Upisala sam tečaj hrvatskog jezika, jer sam još početnica.

I enrolled in a Croatian language course because I am still a beginner.

Breakdown of Upisala sam tečaj hrvatskog jezika, jer sam još početnica.

• biti: to be
• hrvatski: Croatian
• jer: because
• upisati: to enroll
• tečaj: course
• jezik: language
• još: still
• početnica: beginner

Questions & Answers about Upisala sam tečaj hrvatskog jezika, jer sam još početnica.

Why does the verb end in -la in upisala sam?

The -la ending shows that the speaker is female and that the verb is in the past tense.

Croatian past tense is formed with:

• the auxiliary biti (to be) in the present (sam, si, je, smo, ste, su)
• plus a past participle that agrees in gender and number with the subject.

For the verb upisati (to enroll), the past participles are:

• upisao – masculine singular (I [male], he)
• upisala – feminine singular (I [female], she)
• upisali – masculine/mixed plural
• upisale – feminine plural

So upisala sam tells us: I (female) enrolled.

Why is there no word for “I” (no ja) in the Croatian sentence?

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.

The combination upisala sam already tells us:

• person: 1st person singular (because of sam)
• gender and number: feminine singular (because of upisala)

So ja (I) would be optional and only used for emphasis, for example:

• Ja sam upisala tečaj hrvatskog jezika… – I enrolled… (emphasizing I as opposed to someone else)

Why is sam used twice: upisala sam …, jer sam još početnica?

In the first clause, sam is an auxiliary verb for the past tense:

• upisala sam – I have enrolled / I enrolled

In the second clause, sam is the main verb “to be” in the present tense:

• (ja) sam još početnica – I am still a beginner

So they are actually two different uses of the same verb biti (to be):

1. as a helper for the past tense (upisala sam),
2. as a linking verb with a noun (sam početnica).

Why is the word order upisala sam, and not sam upisala?

In Croatian, the short forms of biti (like sam, si, je) are clitics. They very strongly prefer the second position in the clause.

In the first clause, the first word is upisala, so sam comes right after it:

• Upisala sam tečaj… – correct and natural
• Sam upisala tečaj… – ungrammatical

In the second clause, the first word is jer, so sam comes after jer:

• … jer sam još početnica.

This “second position” rule for clitics is very typical in Croatian grammar.

What does tečaj mean exactly, and how is it used here?

Tečaj means course (like a language course, dance course, etc.).

In this sentence it’s a direct object in the accusative singular:

• Upisala sam tečaj … – I enrolled (in) a course…

For masculine inanimate nouns like tečaj, the nominative and accusative forms are the same, so you see tečaj in both cases:

• Nominative: Tečaj traje tri mjeseca. – The course lasts three months.
• Accusative: Upisala sam tečaj. – I enrolled in a course.

Why is it tečaj hrvatskog jezika and not just tečaj hrvatski jezik?

In Croatian, tečaj normally combines with a genitive to show the subject of the course:

• tečaj nečega – a course of something

So hrvatski jezik (Croatian language) in the genitive singular becomes:

• hrvatskog jezika

That’s why you get:

• tečaj hrvatskog jezika – a course of the Croatian language

Saying ❌ tečaj hrvatski jezik would be incorrect; the grammar requires the genitive after tečaj.

What case is hrvatskog jezika, and how is it formed?

Hrvatskog jezika is in the genitive singular.

Base forms:

• hrvatski jezik – Croatian language (nominative)

Genitive singular:

• hrvatski → hrvatskog (adjective, masculine singular genitive)
• jezik → jezika (noun, masculine singular genitive)

So:

• hrvatski jezik (NOM) → hrvatskog jezika (GEN)
  This genitive is required after tečaj in this meaning: tečaj hrvatskog jezika.

Can I drop jezika and just say tečaj hrvatskog?

Yes, in everyday speech it’s quite common to say:

• Upisala sam tečaj hrvatskog.

Here hrvatskog is understood as hrvatskog jezika, and people will know you mean a Croatian language course.

However, in:

• more formal writing,
• a textbook,
• or when things must be very clear,

tečaj hrvatskog jezika is the most complete and standard form.

Why is there a comma before jer?

In standard Croatian punctuation, a comma is normally required before “jer” when it introduces a clause with a reason.

So:

• Upisala sam tečaj hrvatskog jezika, jer sam još početnica.

This is different from English, where because sometimes has no comma:

• I enrolled in a Croatian course because I am still a beginner.

In Croatian, you keep the comma before jer in sentences like this.

What’s the difference between jer and zato što, since both can mean “because”?

Both jer and zato što introduce reason clauses, but there are some tendencies:

• jer is a simple, neutral “because”:

  • Upisala sam tečaj, jer sam još početnica.

• zato što can add a bit more emphasis or focus on the cause:

  • Upisala sam tečaj zato što sam još početnica.

In many contexts you can use either, and the meaning is almost the same. Here, replacing jer with zato što would still be correct and natural.

What does još mean in jer sam još početnica, and where does it go in the sentence?

Još here means still.

• jer sam još početnica – because I am still a beginner

It usually stands before the word it modifies:

• još početnica – still a beginner
• još učim – I am still learning
• još uvijek radim – I am still working

You wouldn’t normally move još away from početnica here. Forms like ❌ jer još sam početnica sound unnatural; the standard word order is jer sam još početnica.

What is the difference between početnica and početnik?

Both mean beginner, but they differ in gender:

• početnik – masculine form (male beginner or generic in some contexts)
• početnica – feminine form (female beginner)

In this sentence the speaker is presenting herself as female, so she says:

• … jer sam još početnica.

A male speaker would say:

• Upisao sam tečaj hrvatskog jezika, jer sam još početnik.