred, and why does it take genitive?

Ispred is a preposition expressing spatial relation (“in front of”). In Croatian, some prepositions govern specific cases; ispred always governs the genitive case.

Could you change the word order, for example to Ispred škole je njen auto? Would it still be correct?

Yes. Ispred škole je njen auto is grammatically correct. Moving the prepositional phrase to the front shifts emphasis onto the location (“In front of the school…”), but the basic meaning stays the same.

Why is the noun auto used here instead of automobil?

Auto is simply the more colloquial, shorter form of automobil; both mean car. Native speakers frequently say auto in everyday conversation.

Does auto decline, and what would its plural form be?

Yes. Auto is a masculine o-stem noun. Its nominative plural is auti (colloquial) or automobili (more formal). Its genitive plural (after prepositions that require genitive) is auta.

How do you form the negative: “Her car is not in front of the school”?

Insert ne before the verb je:
Njen auto nije ispred škole.

How would you ask “Is her car in front of the school?”

You invert je and the subject (or use je li):
Je li njen auto ispred škole?
In colloquial speech you often hear Jel njen auto ispred škole?