Questions & Answers about Klupa u parku je prazna.
Croatian does not have articles like the or a/an at all.
The noun klupa can therefore mean either the bench or a bench, depending entirely on context.
If speakers want to be very specific, they can add a demonstrative, for example ona klupa (that bench) or ta klupa (that bench), but usually the context is enough to show whether a specific or a non‑specific bench is meant.
Klupa is the grammatical subject of the sentence – it’s the thing we are talking about.
It is in the nominative singular (basic dictionary form for subjects).
U parku is a prepositional phrase indicating location; park is therefore in the locative singular (parku) because the preposition u with a static location requires the locative case.
The base form is park (nominative singular), but after u meaning “in/at” with a stationary location, Croatian uses the locative case, which for masculine nouns often ends in -u: u parku.
So you say Sam u parku (I am in the park), živim u gradu (I live in the city), čekam u stanu (I’m waiting in the apartment).
Notice the contrast with motion: Idem u park (I’m going to the park) – here park is accusative, which for this type of noun looks the same as nominative.
Adjectives in Croatian must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
Klupa is feminine singular nominative, so the adjective “empty” must also take the feminine singular nominative form: prazna.
The base (dictionary) form of the adjective is masculine:
- masculine: prazan stol (empty table)
- feminine: prazna klupa (empty bench)
- neuter: prazno mjesto (empty seat/place)
Most nouns ending in -a are feminine in Croatian, especially inanimate ones like klupa, kuća (house), stolica (chair).
There are some masculine nouns ending in -a (for example tata, kolega), but those usually refer to people and are listed as masculine in dictionaries.
Since klupa ends in -a and refers to an inanimate object, it follows the regular feminine pattern, which is why the adjective is prazna and not prazan.
Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti (to be), so it corresponds to is in English.
In normal, neutral sentences like this, Croatian does use the verb biti as a linking verb, just like English: Klupa … je … prazna (The bench … is … empty).
Leaving it out (Klupa u parku prazna) sounds like a title, headline, or very telegraphic style, not normal full-sentence speech.
Roughly, u means “in/inside/within” and na means “on/on top of/at (a surface or open area)”.
A park is treated as a space you are in, so you say u parku.
Other examples: u kući (in the house), u sobi (in the room), but na stolu (on the table), na plaži (on the beach), na trgu (in/at the square).
There are some fixed expressions and exceptions, but u parku is the normal, correct form.
Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible, and several versions are possible:
- Klupa u parku je prazna. – neutral; “The bench in the park is empty.”
- U parku je klupa prazna. – starts with the location; “In the park, the bench is empty.”
- Prazna je klupa u parku. – puts more emphasis on prazna (empty).
The basic meaning stays the same; what changes is the focus/emphasis. As a learner, using the original order is perfectly fine and natural.
On its own, Klupa u parku je prazna. can correspond to both “The bench…” and “A bench…”.
Usually, speakers interpret it as the bench if they have a specific bench in mind or it was mentioned before or is visible.
If you wanted to talk more generically, you’d more likely use a plural, like Klupe u parku su prazne (The benches in the park are empty).
Prazna literally means “empty” – there is nobody on the bench.
Slobodna literally means “free/available” – nobody is using it, so you are free to sit there.
For a place to sit, both can often be used, but:
- prazna klupa describes the physical fact (no one is there)
- slobodna klupa highlights that it is free for use
For example, you would more naturally ask about a seat: Je li ovo mjesto slobodno? (Is this seat free?).
You need the plural of the noun, verb, and adjective:
- klupa → klupe (benches)
- je → su (are – 3rd person plural of biti)
- prazna → prazne (feminine plural to agree with klupe)
So the sentence is: Klupe u parku su prazne.
You negate the verb biti: je becomes nije (is not):
Klupa u parku nije prazna.
Everything else stays the same; the negation is carried by the verb form nije.
The most standard way is to put the verb first and add li:
Je li klupa u parku prazna?
In informal speech you might also hear Je l’ klupa u parku prazna? or rely just on rising intonation: Klupa u parku je prazna? (with questioning intonation), but Je li klupa u parku prazna? is the safest, textbook form.