Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak.

The teacher kindly explains this task.

Breakdown of Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak.

• učiteljica: teacher
• ovaj: this
• zadatak: task
• objašnjavati: to explain
• ljubazno: kindly

Questions & Answers about Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak.

What does the word učiteljica tell me about the gender of the teacher?

The noun učiteljica is specifically feminine and means female teacher.

• učitelj = (male) teacher, or “teacher” in a generic dictionary sense
• učiteljica = female teacher

The suffix -ica is a common feminine ending for professions or roles derived from a masculine form:

• student → studentica (female student)
• prijatelj (friend) → prijateljica (female friend)

So from the sentence Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak, you immediately know the teacher is female.

Why does učiteljica end in -a? What case and number is it?

Učiteljica here is:

• singular
• feminine
• nominative case (the subject of the sentence)

In Croatian, most regular feminine nouns ending in -a use -a in the nominative singular when they are the subject:

• Učiteljica objašnjava. – The (female) teacher explains.
• Djevojka čita. – The girl reads.

If you changed the function of the word, the ending would change:

• Vidim učiteljicu. – I see the (female) teacher. (accusative)
• Pričam s učiteljicom. – I talk with the (female) teacher. (instrumental)

What exactly is ljubazno? Is it an adjective or an adverb?

Ljubazno here is an adverb meaning kindly / politely.

The base adjective is ljubazan (“kind, polite” – masculine form):

• ljubazan učitelj – a kind (male) teacher
• ljubazna učiteljica – a kind (female) teacher
• ljubazno dijete – a kind child

The adverb form is created by taking the neuter singular form of the adjective (ljubazno) and using it as an adverb:

• Govori ljubazno. – He/She speaks kindly.
• Piše lijepo. – He/She writes nicely. (lijepo from adj. lijep)

So in Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak, ljubazno describes how she explains – in a kind or polite manner.

Can ljubazno go in another position in the sentence?

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English. You can move ljubazno without changing the basic meaning, though the emphasis can shift slightly:

• Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak.
• Učiteljica objašnjava ljubazno ovaj zadatak. (less usual, but possible)
• Ljubazno učiteljica objašnjava ovaj zadatak. (puts more focus on the kind manner)

The most natural, neutral order is typically:

Subject – adverb – verb – object
Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak.

How should I understand the tense of objašnjava? Is it “explains” or “is explaining”?

The verb objašnjava is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• imperfective aspect

Croatian has only one present tense form, which covers both:

• She explains (habitual, general)
• She is explaining (right now)

So Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak can mean:

• The (female) teacher kindly explains this task.
• The (female) teacher is kindly explaining this task.

Context decides which reading feels more natural in English.

What is the infinitive of objašnjava and what aspect is it?

The infinitive is objašnjavati, and it is imperfective.

• objašnjavati – to explain (ongoing, repeated, in progress; imperfective)
• objasniti – to explain (one completed act; perfective)

Present tense of objašnjavati (imperfective):

• (ja) objašnjavam
• (ti) objašnjavaš
• (on/ona/ono) objašnjava
• (mi) objašnjavamo
• (vi) objašnjavate
• (oni/one/ona) objašnjavaju

You use objašnjavati when focusing on the process or a repeated action, which fits the idea of “(is) explaining” in the sentence.

How do I say “She explained this task” or “She will explain this task” using this verb?

For the past and future, you typically switch to the perfective verb objasniti to emphasize a completed act.

Past (perfect):

• Učiteljica je objasnila ovaj zadatak.
  = The (female) teacher explained this task. / has explained this task.

Here objasnila is the feminine past participle of objasniti.

Future:

• Učiteljica će objasniti ovaj zadatak.
  = The (female) teacher will explain this task.

You could use the imperfective objašnjavati in the past if you want to stress the duration or repetition:

• Učiteljica je dugo objašnjavala ovaj zadatak.
  = The teacher was explaining this task for a long time.

What case is ovaj zadatak in, and why?

Ovaj zadatak is in the accusative case, singular, masculine.

• zadatak – a task / exercise (masculine, inanimate noun)
• It is the direct object of the verb objašnjava (she explains what? → this task), so it must be in the accusative.

For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular form is identical to the nominative:

• Nominative: zadatak – Ovaj zadatak je težak. (This task is difficult.)
• Accusative: Vidim ovaj zadatak. (I see this task.)

So the endings don’t change between nominative and accusative in this specific case; the function in the sentence and the determiner ovaj tell you it’s accusative.

How does the word ovaj work? Is it like “this”? How does it change?

Yes, ovaj means this (near the speaker). It is a demonstrative adjective/pronoun and must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Basic nominative singular forms:

• ovaj zadatak – this task (masculine)
• ova knjiga – this book (feminine)
• ovo dijete – this child (neuter)

In the accusative singular (for inanimate masculine nouns), you still see ovaj:

• Vidim ovaj zadatak. – I see this task.

Other cases change the form; for example, genitive singular:

• bez ovog zadatka – without this task

So in ovaj zadatak, ovaj is masculine, singular, accusative, agreeing with zadatak.

Could I say just zadatak without ovaj? What difference would it make?

Yes, you can say:

• Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava zadatak.

This would mean simply “The teacher kindly explains the task / a task.”
Croatian has no articles (the, a), so zadatak on its own is more neutral and less specific.

Adding ovaj makes it explicitly deictic: it’s this particular task (the one we’re working on, the one just mentioned, etc.):

• Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak.
  → Not just any task, but this one here.

What is the difference between zadatak, zadaća, and vježba?

All three appear in school contexts, but they’re not identical:

• zadatak – task / exercise / problem

  • e.g. a math problem, an exercise in a workbook
  • ovaj zadatak = this task / this exercise

• zadaća – usually homework (especially in some regions)

  • domaća zadaća = homework
  • Imam puno zadaće. – I have a lot of homework.

• vježba – exercise in the sense of practice activity

  • physical exercise, language drills, practice tasks
  • gramatička vježba – grammar exercise

In your sentence, zadatak is the most natural word for a specific school task the teacher is explaining.

Is the subject učiteljica necessary, or could I drop it like in some other languages?

Croatian is a pro-drop language, so you can omit the subject pronoun (like ja, ti, on), but you don’t usually omit a full noun like učiteljica unless it is completely clear from context.

Compare:

• (Ona) objašnjava ovaj zadatak. – She explains this task.
  Here ona is optional; the verb form objašnjava already shows it’s 3rd person singular.

But if you want to say specifically that it’s the teacher, you normally keep the noun:

• Učiteljica objašnjava ovaj zadatak.

You could omit učiteljica in a longer text once it’s clear who’s being talked about and then just continue with Ona objašnjava… or only the verb, but the standalone sentence usually keeps učiteljica.

Why is there no word for “the” in Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak?

Croatian has no articles like English “the” or “a/an”. Definiteness and specificity are expressed through:

• context
• word order
• demonstratives (like ovaj, taj, onaj)
• sometimes, adjective position and form

So:

• Učiteljica objašnjava zadatak.
  can mean: A teacher explains a task or The teacher explains the task, depending on context.

In your sentence, ovaj zadatak already contains ovaj (“this”), which makes it clearly definite: this task is being explained.

How do I pronounce the words učiteljica and objašnjava?

Key points:

učiteljica: u-či-te-lji-ca

• č = like ch in church
• lj = a palatal sound, similar to the lli in Italian famiglia; softer than English ly
• stress is typically on the second syllable: uČIteljica

objašnjava: ob-ja-š­nja-va

• š = like sh in she
• nj = a palatal sound like ñ in Spanish señor, or ny in canyon
• roughly: ob-yash-nyah-vah
• stress commonly on the second syllable: obJAšnjava (regional variations exist, but this is a good learner’s approximation)

All vowels are short and clear; Croatian spelling is quite phonetic, so each letter is pronounced.

How would I make this sentence plural, like “The female teachers kindly explain these tasks”?

You need to change the subject, verb, and object to plural, and match ovaj to a plural noun.

Singular:

• Učiteljica ljubazno objašnjava ovaj zadatak.
  The (female) teacher kindly explains this task.

Plural:

• Učiteljice ljubazno objašnjavaju ove zadatke.
  The (female) teachers kindly explain these tasks.

Changes:

• učiteljica → učiteljice (feminine plural nominative)
• objašnjava → objašnjavaju (3rd person plural present)
• ovaj zadatak → ove zadatke
  
  • ovaj (this, masc. sg.) → ove (these, masc. pl. accusative)
  • zadatak → zadatke (plural accusative)