Njegov plan je drugačiji.

to be

Breakdown of Njegov plan je drugačiji.

• njegov: his
• plan: plan
• drugačiji: different

Questions & Answers about Njegov plan je drugačiji.

Why is it njegov plan and not njegova plan or njegovo plan?

In Croatian, possessive adjectives like njegov (his) must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

• plan is:
  • masculine
  • singular
  • nominative (subject of the sentence)

So the matching form is njegov (masc. sg. nom.), giving njegov plan.

If the noun were feminine or neuter, the form would change, for example:

• njegova ideja – his idea (ideja = feminine)
• njegovo dijete – his child (dijete = neuter)

What exactly is the role of je in this sentence?

je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti – to be.

So Njegov plan je drugačiji literally corresponds to His plan is different:

• Njegov plan – his plan (subject)
• je – is (linking verb / copula)
• drugačiji – different (adjective describing the subject)

Why does drugačiji end in -i here?

drugačiji is an adjective meaning different. Like njegov, it must agree with the noun plan in gender, number, and case:

• plan = masculine, singular, nominative
• so the adjective must also be masculine, singular, nominative → drugačiji

Other forms with different nouns would be, for example:

• drugačija ideja – a different idea (feminine)
• drugačije rješenje – a different solution (neuter)
• drugačiji planovi – different plans (masc. plural)

Can I change the word order? For example, is Njegov je plan drugačiji also correct?

Yes, several word orders are possible and natural in Croatian:

• Njegov plan je drugačiji. – neutral, very common.
• Njegov je plan drugačiji. – also correct; by placing je after njegov, you put a slight emphasis on njegov (his plan in particular).
• Plan je drugačiji. – The plan is different. (you simply drop njegov if context is clear)

Croatian allows more flexibility in word order than English, but the little verb je (a clitic) tends to appear in second position in the clause, which is why Njegov je plan drugačiji is common.

Can I omit je, like Njegov plan drugačiji?

In standard Croatian, you are expected to use je here.

Omitting je (e.g. Njegov plan drugačiji) can occur in colloquial or dialect speech, but it sounds incomplete or very informal in standard language.

For correct, neutral Croatian, keep je:

• Njegov plan je drugačiji. ✅

What’s the difference between drugačiji and različit? Can I say Njegov plan je različit?

Both drugačiji and različit can mean different, and Njegov plan je različit is grammatically correct.

Subtle tendencies:

• drugačiji – “of a different kind/type; not the same as before/as expected/as others.”
  
  • very common in everyday speech for different in a general sense.
• različit – “not the same, distinct, various.”
  
  • also common and can sound a bit more bookish depending on context.

In many contexts they are interchangeable:

• Njegov plan je drugačiji.
• Njegov plan je različit.

Both can be understood as His plan is different.

In English we say “different from something.” How do I say that in Croatian with drugačiji?

You typically use od (from) after drugačiji:

• Njegov plan je drugačiji od mog.
  His plan is different from mine.

• Njegov plan je drugačiji od tvog plana.
  His plan is different from your plan.

You can also see drugačiji nego in some structures, especially with full clauses or comparisons:

• Ovaj plan je drugačiji nego što sam očekivao.
  This plan is different than what I expected.

Why doesn’t Croatian use anything like a or the here, like “His plan is a different one / the different one”?

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

The noun plan in Njegov plan je drugačiji can correspond to:

• His plan is different.
• His plan is a different one.
• His plan is the different one.

The exact nuance (definite vs. indefinite) is understood from context, word order, or additional words, not from articles. You don’t add any special word for a or the.

What’s the difference between njegov and svoj in sentences like this?

• njegov = his (refers to some male person previously mentioned, not necessarily the subject)
• svoj = one’s own (reflexive possessive; refers back to the subject of the sentence)

For example:

• Markov plan je drugačiji od njegovog.
  Marko’s plan is different from his (someone else’s) plan.

• Markov plan je drugačiji od svojeg.
  Marko’s plan is different from his own (previous) plan.

In Njegov plan je drugačiji, we simply say his plan is different, without explicitly contrasting it with the subject (because the subject is “njegov plan” itself), so svoj would not be used here.

How would the sentence change with a feminine or plural noun instead of plan?

You must adjust njegov and drugačiji to match the new noun in gender and number.

1. Feminine noun (e.g. ideja – idea):

   • Njegova ideja je drugačija.
     His idea is different.
   • njegova (fem. sg. nom.)
   • drugačija (fem. sg. nom.)

2. Neuter noun (e.g. rješenje – solution):

   • Njegovo rješenje je drugačije.
     His solution is different.
   • njegovo (neut. sg. nom.)
   • drugačije (neut. sg. nom.)

3. Plural masculine (e.g. planovi – plans):

   • Njegovi planovi su drugačiji.
     His plans are different.
   • njegovi (masc. pl. nom.)
   • drugačiji (masc. pl. nom.)
   • su (plural of biti) instead of je.

How do I pronounce Njegov plan je drugačiji?

Approximate pronunciation (with stress mark ˈ on the stressed syllable):

• Njegov – ˈnje-gov
  • nj is one sound, like ny in canyon.
• plan – plan
  • similar to English plan, but with a short, clear a.
• je – je
  • j like English y in yes; sounds like ye.
• drugačiji – dru-ˈga-či-ji
  • r is rolled/tapped.
  • č is like ch in church (hard “ch”).
  • i always sounds like ee in see.
  • ij here is basically a long /i/, often pronounced like a single extended ee.

All vowels are short and clear; there are no “schwa” sounds like the English unstressed a in about.