Learn Hardcore Croatian: Malen pas spava na tepihu. - The small dog is sleeping on the carpet.

Malen pas can mean a small dog or the small dog, depending on context.
The language relies on context, word order, and sometimes demonstratives (like taj, ovaj) to give the nuance English expresses with articles.

You only say malen pas, never *jedan malen pas to mean a small dog in a neutral sentence like this. Jedan is one and is used when you really want to stress the number: Jedan malen pas spava na tepihu = One small dog is sleeping on the carpet (and not more than one).

What is the difference between malen and mali?

Both malen and mali mean small.

mali pas – the most common, everyday form
malen pas – a stylistic or slightly more literary/poetic form

Grammatically, here they are the same: masculine singular nominative, agreeing with pas (masculine singular). In normal speech you’ll hear mali pas much more often, but malen pas is correct and can sound a bit more expressive or bookish.

Why does malen come before pas?

In Croatian, the usual order is:

adjective + noun

So:

malen pas = small dog
crvena knjiga = red book
stara kuća = old house

You can put the adjective after the noun in special, more expressive contexts (poetry, emphasis, fixed phrases), but the neutral descriptive order is adjective first.

So Malen pas spava… is the standard neutral order for A small dog is sleeping…

What grammatical case is pas in, and why?

Pas is in the nominative singular case.

The nominative is used for the subject of the sentence.
The subject in this sentence is the small dog – the one doing the action.

Breakdown:

pas – nominative singular (subject)
malen – nominative singular masculine, agreeing with pas

So: Malen pas = A small dog as the subject, just like The dog in The dog sleeps.

What case is tepihu, and why does it end in -u?

Tepihu is in the locative singular case of tepih (carpet / rug).

Base form (nominative): tepih
Locative singular: tepihu

Reasons:

The preposition na (on) is used here with the locative to express location (where?), not movement.
na + locative answers Where is something? → na tepihu = on the carpet.

If we were talking about movement onto the carpet, we would use na with the accusative:

Pas skače na tepih. = The dog jumps onto the carpet. (movement to a surface)
Pas spava na tepihu. = The dog is sleeping on the carpet. (location on a surface)

So the -u ending here marks the locative singular: tepihu = on the carpet (with na).

Why is the preposition na used here and not u?

Both na and u are common prepositions:

na = on, onto, sometimes at (for surfaces or open areas)
u = in, into (for enclosed spaces)

Tepih (carpet) is a surface, so you’re on it, not in it:

na tepihu – on the carpet
u sobi – in the room
u kutiji – in the box
na stolu – on the table

So Malen pas spava na tepihu literally means A small dog sleeps on the carpet.

Why is it spava and not something like je spava (like “is sleeps”)?

Croatian does not use to be + -ing form to form the present continuous, like English does.

English: is sleeping
Croatian: simply spava

The simple present in Croatian often covers both:

Malen pas spava na tepihu.
- A small dog sleeps on the carpet.
- A small dog is sleeping on the carpet.

You only use je (third person of biti, to be) in other constructions, not to build a routine present continuous like English usually does.

Does spava mean “he sleeps” or “he is sleeping”?

Spava can mean he/she/it sleeps or he/she/it is sleeping, depending on context.

Form:

Infinitive: spavati = to sleep
3rd person singular present: spava

Croatian doesn’t distinguish between simple present and present continuous forms morphologically. So:

On spava. can mean:
- He sleeps. (a general statement)
- He is sleeping. (right now), depending on context.

In your sentence Malen pas spava na tepihu, in most real situations it will be understood as is sleeping on the carpet (something happening now).

Why is there no word for he in the sentence (no on)?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (like ja, ti, on, ona) are often omitted when the subject is clear from the verb form or the context.

Here, the subject is not a pronoun but the noun phrase malen pas. You don’t need on:

Malen pas spava na tepihu. – correct and natural
On spava na tepihu. – also correct, but now the subject is on (he), and malen pas is just understood from context or mentioned earlier.

You would typically use on if:

You already mentioned the dog and are now referring back:
Malen pas je u sobi. On spava na tepihu.
The small dog is in the room. He is sleeping on the carpet.

Can the word order change, like Pas malen spava na tepihu or Na tepihu spava malen pas?

Croatian word order is more flexible than English, though there is still a neutral order.

Neutral, straightforward version:

Malen pas spava na tepihu.

Other possible orders and their feel:

Pas malen spava na tepihu.
- Sounds less neutral, more poetic or expressive. Adjective after the noun is unusual in plain speech.
Pas spava na tepihu.
- Just The dog sleeps on the carpet. (no adjective)
Na tepihu spava malen pas.
- Fronting na tepihu puts emphasis on the location:
  Roughly: On the carpet is where a small dog is sleeping.
Na tepihu malen pas spava.
- Also possible, somewhat marked/expressive; spoken intonation would decide what’s being emphasized.

For a learner, Malen pas spava na tepihu is the best default word order.

How does the adjective malen agree with pas? What would change for feminine or plural?

Adjectives in Croatian agree with the noun in:

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

Here:

pas – masculine, singular, nominative
malen – masculine, singular, nominative, matching pas

If the noun were feminine:

mačka (cat, feminine)
- malena mačka spava na tepihu. – A small cat is sleeping on the carpet.

If it were plural:

psi (dogs, masculine plural)
- maleni psi spavaju na tepihu. – Small dogs are sleeping on the carpet.

Using the more common form mali:

mali pas spava… (ms sg)
mala mačka spava… (f sg)
mali psi spavaju… (m pl)

How would I say “Small dogs are sleeping on the carpet” in Croatian?

You need to make both the noun and the verb plural:

Singular: Malen pas spava na tepihu.
Plural: Mali psi spavaju na tepihu.
(using the more common mali)

Breakdown:

mali – small (masculine plural nominative)
psi – dogs (masculine plural nominative of pas)
spavaju – they sleep / are sleeping (3rd person plural present of spavati)
na tepihu – on the carpet (locative singular, still correct: one carpet)

If you really want carpets plural:

Mali psi spavaju na tepisima. = Small dogs are sleeping on carpets.
(tepisima = locative plural of tepih.)