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Za zahtjev trebaju dvije fotografije i kopija stare osobne iskaznice.

Za zahtjev trebaju dvije fotografije i kopija stare osobne iskaznice.
For the request they need two photos and a copy of the old ID card.

Breakdown of Za zahtjev trebaju dvije fotografije i kopija stare osobne iskaznice.

star
old
i
and
trebati
to need
za
for
dva
two
fotografija
photo
zahtjev
request
kopija
copy
osobna iskaznica
ID card
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Questions & Answers about Za zahtjev trebaju dvije fotografije i kopija stare osobne iskaznice.

Why does zahtjev become za zahtjev? What case is that?

Because the preposition za (in the sense of for) normally takes the accusative case in Croatian.
So zahtjev (nominative) stays the same in form here, but grammatically it is accusative after za: za zahtjev = for the application/request.

Could it also be za zahtjeva?

Not in this meaning. Za can take:

  • accusative = for / intended for / in exchange for (here: za zahtjev)
  • instrumental = behind (location), e.g. za kućom = behind the house

Za zahtjeva (genitive) is not used with za in standard Croatian.

Why is it trebaju (plural) and not treba (singular)?

Because the grammatical subject is plural: dvije fotografije i kopija... (two photos and a copy). With a plural subject, many speakers use trebaju.

In real usage you may also hear treba used in an impersonal way (similar to English it takes/you need), especially when the items come after the verb:

  • Treba dvije fotografije i kopija... (common in speech)
  • Trebaju dvije fotografije i kopija... (agreement with the plural subject)

Both are widely heard; trebaju matches the visible plural subject more directly.

Is trebati used like English need? Who needs them?

Croatian often omits the person entirely in this kind of administrative sentence. Trebaju here is best understood as are required / are needed (for the application). It does not explicitly say you or we, and it doesn’t have to.

If you wanted to add a person, you could say for example:

  • Trebate dvije fotografije... = You need two photos... But the original sentence is intentionally neutral/formal.
Why is it dvije fotografije and not dva fotografije?

Because two changes form depending on gender:

  • dva = masculine/neuter (e.g. dva dokumenta, dva pisma)
  • dvije = feminine (e.g. dvije fotografije)

Fotografija is feminine, so dvije fotografije.

Why is fotografije not nominative plural (fotografije)… wait, it looks the same. What case is it actually?

After numerals 2, 3, 4 (and also both), the noun is typically in the genitive singular in Croatian.

So in dvije fotografije, fotografije is genitive singular (even though it looks identical to nominative plural for this noun). You can see the difference more clearly with other nouns, e.g.:

  • dvije žene (gen. sg.)
  • dvije kuće (gen. sg.)
  • dva grada (gen. sg.)
Why is it kopija stare osobne iskaznice? Why are those words in that form?

Because kopija (a copy) “takes” what it’s a copy of, and that is expressed with the genitive:

  • kopija (čega?) = a copy (of what?)
    So:
  • stare = genitive feminine singular of stara (old)
  • osobne = genitive feminine singular of osobna (personal)
  • iskaznice = genitive feminine singular of iskaznica (ID card)

Together: kopija stare osobne iskaznice = a copy of the old personal ID card.

Why does stare come before osobne? Is that fixed?

Not completely fixed. Croatian adjective order is fairly flexible compared to English. Both can work:

  • kopija stare osobne iskaznice
  • kopija osobne iskaznice (if old is not important)
  • kopija osobne iskaznice (stare) (less common, but possible depending on emphasis)

In administrative style, stacking adjectives before the noun is common.

Does osobna iskaznica literally mean personal card? Is that the standard word for an ID card?

Yes. Osobna iskaznica is the standard Croatian term for a national identity card / personal ID card. In everyday speech people also shorten it to osobna when the context is clear.

Why is there no word for a/the (articles) in Croatian?

Croatian doesn’t have articles like a/an/the. Definiteness is usually understood from context, or expressed with other tools (word order, demonstratives like taj/ova/onaj, etc.).
So kopija stare osobne iskaznice can mean a copy of the old ID card in a natural English translation, even though there’s no explicit a/the.

Is the word order in Za zahtjev trebaju... special? Could it be rearranged?

Yes, Croatian allows more flexibility in word order. These are all natural with slightly different emphasis:

  • Za zahtjev trebaju dvije fotografije i kopija stare osobne iskaznice. (neutral, common)
  • Za zahtjev su potrebne dvije fotografije i kopija stare osobne iskaznice. (more formal: are required)
  • Dvije fotografije i kopija stare osobne iskaznice trebaju za zahtjev. (less neutral, emphasizes the items)

The original is a typical administrative phrasing.

Could i kopija... mean you need two photos, and additionally a copy, making three items total?

Yes: it lists requirements. The conjunction i simply means and, so the required things are: 1) dvije fotografije (two photos)
2) kopija stare osobne iskaznice (a copy of the old ID card)

So you need those two categories of things; it’s not “two photos and two copies” or anything like that.

Is fotografije here the same as passport photos? How would Croatian specify that?

By itself fotografije just means photos. If they specifically mean passport/ID-style photos, Croatian often specifies:

  • dvije fotografije za dokumente = two photos for documents
  • dvije fotografije (format) 35×45 mm = two photos (size) 35×45 mm
  • dvije biometrijske fotografije = two biometric photos (if required)

But many forms simply say dvije fotografije and the expected type is understood from the context.