Učiteljica šapće učenici odgovor na uho.

The teacher is whispering the answer into the pupil’s (female) ear.

Breakdown of Učiteljica šapće učenici odgovor na uho.

• učiteljica: teacher
• odgovor: answer
• šapćati: to whisper
• učenica: pupil
• na: into
• uho: ear

Questions & Answers about Učiteljica šapće učenici odgovor na uho.

What case is učenici in this sentence, and how can I recognize it?

In this sentence, učenici is dative singular.

• The base noun is učenica (female student).
• Dative singular of učenica is učenici (meaning to the [female] student).
• The verb šapće (whispers) naturally takes an indirect object in the dative: šaptati (komu? čemu?) = to whisper to whom?.

Form pattern for učenica (singular forms only):

• Nominative: učenica (who? – subject)
• Accusative: učenicu (whom? – direct object)
• Dative: učenici (to whom? – indirect object)

So učenici here answers to whom is she whispering?, which tells you it’s dative.

Why is it učenici and not učenica?

Because učenica (nominative) would make it look like a second subject, but the sentence already has a subject: učiteljica (the teacher).

• Subject: Učiteljica (who is doing the action?)
• Verb: šapće
• Indirect object: učenici (to whom?)
• Direct object: odgovor (what?)

The verb šaptati (to whisper) usually goes:

• šapće (komu?) – dative (indirect object)
• šapće (što?) – accusative (direct object)

So we need the dative učenici (to the student), not the nominative učenica.

Could učenici also mean students (plural)? How do I know it isn’t plural here?

Yes, učenici can also be:

• nominative plural of učenik (male student) → učenici = (male/mixed) students.

However, in this sentence that interpretation doesn’t work:

1. The sentence already has a clear subject: Učiteljica (singular).
2. If učenici were nominative plural, we’d effectively have two subjects without coordination:
   • Učiteljica učenici šapće… – ungrammatical.
3. The verb šapće is 3rd person singular, matching Učiteljica, not plural učenici.

Context and agreement tell you that učenici must be dative singular here (to the [female] student), not nominative plural (students).

What is the grammatical function of učenici in this sentence?

učenici is the indirect object (the recipient of the action).

• She whispers what? → odgovor (direct object, accusative).
• She whispers to whom? → učenici (indirect object, dative).

So the structure is:

• Učiteljica – subject
• šapće – verb
• učenici – indirect object (to the student)
• odgovor – direct object (the answer)
• na uho – adverbial phrase (where/how she whispers it)

What case is odgovor, and why?

Odgovor is accusative singular masculine in this sentence.

• It answers što? (what?) after the verb šapće → what does she whisper?
• Masculine inanimate nouns typically have the same form in nominative and accusative singular:
  • Nominative: odgovor (as subject)
  • Accusative: odgovor (as object)

Here it is not the subject (that’s učiteljica), so odgovor is the direct object in the accusative case.

Why is the verb šapće and not something like šapta or šapuće?

Because šapće is the standard present-tense 3rd person singular form of šaptati (to whisper).

Present tense of šaptati:

• ja šapćem – I whisper
• ti šapćeš – you whisper
• on/ona/ono šapće – he/she/it whispers
• mi šapćemo – we whisper
• vi šapćete – you (pl.) whisper
• oni/one/ona šapću – they whisper

Notes:

• The stem consonant t changes to ć in the present (šapt- → šapć-), so you get šapće, not šapta.
• šapuće would be the present of šaputati (a different, though related, verb).

So in standard Croatian, Učiteljica šapće… is the correct present-tense form.

Is šaptati imperfective or perfective, and how would I say she whispered as a completed action?

Šaptati is imperfective (focus on the process, duration, or repetition).

The usual perfective partner is šapnuti (to whisper once, in a single act).

Past tense:

• Imperfective (she was whispering / she used to whisper):
  • Ona je šaptala.
• Perfective (she whispered once / completed):
  • Ona je šapnula.

In your sentence, šapće is present, imperfective: she is whispering / she whispers.

Why is it na uho and not u uho or na uhu?

Na uho is a fixed, very common expression meaning into someone’s ear / quietly, so only that person hears.

Grammar and meaning:

• na uho = literally onto the ear
  
  • na
    • accusative (direction, goal)
  • It suggests moving the speech towards the ear.
• na uhu = on the ear
  
  • na
    • locative (static location)
  • Would sound like something is resting on the ear, not being whispered to it.
• u uho = into the ear
  
  • Could be used for physical things going into the ear (water, drops), not normally for whispering.

For whispering, the idiomatic pattern is:

• šaptati komu na uho – to whisper in someone’s ear

Can I change the word order, for example to Učiteljica šapće odgovor učenici na uho? Does the meaning change?

Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible because case endings show who does what. The basic meaning (who whispers what to whom) stays the same, but the focus can shift.

Possible variants (all grammatical):

1. Učiteljica šapće učenici odgovor na uho.
   – Neutral, slightly focusing on učenici (to the student).

2. Učiteljica šapće odgovor učenici na uho.
   – Slightly more focus on odgovor (the answer) before mentioning who receives it.

3. Učiteljica učenici šapće odgovor na uho.
   – Puts učenici closer to the subject for emphasis (often more marked in speech).

In everyday use, your original order (šapće učenici odgovor na uho) is very natural. Changing the order doesn’t change the basic meaning, as long as the cases stay the same; it only affects nuance and emphasis.

How would the sentence change if the student were male instead of female?

You would use učenik (male student) and its dative singular form učeniku:

• Učiteljica šapće učeniku odgovor na uho.
  → The female teacher whispers the answer into the (male) student’s ear.

Pattern for učenik (singular):

• Nominative: učenik (who? – subject)
• Accusative: učenika (whom? – direct object)
• Dative: učeniku (to whom? – indirect object)

Everything else in the sentence stays the same.

How could I replace učenici with a pronoun, and where does that pronoun go?

For a female indirect object (to her), you use the dative singular pronoun joj.

Because joj is a clitic, it goes in second position in the sentence (after the first stressed word):

• Učiteljica joj šapće odgovor na uho.
  → She (the teacher) whispers the answer into her ear.

Other options showing the same pattern:

• Ona joj šapće odgovor na uho.
• Jučer joj je učiteljica šapnula odgovor na uho.
  (Here joj still comes early, among other clitics: joj je…)

How do I pronounce the special letters š, č, and ć in šapće and učenici?

Approximate them like this (from an English speaker’s perspective):

• š – like sh in ship

  • šapće → starts with sh: shapće

• č – a hard ch, like in church

  • In šapće, you have ć, not č, but it’s similar.

• ć – a softer, more palatal ch, between English ch and ty in tune

  • šapće ≈ shap-tyeh (but pronounced as one syllable šap-će, quite soft).

Word by word, very roughly:

• Učiteljica ≈ oo-cheh-TEL-yee-tsa (stress near te)
• šapće ≈ SHAP-tyeh (with soft ć)
• učenici ≈ oo-cheh-NEE-tsee

Native pronunciation is more precise than these approximations, but this will get you close.