Moj brat je mlad.

My brother is young.

Breakdown of Moj brat je mlad.

• biti: to be
• moj: my
• brat: brother
• mlad: young

Questions & Answers about Moj brat je mlad.

What does each word in Moj brat je mlad. mean literally?

Word by word:

• Moj = my (possessive adjective)
• brat = brother
• je = is (3rd person singular of biti = to be)
• mlad = young

So the literal structure is My brother is young.

Why is it moj brat and not moja brat or moje brat?

In Croatian, possessive adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe.

• brat is masculine singular
• So we must use the masculine singular form of my: moj

Basic forms of my:

• Masculine singular: moj brat – my brother
• Feminine singular: moja sestra – my sister
• Neuter singular: moje dijete – my child

So moja brat and moje brat are ungrammatical.

What case is brat in here, and why doesn’t it have an ending?

Brat is in the nominative singular case.

• The nominative is used for the subject of the sentence (the doer or main topic).
• Brat is the subject of je mlad (is young).

The base, dictionary form of a noun is also the nominative singular, so there’s no extra ending here. You only see different endings when the noun is in another case (e.g., brata, bratu, etc.).

Is je always used for is, and what are the other forms of to be?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti (to be):

• 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

In normal speech and writing you use je almost always.
There is also a longer form jest, but it is more formal/literary or used for emphasis. In everyday language you would say Moj brat je mlad, not Moj brat jest mlad.

Why is it mlad and not mladi at the end of the sentence?

When an adjective comes after the verb “to be” and describes the subject, it normally appears in its basic (short) form:

• Moj brat je mlad. – My brother is young.
• Sestra je mlada. – (My) sister is young.
• Dijete je mlado. – The child is young.

You often see mladi before a noun, for example:

• mladi brat – a/the young brother
• mladi čovjek – a/the young man

So, in this position (after je), mlad is the natural, correct form.

Does mlad have to agree with brat in gender and number?

Yes. Adjectives in Croatian agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• brat = masculine, singular, nominative
• So mlad must also be masculine singular nominative.

Compare:

• Moj brat je mlad. – My brother is young. (masc. sing.)
• Moja sestra je mlada. – My sister is young. (fem. sing.)
• Moje dijete je mlado. – My child is young. (neut. sing.)
• Moji prijatelji su mladi. – My friends are young. (masc. plural)

Can the word order change, or must it always be Moj brat je mlad?

The neutral, most common order is:

• Moj brat je mlad.

However, Croatian word order is fairly flexible. You can move words to emphasize different parts:

• Moj je brat mlad. – mild emphasis on brat (my brother, as opposed to someone else).
• Mlad je moj brat. – emphasizes mlad (It’s young that my brother is).
• Brat mi je mlad. – using mi (to me) sounds more colloquial, like “My brother (of mine) is young.”

All of these can be correct, but the basic learner-friendly form is Moj brat je mlad.

How do I make it negative: “My brother is not young”?

You use ne + je, which combines into nije:

• Moj brat nije mlad. – My brother is not young.

Ne + je → nije is an irregular contraction you simply have to remember.
Other forms:

• nisam = ne + sam
• nisi = ne + si
• nismo = ne + smo
• niste = ne + ste
• nisu = ne + su

How would I say “My sister is young”?

You change the noun to a feminine one and make the other words agree:

• Moja sestra je mlada.

Changes compared with Moj brat je mlad:

• moj → moja (because sestra is feminine)
• brat → sestra (sister)
• mlad → mlada (feminine form of young)

How would I say “My brothers are young”?

The normal plural of brat is irregular:

• braća – brothers

So:

• Moja braća su mlada. – My brothers are young.

Notes:

• Moja agrees with braća (treated like a neuter plural form for adjectives).
• su is the 3rd person plural of biti (they are).
• mlada is the correct plural form here (neuter plural form of mlad).

Why is there no word for the or a in Moj brat je mlad?

Croatian has no articles like English a/an or the.

• Moj brat can mean my brother or my (the) brother, depending on context.

Definiteness (whether you mean “the” or “a”) is usually clear from context, word choice, or pronouns, not from a separate word like the.

How is j pronounced in moj, je, and mlad?

In Croatian:

• j is pronounced like English y in yes.

So:

• moj ≈ moy (like “moy”)
• je ≈ yeh
• mlad ≈ mlahd (with a short, clear a as in father, and d pronounced fully)

What is the difference between Moj brat je mlad and Moj je brat mlad in meaning?

Both are grammatically correct and both can translate as My brother is young, but the emphasis shifts slightly:

• Moj brat je mlad. – neutral, simple statement.
• Moj je brat mlad. – puts light emphasis on moj brat as a unit, as if contrasting with someone else’s brother or with some other person:
  
  • “My brother is young (as opposed to someone else’s who isn’t).”

For most basic uses, Moj brat je mlad. is the best default.