Snaga je važna.

Strength is important.

Breakdown of Snaga je važna.

• biti: to be
• važan: important
• snaga: strength

Questions & Answers about Snaga je važna.

What does each word in Snaga je važna correspond to in English?

• snaga = strength (a noun, feminine gender)
• je = is (3rd person singular of the verb biti – to be)
• važna = important (an adjective in feminine singular form)

So the literal structure is: Strength – is – important.

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

Croatian has no articles (no equivalents of English the, a, or an).
Whether English uses strength, the strength, or a strength is understood from context in Croatian, not from a separate word.

So Snaga je važna can be translated depending on context as:

• Strength is important.
• The strength is important.
• Having strength is important.

The missing article is completely normal in Croatian grammar.

Why does važna end in -a instead of something like važan or važno?

In Croatian, adjectives agree with the noun in:

• gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
• number (singular/plural)
• case

Here:

• snaga is a feminine singular noun (most nouns ending in -a are feminine).
• The adjective važan (important) must match that:
  
  • masculine: važan
  • feminine: važna
  • neuter: važno

Because snaga is feminine singular, the adjective must be važna.
So: Snaga je važna. = Strength is important.

Why is snaga feminine when in English “strength” has no gender?

English nouns don’t have grammatical gender, but Croatian nouns do.
In Croatian:

• Most nouns ending in -a are feminine:
  
  • snaga (strength) – feminine
  • kuća (house) – feminine
  • stolica (chair) – feminine

So snaga is grammatically feminine, which is why the adjective is važna, not važan / važno. This is a grammar category, not about “real-world” gender.

What case is snaga in, and why?

Snaga is in the nominative singular case.

Reasons:

• It is the subject of the sentence (the thing we are talking about).
• The basic dictionary form you find in a dictionary is also nominative singular, and it usually ends in -a for feminine nouns.

Very roughly:

• Nominative is used for subjects (who/what is something).
• Other cases (genitive, accusative, etc.) appear when the noun has a different function (object, possession, etc.).

Here the pattern is simply:
[Nominative subject] + je + [adjective]
→ Snaga je važna.

Do I always have to use je (the verb “to be”) in this kind of sentence, or can I drop it?

In normal, full sentences, you must use the correct form of biti (to be) in the present tense:

• Snaga je važna. – Strength is important.

Leaving out je is only acceptable in specific headlines, slogans, or very telegraphic style, for example:

• On a poster: Snaga važna – Strength (is) important (headline style)

But in regular spoken or written Croatian, you should include je. It’s not like Russian or some other Slavic languages where “to be” is often omitted in the present tense.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Važna je snaga?

Yes, Croatian word order is flexible, and the main patterns here are:

• Snaga je važna. – neutral, most common: Strength is important.
• Važna je snaga. – also correct, but it puts more emphasis on snaga as the thing that is important, almost:
  What is important? Strength (is).
• Snaga je važna and Važna je snaga both sound natural, just with a slightly different focus.

However, something like Snaga važna je is unusual and would only appear in poetry or very stylized language.

How would I say “Strength is not important” in Croatian?

You negate the verb je by using nije (the negative form of “is”):

• Snaga nije važna. – Strength is not important.

Structure:

• snaga – strength (subject, nominative)
• nije – is not (3rd person singular of biti, negative)
• važna – important (feminine singular, agreeing with snaga)

What’s the difference between snaga and moć, since both can mean “power/strength”?

Both relate to the idea of “power,” but they’re used differently:

• snaga

  • physical strength: fizička snaga – physical strength
  • mental strength, stamina, resilience: snaga volje – strength of will
  • can be quite neutral and broad

• moć

  • power in the sense of authority, influence, control:
    
    • politička moć – political power
    • imati moć – to have power
  • can sound more like power over something or someone

In Snaga je važna, we are talking about “strength” in general (often physical or inner strength), so snaga is the natural choice.

How would this sentence change in the plural, like “Strengths are important”?

To pluralize:

• snaga (strength) → snage (strengths) – feminine plural, nominative
• The verb je (is) becomes su (are):
  
  • je – is (singular)
  • su – are (plural)
• The adjective važna (feminine singular) becomes važne (feminine plural nominative).

So:

• Snage su važne. – Strengths are important.
  (or: “The strengths are important,” depending on context)