Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako.

The teacher repeats the question slowly.

Breakdown of Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako.

• učiteljica: teacher
• pitanje: question
• polako: slowly
• ponavljati: to repeat

Questions & Answers about Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako.

Why is there no word for the in Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako?

Croatian does not use definite or indefinite articles like the or a/an.

Whether you mean a teacher or the teacher is understood from context, not from a separate word.

So:

• Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako can mean:
  • The teacher repeats the question slowly, or
  • A teacher repeats the question slowly,
    depending on what has been mentioned or is known in the conversation.

How do we know the teacher is female in Učiteljica?

The noun učiteljica is grammatically feminine and usually refers to a female teacher.

• Masculine: učitelj (teacher, male)
• Feminine: učiteljica (teacher, female)

The ending -ica is a common feminine ending in Croatian, often derived from a masculine form:

• student → studentica
• prijatelj (friend, male) → prijateljica (friend, female)

What is the infinitive of ponavlja, and what does it mean?

The infinitive (dictionary form) is ponavljati.

• ponavljati = to repeat, to be repeating (imperfective aspect, ongoing or repeated action)
• ponavlja = he/she/it repeats, is repeating (3rd person singular, present tense)

So Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako = The (female) teacher repeats / is repeating the question slowly.

Why is it ponavlja and not some other form of the verb?

Ponavlja is the 3rd person singular, present tense form of ponavljati.

Present tense conjugation (imperfective, ponavljati):

• ja ponavljam – I repeat
• ti ponavljaš – you repeat (informal singular)
• on/ona/ono ponavlja – he/she/it repeats
• mi ponavljamo – we repeat
• vi ponavljate – you repeat (plural / formal)
• oni/one/ona ponavljaju – they repeat

Since the subject is učiteljica (she), you need ponavlja.

Which case is pitanje in, and why?

Pitanje (question) is in the accusative singular here.

In Croatian, the direct object of a verb is usually in the accusative case.
In this sentence:

• Subject (nominative): učiteljica – the teacher
• Verb: ponavlja – repeats
• Direct object (accusative): pitanje – the question

The base (nominative) form is also pitanje, and for neuter nouns like this, nominative and accusative singular often look the same.

How would the sentence change if there were several questions instead of one?

You would make pitanje plural:

• Nominative plural: pitanja (questions)
• Accusative plural: pitanja (same form here)

So:

• Učiteljica ponavlja pitanja polako.
  = The teacher repeats the questions slowly.

Only pitanje → pitanja changes; the rest stays the same.

What exactly is polako? Is it an adverb or an adjective?

In this sentence, polako is an adverb, meaning slowly.

It describes how the action is done:

• ponavlja polako – repeats slowly

The related adjective is spor (slow):

• spor učitelj – a slow teacher (masculine)
• spora učiteljica – a slow teacher (feminine)

As an adverb (how?), Croatian typically uses a form like polako, not spor.

Can polako be moved in the sentence, and does that change the meaning?

Yes, Croatian word order is quite flexible, and polako can move:

• Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako.
• Učiteljica polako ponavlja pitanje.

Both generally mean the same: The teacher repeats the question slowly.

Subtle differences:

• Učiteljica polako ponavlja pitanje. can slightly emphasize the manner of repeating (she is slowly repeating).
• Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako. may feel a bit more neutral or put a tiny bit more weight at the end on slowly, but in everyday speech these are very close in meaning.

Could the subject be dropped, like just Ponavlja pitanje polako?

Yes, but with a nuance.

Croatian often drops pronoun subjects (like ona, she), because the verb ending shows the person. However, in your sentence the subject is a full noun (učiteljica), not a pronoun.

• Ponavlja pitanje polako.
  This is grammatical and means (She/He) is repeating the question slowly, but it does not tell you who is doing it. The subject is understood from context or from an earlier sentence.

To explicitly say the teacher, you normally keep Učiteljica in the sentence.

How would I say The male teacher repeats the question slowly?

Use the masculine noun učitelj:

• Učitelj ponavlja pitanje polako.

Changes:

• učiteljica (female teacher) → učitelj (male teacher)
• The verb ponavlja stays the same: 3rd person singular.

How do I say The teachers repeat the question slowly (plural)?

You need plural for the subject and the verb.

For female teachers:

• Učiteljice ponavljaju pitanje polako.
  (Female teachers repeat the question slowly.)

For male or mixed group:

• Učitelji ponavljaju pitanje polako.
  (Teachers repeat the question slowly.)

Notice:

• učiteljica → učiteljice (feminine plural)
• učitelj → učitelji (masculine plural)
• ponavlja → ponavljaju (3rd person plural)
• pitanje stays singular (only one question repeated)

Does Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako mean The teacher repeats the question or The teacher is repeating the question?

It can mean both. Croatian does not have a separate continuous form like English is repeating.

• Učiteljica ponavlja pitanje polako. can be:
  • The teacher repeats the question slowly. (habitual or general)
  • The teacher is repeating the question slowly. (right now, in progress)

Context (time expressions, situation) tells you which meaning is intended.