Log inSign up

Jučer je došao majstor jer je slavina u kuhinji stalno kapala.

Jučer je došao majstor jer je slavina u kuhinji stalno kapala.
Yesterday a repairman came because the tap in the kitchen kept dripping.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Croatian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Croatian now

Questions & Answers about Jučer je došao majstor jer je slavina u kuhinji stalno kapala.

Why is there no word for “the” in this Croatian sentence (like “the repairman”, “the tap”, “the kitchen”)?

Croatian has no articles (no equivalents of English “a/an/the”).

Whether you mean “a repairman” or “the repairman” is understood from context, not from a separate word.

So:

  • majstor = a repairman / the repairman
  • slavina = a tap / the tap
  • kuhinja (here u kuhinji) = a kitchen / the kitchen

If it’s clear from the situation who/what you’re talking about, Croatian simply uses the bare noun.

What does “majstor” mean here? I thought it meant “master” or “craftsman”.

Literally, majstor does mean “master / skilled worker / craftsman”.

In everyday speech, though, majstor is very commonly used for:

  • a repairman, especially for household things (plumber, electrician, handyman, etc.)

So in this sentence majstor is best translated as “the repairman” (or “the plumber”, depending on context).

Why is it “je došao majstor” and not “majstor je došao”?

Both word orders are possible and grammatically correct:

  • Jučer je došao majstor.
  • Jučer je majstor došao.

Even Majstor je jučer došao. is fine.

Some points:

  • In Croatian, word order is flexible because grammar is mostly shown by endings, not position.
  • The clitic (short auxiliary) je tends to appear in the second position in the clause. Here, Jučer is first, so je comes second: Jučer je...
  • Putting majstor later slightly emphasizes the action (“came”) more than the person, but the difference is very subtle in this simple sentence.

Native speakers often choose the order that sounds most natural in context or fits the rhythm of speech.

What is the function of “je” in “je došao” and “je slavina … kapala”?

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb biti (“to be”), and here it is used as an auxiliary verb to form the past tense (the perfect) in Croatian.

  • je došao = (he) has come / came
  • je kapala = (it) was dripping / kept dripping

Pattern (3rd person singular):

  • on/ona/ono je
    • past participle
      • on je došao (he came)
      • ona je kapala (she/it was dripping)

In normal speech/writing, the personal pronoun (on/ona/ono) is usually omitted, because the verb form or participle ending already shows person and gender.

Why “došao” and not “dolazio”?

Croatian distinguishes aspect:

  • doći = perfective (“to come” as a single, completed event)
  • dolaziti = imperfective (“to come” repeatedly / be coming)

Došao is the past participle of doći (perfective), used when:

  • you focus on the completed action: he arrived / he came (once, and that’s done)

Dolazio (from dolaziti) would suggest repeated / ongoing coming:

  • He kept coming, He used to come, or He was in the process of coming (depending on context).

Here we talk about one specific visit yesterday, so došao is the natural choice.

Why is “jučer” at the beginning? Could it go somewhere else?

Yes, jučer (yesterday) can move:

All of these are correct:

  • Jučer je došao majstor.
  • Majstor je jučer došao.
  • Majstor je došao jučer.

Differences:

  • Starting with Jučer puts a bit more emphasis on time: As for yesterday, what happened is that the repairman came.
  • Placing jučer later is more neutral or can emphasize who came (majstor).

Because Croatian has flexible word order, adverbs of time (jučer, danas, sutra) can move around without changing the core meaning, only the focus or naturalness in context.

What does “jer” mean, and how is it different from “zato što”?

Jer means “because”.

  • Jučer je došao majstor jer je slavina… kapala.
    = The repairman came yesterday because the tap kept dripping.

Zato što also means “because”, but is slightly more formal/explicit and often used in structures like:

  • Zato je došao majstor, što je slavina… kapala.
    (He came for that reason, namely that the tap was dripping.)

In many everyday sentences, jer and zato što are almost interchangeable. Here you could also say:

  • Jučer je došao majstor zato što je slavina u kuhinji stalno kapala.

Jer is shorter and very common in speech.

Why is it “u kuhinji” and not “u kuhinja”?

The preposition u (“in”) requires the locative case when it expresses location (where something is).

Noun:

  • kuhinja (kitchen) – nominative singular (dictionary form)

Locative singular feminine ending:

  • u kuhinji = in the kitchen

So:

  • nominative: kuhinja (The kitchen is big.)
  • locative: u kuhinji (The tap is in the kitchen.)

Prepositions in Croatian always control a specific case; here u + locative = location “in”.

Why is “slavina” and its verb “kapala” feminine? How do I see that?

In Croatian, nouns have grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), and verbs in the past tense agree in gender with the subject.

  • slavina (tap, faucet) is feminine (most nouns in -a are feminine).
  • In the past tense, feminine singular uses the -la participle ending:
    • kapala (was dripping)
    • Compare:
      • masculine: kapao (if the subject was masculine)
      • neuter: kapalo

So:

  • Slavina je stalno kapala. (feminine singular)
  • On je stalno kapao. (he was constantly dripping – artificial example, but grammatically masculine)
What exactly does “stalno kapala” mean? Is it like “was dripping” or “kept dripping” or “dripped constantly”?

Stalno means “constantly, all the time, continuously”.
Kapala is the imperfective past of kapati (“to drip”).

So stalno kapala suggests:

  • the dripping was ongoing / repeated over a period, not just a single drip.

Natural English renderings:

  • “it kept dripping”
  • “it was constantly dripping”
  • “it dripped all the time”

Because kapati is imperfective, it emphasizes the ongoing nature of the action, which fits with stalno.

Could it also be “slavina je u kuhinji stalno kapala”? Where does “je” go in that part?

Yes, that word order is possible and very natural:

  • Slavina je u kuhinji stalno kapala.
  • Slavina je stalno kapala u kuhinji.
  • U kuhinji je slavina stalno kapala.

Rule:

  • The clitic je usually goes in second position in the clause, after the first stressed word or phrase.

So if the clause is:

  • Slavina u kuhinji stalno kapala, the first word is Slavina, so je normally follows it:
    • Slavina je u kuhinji stalno kapala.

Your original sentence already has correct clitic placement:

  • … jer je slavina u kuhinji stalno kapala.
    (“jer” is first in the subordinate clause; je comes second.)
How do you pronounce “č” in “jučer”? Is it the same as “ć”?

No, č and ć are different sounds in Croatian.

  • č is like “ch” in “church”, but usually a bit harder/stronger.
  • ć is a softer sound, somewhere between “t” and “ch”, but for many foreign learners, pronouncing both like “ch” in “church” is acceptable at first.

In jučer:

  • ju – like “you”
  • čer – č as in “church”, er like in “error” (short e + rolled or tapped r)

So: JU-cher (with a hard “ch”).

Could you give a literal, word‑for‑word breakdown of the sentence?

Yes:

  • Jučer – yesterday
  • je – (he) is / has (auxiliary for past tense)
  • došao – come (past participle, masculine singular)
  • majstor – repairman / master craftsman
  • jer – because
  • je – (it) is / has (auxiliary for past tense)
  • slavina – tap, faucet (subject, feminine singular)
  • u – in
  • kuhinji – kitchen (locative case: in the kitchen)
  • stalno – constantly, all the time
  • kapala – was dripping / kept dripping (past participle, feminine singular)

So literally:
“Yesterday has come repairman because has tap in kitchen constantly dripped.”
→ natural English:
“Yesterday the repairman came because the tap in the kitchen kept dripping.”