Profesorica je trepnula, klimnula i rekla da možemo početi s testom.

to be

Breakdown of Profesorica je trepnula, klimnula i rekla da možemo početi s testom.

• i: and
• moći: to be able to
• s: with

Questions & Answers about Profesorica je trepnula, klimnula i rekla da možemo početi s testom.

Why is it profesorica and not profesor?

Profesorica is the feminine form, meaning female professor/teacher. Croatian nouns often show gender clearly.

• profesor = a male professor
• profesorica = a female professor

Because the person in the sentence is female, the past-tense verb forms also match that gender:

• trepnula
• klimnula
• rekla

Those -la endings show a feminine singular subject.

What does je mean here?

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti (to be), and here it is used as part of the past tense.

Croatian forms the past tense with:

• the l-participle of the verb
• plus a form of biti

So:

• je trepnula = she blinked / has blinked
• je klimnula = she nodded
• je rekla = she said

In this sentence, je appears only once, but it applies to all three past participles:

• Profesorica je trepnula, klimnula i rekla...

This is very normal in Croatian.

Why do trepnula, , and end in ?