Questions & Answers about Voda u rijeci je duboka.
- Voda – water; noun, feminine, nominative singular. It is the subject of the sentence.
- u – preposition in. With a static location, it usually takes the locative case.
- rijeci – from rijeka (river); here it is locative singular (in the river), governed by u.
- je – is; 3rd person singular present of biti (to be), the copular verb.
- duboka – deep; adjective, feminine, nominative singular, agreeing with the subject voda.
The literal structure is: Water in (the) river is deep.
In Croatian, the preposition u (in) can take different cases, depending on meaning:
- Locative = location (where something is)
- u rijeci = in the river (static location)
- Accusative = direction (where something is going)
- u rijeku = into the river (movement into)
In Voda u rijeci je duboka, we are talking about water located in the river, not movement, so rijeci is in the locative case: u rijeci = in the river.
Rijeka is nominative (subject form), and cannot be used after u in this meaning.
Adjectives in Croatian must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
- voda – feminine, singular, nominative
- So duboka is the form of dubok (deep) that matches:
- feminine
- singular
- nominative
Other forms:
- dubok – masculine singular nominative
- duboka – feminine singular nominative
- duboko – neuter singular nominative
Because voda is feminine, you must say duboka:
Voda je duboka. = The water is deep.
Standard Croatian uses a copular verb (a form of biti – to be) in such sentences.
- Correct standard form: Voda u rijeci je duboka.
- Dropping je: Voda u rijeci duboka. – sounds colloquial or telegraphic, not standard written Croatian.
In everyday speech, some people do omit je in short, informal statements (similar to note-taking style), but for correct usage, especially in writing or formal speech, keep je:
Voda u rijeci je duboka.
Croatian does not have separate words for the and a/an like English. Nouns are typically used without articles, and definiteness (the vs a) is understood from:
- Context
- Word order
- Situation
So voda can mean:
- the water (specific)
- water (in general)
In this sentence, Voda u rijeci je duboka is naturally understood as The water in the river is deep, because we are talking about a specific river that is contextually known or visible.
Voda is in the nominative singular.
- The nominative case is used mainly for the subject of the sentence.
- Here, voda (water) is what we are talking about; it is doing the “being deep”.
Simplified declension of voda (singular):
- Nominative: voda – water (as subject)
- Genitive: vode – of water
- Dative: vodi – to/for water
- Accusative: vodu – water (object)
- Locative: vodi – in/at water
- Instrumental: vodom – with water
In Voda u rijeci je duboka, voda is the subject, so nominative is required.
Both u and na can roughly translate as in / on / at, but they are used differently:
- u – for being inside or within something:
- u rijeci = in the river (inside the body of water)
- na – for being on a surface or a more open/flat place:
- na rijeci = literally on the river (e.g., on a boat on the river)
In this sentence, we mean the water that is contained within the riverbed, so u rijeci is correct: Voda u rijeci je duboka.
Yes, Croatian word order is more flexible than English, though the basic neutral order here is:
- Voda u rijeci je duboka. – neutral: The water in the river is deep.
Other possibilities:
- U rijeci je voda duboka. – emphasizes in the river, as a location where the water is deep (contrast: maybe in the lake it is not).
- Voda je duboka u rijeci. – slightly emphasizes deep in the river (as opposed to somewhere else).
All are grammatically correct; changing the order mainly affects emphasis and focus, not the core meaning.
Voda u rijeci je duboka. – literally The water in the river is deep.
- Focuses on the water depth (how deep the water is).
Rijeka je duboka. – The river is deep.
- A bit more general; often still understood as talking about the water depth, but grammatically the river is the subject, not the water.
Both can describe how deep the water is, but:
- First: highlights the water as the thing that is deep.
- Second: treats the river as a whole as deep.
You could say:
- Riječna voda je duboka.
Here:
- riječna – adjective meaning river (as in river water, water belonging to the river)
- voda – water
- je – is
- duboka – deep (feminine, agreeing with voda)
Difference in nuance:
- Voda u rijeci je duboka. – literally The water in the river is deep (location phrase).
- Riječna voda je duboka. – River water is deep (treats it as a type of water).
You need to put both nouns, the verb, and the adjective in the plural:
- Vode u rijekama su duboke.
Breakdown:
- Vode – plural of voda (waters); feminine nominative plural (subject).
- u rijekama – rijekama is locative plural of rijeka (in the rivers).
- su – plural of je; 3rd person plural of biti (they are).
- duboke – feminine nominative plural, agreeing with vode.
Structure: Vode (waters) u rijekama (in the rivers) su (are) duboke (deep).
Yes, in normal speech rijeci (locative/dative of rijeka – river) and riječi (plural of riječ – word) are pronounced the same.
- u rijeci – in the river
- ove riječi – these words
They differ only in spelling and meaning, not in everyday pronunciation. In your sentence, context (plus the form u) clearly shows that rijeci comes from rijeka (river).