Džem je u maloj staklenci na polici.

The jam is in a small jar on the shelf.

Breakdown of Džem je u maloj staklenci na polici.

• biti: to be
• mali: small
• u: in
• na: on

Questions & Answers about Džem je u maloj staklenci na polici.

Why is je in the second position?

Because je is a clitic in Croatian. Clitics are short unstressed words, and they normally go in second position in the sentence or clause.

So in Džem je u maloj staklenci na polici, the first element is Džem, and je comes right after it.

You will often see this with forms of biti in the present tense:

• Knjiga je na stolu.
• Mlijeko je u hladnjaku.

Even if the word order changes, je usually still stays in second position:

• Na polici je džem u maloj staklenci.

What case is džem in?

Džem is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence.

The basic dictionary form is also džem. It is a masculine inanimate noun.

So here:

• džem = nominative singular
• it is the thing being located

Why do we say u maloj staklenci instead of u mala staklenka?