Hodnik je sada prazan, jer su djeca u sobama ili u dnevnom boravku.

The hallway is empty now because the children are in the rooms or in the living room.

Breakdown of Hodnik je sada prazan, jer su djeca u sobama ili u dnevnom boravku.

• biti: to be
• u: in
• sada: now
• jer: because

Questions & Answers about Hodnik je sada prazan, jer su djeca u sobama ili u dnevnom boravku.

Why is it Hodnik je but djeca su? Aren’t both just “is/are”?

Croatian makes the verb agree with the subject in number (singular/plural) and person.

• Hodnik je

  • hodnik = corridor/hallway (singular, 3rd person)
  • je = is (3rd person singular of biti “to be”)

• Djeca su

  • djeca = children (logically plural)
  • su = are (3rd person plural of biti “to be”)

So:

• Hodnik je sada prazan = The corridor is empty now.
• Djeca su u sobama = The children are in the rooms.

Even though djeca is grammatically a special type of noun (see below), it still takes su (plural verb).

But isn’t djeca grammatically neuter singular (from dijete)? Why does it take su, the plural verb?