Questions & Answers about Papir i olovka su na stolu.
Why is it su and not je?
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.
Why is it na stolu, not na stol?
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).
Why is there no word for “the” in the sentence?
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)
Can I start with the location and say Na stolu su papir i olovka?