Learn Hardcore Croatian: Moj djed je stariji od moje bake. - My grandfather is older than my grandmother.

moj djed
- djed = masculine singular, nominative (the subject)
- So we use moj = masculine singular, nominative
moje bake
- baka is feminine singular, but here it’s in the genitive (because of od, see below)
- So we use moje = feminine singular, genitive (the genitive form of moja)

Very roughly:

moja baka = my grandmother (subject, nominative)
moje bake = of my grandmother (after od, genitive)

So the difference is:

moj → masculine, nominative (for djed)
moje → feminine, genitive (for bake)

Why is it bake and not baka after od?

Because the preposition od (from, of, than) always takes the genitive case.

Base form: baka (nominative singular – used for the subject)
Genitive singular: bake

In comparisons, Croatian usually uses od + genitive:

stariji od bake = older than (the) grandmother
viši od brata = taller than (the) brother
mlađa od sestre = younger than (the) sister

So:

moja baka (nominative) → moje bake (genitive) after od.

What case are djed and baka in this sentence?

djed is in the nominative singular:
- It’s the subject of the sentence: who is older? → Moj djed.
bake is the genitive singular of baka:
- It’s required by the preposition od in a comparison: od moje bake (than my grandmother).

So:

Moj djed → nominative (subject)
moje bake → genitive (object of od used for comparison)

Why is it stariji and not something like više star for “older”?

Croatian normally forms comparatives of adjectives with a suffix, not with a separate word like više.

Base adjective: star (old)
Comparative: stariji (older)
Superlative: najstariji (the oldest)

Using više star would sound wrong or at least very unnatural here. You should learn star → stariji → najstariji as a regular comparative pattern.

Some other examples:

mlad → mlađi → najmlađi (young, younger, youngest)
visok → viši → najviši (tall, taller, tallest)

Why does stariji end in -i? What is it agreeing with?

Stariji is an adjective in the comparative form, and it must agree with the noun it describes in gender, number and case.

It describes djed, which is:
- masculine
- singular
- nominative (subject)

So the adjective also appears as:

stariji = masculine singular nominative comparative

If you changed the subject, the form of the adjective would change:

Moja baka je starija od mog djeda.
- starija = feminine singular nominative (agrees with baka)
Moja djeca su starija od tvoje djece.
- starija = neuter plural nominative (agrees with djeca – grammatically neuter plural)

Can I leave out je and say Moj djed stariji od moje bake?

In normal, full sentences, you should keep je:

Moj djed je stariji od moje bake. ✅ (standard)

Dropping je is possible in:

very informal, fast speech
short headlines or notes

But for correct, neutral Croatian, especially as a learner, you should include je in this kind of sentence.

Can I change the word order, for example: Moj je djed stariji od moje bake?

Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, and Moj je djed stariji od moje bake is also correct.

Moj djed je stariji od moje bake. – most neutral.
Moj je djed stariji od moje bake. – puts a bit more emphasis on djed as the topic.

Both mean the same thing; the difference is mostly nuance and emphasis, not grammar.

Why is od used for “than” here? Could I use nego instead?

In Croatian, comparisons are usually formed with:

adjective in comparative + od + genitive
→ stariji od moje bake

Nego is also used in comparisons, but the typical patterns are:

With a pronoun in nominative:
- Stariji sam nego ti. (I am older than you.)
After a negative:
- Nije veći nego manji. (It’s not bigger but smaller.)

With full noun phrases like in your sentence, od + genitive is the most natural and standard:

Moj djed je stariji od moje bake. ✅ (best)
Moj djed je stariji nego moja baka. – can occur, but is less standard here and sounds more like “rather than my grandmother” in some contexts.

As a learner, stick to:

comparative + od + genitive for noun comparisons.

Could I say simply Moj djed je star od moje bake?

No, that would be incorrect / unnatural.

star = old (positive degree)
stariji = older (comparative)

To express a comparison (older than), you must use the comparative form:

✅ Moj djed je stariji od moje bake.
❌ Moj djed je star od moje bake. (ungrammatical for “older than”)

You would use star only when you’re not comparing:

Moj djed je star. – My grandfather is old.

Can I leave out the possessive moj/moje like you can sometimes do in English?

Often, yes – especially with family members, where possession is clear from context. Native speakers also very often use a clitic pronoun instead of a “full” possessive adjective.

For example:

Djed mi je stariji od bake.
- Literally: Grandfather to‑me is older than grandmother.
- Natural English: My grandfather is older than (my) grandmother.

Here:

mi = “to me” (dative clitic), but it’s used idiomatically to mean my.
The second moja is usually just omitted if the context is clear.

Your original sentence with both moj and moje is perfectly correct and very clear, just slightly more explicit.

Is there any difference between djed and djeda that I see in other sentences?

Yes. Djed is a noun that changes its ending by case:

djed – nominative singular (subject)
- Moj djed je stariji od moje bake.
djeda – genitive or accusative singular
- Vidim djeda. – I see (my) grandfather. (accusative)
- Kod djeda. – at (my) grandfather’s place (genitive after kod)
- Od djeda. – from (my) grandfather (genitive after od)

In your sentence, djed is the subject, so it must be in the nominative, and the correct form is djed, not djeda.