Questions & Answers about Papir i olovka su na stolu.
Because the subject is plural: two nouns joined by i form a compound (plural) subject, so you use the 3rd person plural of biti (to be), which is su. With a single subject you’d use je:
- Papir je na stolu.
- Olovka je na stolu.
- Papir i olovka su na stolu.
After na, Croatian uses:
- Locative for static location: na stolu = on the table.
- Accusative for movement onto: Stavljam papir i olovku na stol = I’m putting the paper and the pencil onto the table.
Note: For inanimate masculine nouns like stol, the accusative equals the nominative (both are stol), which is why you don’t see a change there, but you do in the locative (stolu).
Croatian has no articles. Definiteness is inferred from context. If you need to be explicit, use demonstratives:
- taj papir i ta olovka = that paper and that pencil
- onaj papir i ona olovka = that paper and that pencil (farther away)