Slon je bio veći nego što smo očekivali, a majmun je bio brži i smješniji.

In Croatian, the past tense is usually made with:

• a present-tense form of biti = to be
• plus the past participle

So:

• je = is/has here functioning as an auxiliary
• bio = past participle of biti

Together, je bio means was.

Examples:

• Slon je bio velik. = The elephant was big.
• Majmun je bio brz. = The monkey was fast.

This is normal Croatian past-tense structure.

Because there are two separate clauses, each with its own subject and predicate:

• Slon je bio veći nego što smo očekivali
• a majmun je bio brži i smješniji

Each subject needs its own verb phrase, so Croatian repeats je bio.

English can sometimes avoid repetition, but Croatian often keeps it for clarity and natural flow.

These are comparative adjectives:

• velik / veliki = big → veći = bigger
• brz = fast → brži = faster
• smiješan = funny → smješniji = funnier

So the sentence is comparing:

• the elephant to our expectations
• the monkey to some implied standard

Croatian comparatives are not always formed in one simple way like English -er. Some are irregular or involve stem changes, especially common adjectives like velik → veći.

Because velik has an irregular comparative:

• velik = big
• veći = bigger

This is just something you need to learn as a set form. It is very common.

Similarly:

• dobar = good → bolji = better
• mali = small → manji = smaller

So veći is the correct comparative of velik.

This happens because the word changes slightly when forming the comparative.

• smiješan = funny
• smješniji = funnier

The i/e sequence shifts in a way that is normal in Croatian word formation. For learners, the most practical approach is to memorize the comparative as a vocabulary form when needed.

The important point is that smješniji is the correct comparative adjective agreeing with majmun.

Because they agree with masculine singular nouns:

• slon = elephant, masculine singular
• majmun = monkey, masculine singular

So the comparative adjectives also appear in masculine singular form:

• veći
• brži
• smješniji

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would change:

• veća
• brža
• smješnija

If it were neuter:

• veće
• brže
• smješnije

This is a very common Croatian comparison structure.

• nego = than
• što smo očekivali = what we expected / than we expected

So:

• veći nego što smo očekivali = bigger than we expected

Here što helps introduce the clause after nego. In natural English, you would usually just say than we expected, but Croatian often uses nego što before a full clause.

Yes, that is also possible, but it is a slightly different structure.

Compare:

• veći nego što smo očekivali = bigger than we expected
• veći od onoga što smo očekivali = bigger than what we expected

The first is very natural and direct in comparisons with clauses. The second is also grammatical, but a bit heavier and more explicit.

In this sentence, veći nego što smo očekivali is the most natural choice.

Because Croatian usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb already shows the person.

• smo očekivali already means we expected
• mi = we

So mi is unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• što smo očekivali = what we expected
• što smo mi očekivali = what we expected

The second version puts extra emphasis on we.

Because smo is a clitic, and Croatian clitics usually go in the second position of the clause.

So in:

• nego što smo očekivali

the word što comes first in that clause, and smo follows it.

This second-position rule is very important in Croatian.

You will often see:

• kad smo došli = when we arrived
• što smo rekli = what we said
• jer je bio umoran = because he was tired

Not:

• što očekivali smo

That would sound wrong.

Both a and i can be translated as and, but they are not used in exactly the same way.

• i simply adds information: and
• a often connects two parallel or slightly contrasting ideas: and / while / whereas

Here:

• Slon je bio veći...
• a majmun je bio brži i smješniji.

So a feels natural because it shifts from one animal to another and sets up a comparison in discourse:

• the elephant was bigger...
• and/while the monkey was faster and funnier.

Using i would be less natural here.

Croatian has no articles like English the or a/an.

So:

• slon can mean an elephant or the elephant
• majmun can mean a monkey or the monkey

Context tells you which one is meant.

That is why the sentence does not need separate words for the.

Because the sentence says the monkey was:

• faster
• and funnier

These are two separate qualities, and both are being expressed in the comparative.

So Croatian uses:

• brži i smješniji

Just like English says:

• faster and funnier

If only one quality were comparative, the meaning would change.

A rough guide:

• veći ≈ VEH-chee
• brži ≈ BR-zhee
• smješniji ≈ roughly SMYE-shnee-yee

Useful sound values:

• č = like ch in church
• ž = like s in measure
• š = like sh in shoe
• j = like y in yes

Croatian spelling is quite regular, so once you learn the letter sounds, pronunciation becomes much easier.

Yes. The past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.

For masculine singular:

• bio

For feminine singular:

• bila

For neuter singular:

• bilo

For masculine personal plural:

• bili

For feminine plural:

• bile

Examples:

• Slon je bio velik.
• Žirafa je bila velika.
• Dijete je bilo mirno.
• Majmuni su bili glasni.

In your sentence, both slon and majmun are masculine singular, so bio is correct both times.