Questions & Answers about Djeca tiho govore u vrtu.
Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in Djeca tiho govore u vrtu?
Croatian has no articles like English “the” or “a/an”.
Whether djeca means “the children” or “children” is understood from context, not from a separate word.
So Djeca tiho govore u vrtu can be translated as:
- “The children are speaking quietly in the garden.”
or - “Children are speaking quietly in the garden.”
The sentence itself doesn’t say explicitly whether we mean specific children or children in general; context decides that.
What form is djeca? Is it singular or plural, and what gender is it?
Djeca is a bit special:
- It is grammatically plural, which is why the verb is govore (3rd person plural).
- Semantically it refers to a group (children).
- In traditional grammar it’s often treated as neuter plural, even though it refers to people.
So:
- Djeca govore. – govore = they speak (plural)
- You cannot say *Djeca govori (that would be wrong in standard Croatian).
What tense and aspect is govore, and how does it compare with English tenses?
The verb is govoriti (to speak, to talk).
is , and is .