Stol je prazan.

The table is empty.

Breakdown of Stol je prazan.

• biti: to be
• stol: table
• prazan: empty

Questions & Answers about Stol je prazan.

Why is there no word for “the” in Stol je prazan? Does Croatian have articles?

Croatian does not have articles like English a/an or the.

• Stol je prazan can mean “A table is empty” or “The table is empty”, depending on context.
• If you want to be more specific, Croatian usually uses demonstratives:
  
  • Ovaj stol je prazan. – This table is empty.
  • Taj stol je prazan. – That table is empty.
  • Onaj stol je prazan. – That table (over there) is empty.

So the idea of definiteness (which table?) is expressed by context or demonstrative words, not by articles.

What does je mean in this sentence?

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb biti (to be).

Roughly, it equals English “is” in this sentence:

• Stol je prazan. – The table *is empty.*

The full present tense of biti (to be) is:

• ja sam – I am
• ti si – you are (singular, informal)
• on/ona/ono je – he/she/it is
• mi smo – we are
• vi ste – you are (plural or formal)
• oni/one/ona su – they are

Can you leave out je and just say Stol prazan?

Yes, but only in specific contexts.

• Stol je prazan. – full, neutral sentence, good in normal speech and writing.
• Stol prazan. – sounds like a note, label, headline, or telegraphic style, not full normal speech.

You might see Stol prazan:

• in notes (e.g. on a seating chart)
• in headlines
• in very informal texting

In a normal sentence when speaking, you should include je: Stol je prazan.

Why is it prazan and not prazna or prazno?

Because the adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

• Stol is masculine singular (nominative case).
• The adjective prazan is in its masculine singular nominative form.

Main forms of prazan in the nominative singular are:

• prazan – masculine (for stol, tanjur, ormar…)
• prazna – feminine (for časa/čaša, soba, stolica…)
• prazno – neuter (for mjesto, dvorište, polje…)

Examples:

• Stol je prazan. – The table is empty. (masc.)
• Čaša je prazna. – The glass is empty. (fem.)
• Mjesto je prazno. – The seat/spot is empty. (neut.)

What gender is stol, and how can I tell?

Stol is masculine.

General rule of thumb in Croatian:

• Nouns ending in a consonant are usually masculine: stol, grad, stan, pas, čovjek.
• Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine: kuća, čaša, soba, knjiga.
• Many nouns ending in -o or -e are neuter: selo, pivo, more, sunce.

Because stol ends in a consonant and follows masculine patterns, the adjective must be masculine: prazan.

What case is stol in here, and why?

In Stol je prazan, stol is in the nominative case.

The nominative is used mostly for:

• the subject of the sentence
• predicate nouns/adjectives that describe the subject with biti (to be)

Here:

• stol = subject (what are we talking about?)
• prazan = predicate adjective describing the subject

So both stol and prazan are in nominative singular masculine.

Can I change the word order, like Prazan je stol or Je stol prazan?

Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but there are rules:

1. Stol je prazan. – neutral, the most natural form in most contexts.
2. Prazan je stol. – possible, but changes emphasis.
   
   • Focuses more on prazan (the emptiness) or sounds a bit more stylistic/poetic.
3. Je stol prazan. – this is not normal; je is a clitic and normally wants to be in the second position in the clause.

So acceptable versions (with different emphasis) include:

• Stol je prazan. – neutral, standard.
• Prazan je stol. – more marked, with focus on “empty”.

How would I say “The tables are empty”?

You need to put everything in the plural: noun, verb, and adjective.

• Stolovi su prazni. – The tables are empty.

Changes:

• stol → stolovi (plural nominative for masculine animate/inanimate nouns in this pattern)
• je → su (3rd person plural of biti)
• prazan → prazni (masculine plural nominative)

What’s the difference between prazan stol and Stol je prazan?

They are different grammatical structures:

• prazan stol – adjective + noun

  • Means “an empty table” as a noun phrase.
  • Example: Vidim prazan stol. – I see an empty table.

• Stol je prazan. – full sentence with subject + verb + adjective

  • Means “The table is empty.”

So:

• Use prazan stol when the whole thing is part of a larger sentence.
• Use Stol je prazan when you’re making a statement about the table.

How do you pronounce Stol je prazan?

Approximate pronunciation for English speakers:

• Stol – like “stole”, but shorter and without diphthong: stol [stɔl]
• je – like “yeh”: yeh [je]
• prazan – PRAH-zahn: prazan [ˈpra.zan]

Put it together: STOL yeh PRAH-zahn.
Stress is normally on the first syllable of prazan.

Can I use prazan with other nouns in the same way?

Yes, it’s a regular adjective and follows normal agreement rules.

Examples:

• Tanjur je prazan. – The plate is empty. (masc.)
• Čaša je prazna. – The glass is empty. (fem.)
• Soba je prazna. – The room is empty. (fem.)
• Mjesto je prazno. – The seat/spot is empty. (neut.)
• Stolovi su prazni. – The tables are empty. (masc. plural)

If Croatian has no articles, how would I say “on the table”?

Croatian uses cases instead of articles and prepositions like English.

For “on the table” you say:

• na stolu

Here:

• stol (nominative) → stolu (locative case, singular)
• preposition na
  • stolu = “on the table” (or “at the table”, depending on context)

So even though there’s no word like “the”, the case ending -u plus na carries that meaning.

Are there other common adjectives similar to prazan in how they change?

Yes. Many masculine adjectives ending in -an or -en follow the same type of pattern:

Nominative singular:

• masculine: -an / -en
• feminine: -na / -na
• neuter: -no / -no

Examples:

• slobodan, slobodna, slobodno – free
• umoran, umorna, umorno – tired
• zelen, zelena, zeleno – green

Used in a sentence just like prazan:

• Stol je zelen. – The table is green.
• Grad je slobodan. – The city is free.
• On je umoran. – He is tired.