Teško je donijeti odluku bez plana.

to be

Breakdown of Teško je donijeti odluku bez plana.

• težak: hard
• bez: without
• plan: plan

Questions & Answers about Teško je donijeti odluku bez plana.

In English we say “It is hard to make a decision…”, but there is no word for “it” in Teško je donijeti odluku bez plana. Why is it just Teško je and not something like To je teško?

Croatian often uses an impersonal construction where English uses a dummy subject “it”.

• Teško je donijeti odluku.
  literally: “Hard is to make a decision.”
  natural English: “It is hard to make a decision.”

There is no need for a separate word for “it” here; the whole infinitive phrase donijeti odluku functions as the “thing that is hard”.

If you say:

• To je teško. – That is hard.

you are pointing to some specific thing (that thing we’re talking about) and saying it is hard, not expressing a general statement like “It is hard to make a decision.”

Why is it teško (neuter) and not težak or teška?