Breakdown of Njena sestra je jučer radila u bolnici.
Questions & Answers about Njena sestra je jučer radila u bolnici.
Croatian has no articles. Nouns like bold sestra and bold bolnica don’t take bold the or bold a. Definiteness is understood from context. If you need to be explicit, you can use demonstratives:
- bold ta/ova/ona sestra = that/this/that (over there) sister
- bold u toj/ovoj bolnici = in that/this hospital
bold Je is the 3rd person singular present of bold biti (to be) used as an auxiliary to form the perfect (the usual past tense in Croatian). You need it regardless of time words like bold jučer.
- Pattern: present of bold biti + L-participle → bold je radila = she worked
- Without bold je (Njena sestra jučer radila…) is non‑standard; keep the auxiliary.
The L-participle agrees with the subject in gender and number. bold Sestra is feminine singular, so:
- feminine singular: bold radila
- masculine singular: bold radio
- neuter singular: bold radilo
- plural (mixed/masculine): bold radili
- plural (all-feminine group): bold radile
Clitics like bold je sit in “second position” after the first stressed phrase of the clause, not necessarily after the very first word. bold Njena sestra is one phrase, so the clitic follows it:
- Correct: bold Njena sestra je jučer radila…
- Also correct with fronted time: bold Jučer je njena/njezina sestra radila… Clitics don’t normally split tightly bound phrases, so avoid bold Njena je sestra… in neutral sentences.
bold U + locative = location (in/at). bold U bolnici means “in the hospital.” bold U + accusative = motion into. bold U bolnicu means “into the hospital” (movement).
- in (location): bold u bolnici (locative)
- into (movement): bold u bolnicu (accusative)
Yes, to change emphasis. Keep the clitic in second position.
- Time-first: bold Jučer je njezina/njena sestra radila u bolnici.
- Place-first: bold U bolnici je njezina/njena sestra jučer radila.
- Verb-first is also possible: bold Radila je jučer u bolnici. (here the verb is the first element, so the clitic follows it)
Yes. They mean the same (“her”) and both are standard in Croatia:
- bold njen/njena/njeno
- bold njezin/njezina/njezino Many style guides prefer bold njezin- in formal Croatian, but bold njen- is very common in speech.
Use bold svoj- when the possessor is the subject of that clause. Here, the subject is the sister, not the possessor, so bold njena/njezina is right.
- If the subject is “she” and she’s talking about her own sister in the same clause, you’d use bold svoj-: bold Ona voli svoju sestru. = She loves her (own) sister. In your sentence, bold Njena/Njezina sestra… is correct.
Negate the auxiliary: bold nije (not bold ne je).
- bold Njena/Njezina sestra jučer nije radila u bolnici. Negative forms of bold biti (present, used as auxiliaries): bold nisam, nisi, nije, nismo, niste, nisu.
Use bold je li (standard) or bold da li je (colloquial/regionally common), plus rising intonation:
- bold Je li njezina/njena sestra jučer radila u bolnici? Short answers:
- bold Da, radila je. / Ne, nije radila.
bold Bolnici is locative singular. For a typical feminine bold -a noun:
- nominative: bold bolnica (subject)
- accusative: bold bolnicu (direct object or motion into)
- genitive: bold bolnice (of the hospital)
- dative: bold bolnici (to/for the hospital)
- locative: bold (u) bolnici (in/at the hospital)
- instrumental: bold bolnicom (with/by means of the hospital)
- bold nj = like “ny” in “canyon”: bold nje‑na ≈ “NYEH-nah”
- bold č = “ch” in “church”: bold jučer ≈ “YOO-cher” (note the final bold r is pronounced)
- bold c (in bold bolnici) = “ts”: bold bolnici ≈ “BOHL-nee-tsee”
Make the subject plural and adjust the auxiliary and participle:
- bold Njezine/Njene sestre su jučer radile u bolnici. (bold su = 3rd person plural auxiliary; bold radile = feminine plural)