Questions & Answers about Rođendan je u petak.
What does je do in this sentence?
Je is the 3rd-person singular present of the verb biti (to be). It’s the copula linking the subject (Rođendan) with the time expression (u petak). So it corresponds to English “is.”
Can I change the word order to U petak je rođendan?
Yes. Both Rođendan je u petak and U petak je rođendan are correct. Croatian allows flexible word order. The verb je is a clitic and should appear in the second position of the clause, which both versions respect. The first version emphasizes the topic “birthday,” the second emphasizes the time “on Friday.”
Why is there no word for “the” before rođendan?
Croatian has no articles. Definiteness is understood from context. If you need to specify a particular birthday, you can add a demonstrative, e.g., taj rođendan (that birthday), but it’s usually unnecessary.
Why is the preposition u used with a day? Why not na?
With days of the week, Croatian uses u + accusative to mean “on” that day: u petak, u ponedjeljak, u nedjelju. The preposition na is not used for days of the week in this meaning. Note: for months and years, you typically see u + locative, e.g., u siječnju (in January), u 2020. (godini) (in 2020).