Questions & Answers about To je žena s kojom učim hrvatski.
What exactly does "To je" mean, and can I use "Ovo je" or "Ono je" instead?
"To je" literally means "That/This is." In Croatian:
- Ovo je = this is (near the speaker)
- To je = that/this is (neutral or mid-distance; very common as a default)
- Ono je = that is (far from both speaker and listener)
All three are correct; choose based on how near/far the referent is or how "neutral" you want to sound. The sentence with any of them is natural: Ovo/To/Ono je žena s kojom učim hrvatski.
Why does "je" come right after "To"?
je is the short (clitic) form of "to be" (3rd person singular) and must appear in second position in the clause. The first element here is To, so you get To je žena ..., not "To žena je ...". This second-position rule applies across sentences, e.g. Ta žena je učiteljica.
Why is "žena" in that form—what case is it?
žena is nominative singular. After the verb biti (to be), the predicate noun typically stands in the nominative: To je žena. Contrast:
- Accusative (object): Vidim ženu.
- Instrumental (with "with"): Sa ženom / s ženom.
How does "s kojom" work? Why "kojom" and not "koja/koju"?
s (with) requires the instrumental case, so the relative pronoun must be in the instrumental to match. Since is feminine singular, the matching instrumental form of is :