Mačka leži na tepihu.

The cat is lying on the carpet.

Breakdown of Mačka leži na tepihu.

• mačka: cat
• na: on
• tepih: carpet
• ležati: to lie

Questions & Answers about Mačka leži na tepihu.

What does each word in Mačka leži na tepihu literally mean?

Word by word:

• mačka – cat
• leži – lies / is lying (3rd person singular of ležati – to lie, to be lying)
• na – on
• tepihu – carpet, rug in the locative case (base form: tepih – carpet, rug)

So the whole sentence means: “The cat is lying on the carpet.” (or “A cat is lying on the carpet,” depending on context).

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Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Croatian has no articles (no the, a, or an).

• Mačka can mean “a cat” or “the cat”.
  Which one is meant depends entirely on context and what the speakers know:

• If both speakers know which cat they’re talking about, it’s understood as “the cat is lying on the carpet.”
• If it’s mentioned for the first time or not specific, it can be understood as “a cat is lying on the carpet.”

You don’t change the Croatian sentence; you only change how you interpret or translate it in English.

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Why does mačka end in -a? Does that tell me something about gender and case?

Yes. The ending -a on mačka tells you two useful things:

1. Gender:

   • mačka is a feminine noun (most nouns ending in -a are feminine in Croatian).

2. Case and role in the sentence:

   • Here mačka is in the nominative singular, which is the dictionary form and is used mainly for the subject of the sentence.
   • The subject is the thing doing the action. Here, the cat is doing the action of lying, so it’s in the nominative: Mačka leži…

So: feminine, singular, nominative (subject).

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Why is it na tepihu and not na tepih? What is happening to the noun tepih?

The base (dictionary) form is tepih – carpet, rug.
In na tepihu, the word changes to tepihu because of case:

• The preposition na (on) can take either locative or accusative case.
• When it means location (where something is), it uses the locative case.
• The locative singular of tepih is tepihu.

So:

• na tepihu = on the carpet (where? → locative)
• tepihu is locative singular of tepih.

The -u ending here marks the locative case.

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When does na use locative and when does it use accusative?

na can take two cases, with a clear meaning difference:

1. na

   • locative → location, position (where something is)
   • Mačka leži na tepihu. – The cat is lying on the carpet. (Where is the cat? On the carpet.)
   • Knjiga je na stolu. – The book is on the table.

2. na

   • accusative → motion to / onto (where something is going)
   • Mačka skače na tepih. – The cat is jumping onto the carpet.
   • Stavljam knjigu na stol. – I’m putting the book onto the table.

So:

• Where? → na
  • locative (na tepihu)
• To where / onto what? → na
  • accusative (na tepih)

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Is leži a present simple or a present continuous form, like “lies” vs “is lying”?

Croatian does not have a separate present continuous tense like English.

• leži is just present tense, 3rd person singular of ležati (to lie, to be lying).
• It can translate as either:
  • “lies”
  • “is lying”

The choice in English depends on context and style, not on a different Croatian form:

• Mačka leži na tepihu.
  
  • The cat lies on the carpet.
  • The cat is lying on the carpet.

Both are valid translations of the same Croatian sentence.

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What is the infinitive of leži, and how is it conjugated in the present tense?

The infinitive is ležati – to lie, to be lying.

Present tense conjugation:

• ja ležim – I lie / I am lying
• ti ležiš – you lie / you are lying (singular, informal)
• on / ona / ono leži – he / she / it lies, is lying
• mi ležimo – we lie / we are lying
• vi ležite – you lie / you are lying (plural or formal)
• oni / one / ona leže – they lie / they are lying

In the sentence:

• Mačka leži na tepihu.
  
  • mačka → ona (she/it), so the form is leži (3rd person singular).

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Can I change the word order, like saying Na tepihu leži mačka? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, you can change the word order; Croatian word order is more flexible than English.

• Mačka leži na tepihu. – neutral, standard order: subject–verb–place.
• Na tepihu leži mačka. – still correct, but it emphasizes the place (on the carpet) first. It can sound like “On the carpet, a cat is lying.”

The basic meaning (a cat is lying on the carpet) is the same, but:

• Putting na tepihu first focuses on where.
• Putting mačka first focuses on who/what is lying.

Both are grammatically correct.

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How do I pronounce č in mačka, and how is it different from c or ć?

In mačka the letter with the accent is č.

• č is pronounced like “ch” in “church” or “ch” in “chunk” – a strong, “hard” ch sound.
• c (without a mark) is pronounced like “ts” in “cats”.
• ć is a softer sound, something like a very soft “ch”, close to the “t”
  • “y” in “tune” in some accents, but shorter and softer than č.

So:

• mačka – roughly “mach-ka”, with a strong “ch”
• You should never ignore the little marks (č, ć, š, ž, đ); they change the sound and can change the word’s meaning.

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How do I say “Cats are lying on the carpet” in Croatian?

You need the plural of mačka and the plural of the verb ležati:

• Singular: Mačka leži na tepihu. – The cat is lying on the carpet.
• Plural: Mačke leže na tepihu. – Cats are lying on the carpet.

Changes:

• mačka → mačke (nominative plural, subject)
• leži → leže (3rd person plural present)

na tepihu stays the same, because the carpet is still one carpet (locative singular).

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How do I make the sentence negative, like “The cat is not lying on the carpet”?

To negate a present tense verb in Croatian, you usually put ne directly in front of the verb:

• Mačka ne leži na tepihu. – The cat is not lying on the carpet / The cat does not lie on the carpet.

Structure:

• mačka – subject
• ne leži – negative verb phrase (does not lie / is not lying)
• na tepihu – place (on the carpet)

So you just add ne: leži → ne leži.

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What is the difference between ležati and spavati?

• ležati – to lie, to be lying (in a horizontal position)

  • Focuses on body position, not necessarily sleeping.
  • Mačka leži na tepihu. – The cat is lying on the carpet (maybe awake, maybe not).

• spavati – to sleep

  • Focuses on the state of sleeping, not on position.
  • Mačka spava na tepihu. – The cat is sleeping on the carpet.

You can even combine them:

• Mačka leži i spava na tepihu. – The cat is lying and sleeping on the carpet.