Odjednom je postalo hladno.

Suddenly it became cold.

Breakdown of Odjednom je postalo hladno.

• biti: to be
• hladan: cold
• postati: to become
• odjednom: suddenly

Questions & Answers about Odjednom je postalo hladno.

What does odjednom mean here?

Odjednom means suddenly or all of a sudden. It signals that the change happened quickly and unexpectedly.

So:

• Odjednom je postalo hladno. = Suddenly it got cold.

It often appears at the beginning of the sentence, but it can also be placed elsewhere for style or emphasis.

Why is je in the second position?

Je is a clitic in Serbian. Clitics are short unstressed words that usually go in second position in the sentence or clause.

In this sentence:

• Odjednom = first element
• je = clitic, so it comes right after that
• postalo hladno = the rest

That is why you get:

• Odjednom je postalo hladno.

and not normally:

• Odjednom postalo je hladno.

The second-position rule is very important in Serbian.

What does postalo mean?

Postalo comes from the verb postati, which means to become.

Here, je postalo is the perfect tense of postati:

• je = auxiliary verb to be
• = past participle