Bijeli ljiljan je u vazi na stolu.

to be

Breakdown of Bijeli ljiljan je u vazi na stolu.

• u: in
• na: on
• stol: table

Questions & Answers about Bijeli ljiljan je u vazi na stolu.

Why is it bijeli ljiljan and not some other form of bijeli?

Because bijeli has to agree with ljiljan in gender, number, and case.

• ljiljan = masculine singular
• the subject is in the nominative
• so the adjective also takes the masculine singular nominative form: bijeli

So:

• bijeli ljiljan = white lily
• if the noun changed, the adjective would change too

For example:

• bijela vaza = white vase (feminine)
• bijelo cvijeće = white flowers / white floral matter (neuter)

What does ljiljan mean exactly?

Ljiljan means lily.

It is a masculine noun in Croatian, even though in English the word lily does not show grammatical gender.

Its basic dictionary form is:

• ljiljan = lily

In this sentence it is in the nominative singular because it is the subject.

Why is je used here?