Questions & Answers about Možda je stanica blizu škole.
Možda means maybe/perhaps. It commonly goes at the start to hedge the whole statement: Možda je stanica blizu škole.
You can also place it after the subject: Stanica je možda blizu škole. That sounds like you’re hedging specifically the location (near the school) rather than the whole claim. Both are natural; the difference is subtle and about emphasis/focus.
Je is a clitic (an unstressed short word) and Croatian places clitics in second position in a clause. The first stressed word here is Možda, so the clitic je comes right after it: Možda je stanica...
Forms like Možda stanica je... are ungrammatical in standard Croatian.
Not in normal, full sentences. You need je here: Možda je stanica blizu škole.
Omitting it is possible only in very telegraphic styles (headlines, notes, signs), e.g., Stanica blizu škole as a label, but that’s not standard full-sentence usage.
The preposition blizu (near) governs the genitive case, so škola (school) must be in the genitive singular: škole.
Singular forms of škola:
- Nominative: škola
- Genitive: škole
- Dative: školi
- Accusative: školu
- Locative: školi
- Instrumental: školom
With blizu, always use the genitive: blizu škole.
Both.
- As a preposition: it takes the genitive: blizu škole (near the school).
- As an adverb (no noun after it): Stanica je blizu. (The station is nearby.)
Close synonyms: pored/pokraj/kraj (by/next to, all take genitive), kod (by/at the place of), uz (along/next to, takes accusative), and the phrase u blizini (in the vicinity, + genitive).
In everyday Croatian, stanica can mean station or stop, but standard Croatian prefers more specific terms:
- autobusno stajalište = bus stop (a pole/stop on a route)
- autobusni kolodvor = bus station/terminal
- željeznički kolodvor = railway station
- postaja is also used in some compounds (e.g., policijska postaja = police station).
So depending on context, you might say kolodvor, stajalište, or postaja instead of stanica.
Use the particle li with the verb: Je li stanica blizu škole?
This asks whether that particular station is near the school.
If you want to ask about existence (Is there a station near the school?), say: Ima li stanica blizu škole?
Stanica is feminine. Adjectives and pronouns must agree:
- ova stanica (this station; feminine)
- autobusna stanica (bus station/stop; feminine adjective)
Plural: stanice (feminine plural), e.g., Možda su stanice blizu škole.
- Možda: roughly MOHZ-dah. ž is like the s in measure.
- škole: SHKOH-leh. š is like sh in ship.
- blizu: BLEE-zoo.
Each letter is pronounced; vowels are pure (no diphthongs). Accent patterns vary by region, but these approximations will be understood.
Use biti with mogao/mogla in the conditional. Since stanica is feminine:
- Stanica bi mogla biti blizu škole. (The station might be near the school.)
You can also combine with možda for extra hedging: Možda bi stanica mogla biti blizu škole.
Note the clitic bi still goes in second position.
Jest is the full, emphatic form of je (3rd person singular of to be).
- Neutral statement: Stanica je blizu škole.
- Emphatic/contrastive: Stanica jest blizu škole, ali je daleko od centra.
Because možda expresses uncertainty, Možda jest... is rare and sounds like you’re tentatively conceding something: maybe it really is near the school (after all).
Yes, Croatian word order is flexible for focus:
- Neutral: Stanica je blizu škole.
- Hedged, all-clause: Možda je stanica blizu škole.
- Emphasizing the location: Blizu škole je stanica.
All remain grammatical; you just shift what you highlight.