EasyCroatian_r47.an

Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 19 Your, Ana’s: Possessives 113 / 600
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How to make possessives out of names? In English, you just add ’s, but it’s slightly
more complicated in Croatian. It’s simplest for names ending in -a: just replace it
with the -in, and (usually) you’re done. It works also for nouns in -a standing for
people (e.g. tata Dad):
Ana → Anin
Ivana → Ivanin
Luka → Lukin
mama Mom → mamin
sestra sister → sestrin
tata Dad → tatin
For nouns and names that end in -ca, the c changes to č when -in is added:
Anica → Aničin
prijateljica friend (f) → prijateljičin
The noun majka mother also has a change in consonants, but not other nouns
ending in -ka:
majka mother → majčin
baka grandmother → bakin
What about male names that change as if ending in -a, like Ante? They also make
possessives with -in:
Čekamo Antinu sestru A . We’re waiting for Ante’s sister.
This also usually applies for female names that don’t end in -a and therefore don’t
change at all (however, some people use alternative methods, to be described a bit
later), e.g.
Doris → Dorisin Ines → Inesin
For male names ending in a consonant or names like Marko, you should add an -ov
(or -ev after Croatian-specific letters). It works for nouns standing for people as
well:
Goran → Goranov
Ivan → Ivanov
Marko → Markov
Hrvoje → Hrvojev
sin son → sinov
prijatelj friend (m) → prijateljev
If a noun ends in -c (or its case-base), it turns to č when -ev is added:
otac (oc-) father (formal) → očev
princ prince → prinčev
All these words are adjectives, they change in case and gender! For example:
Čekamo Aninu sestru A . We’re waiting for Ana’s sister.
Sjedim u Hrvojevoj kuhinji DL . I’m sitting in Hrvoje’s kitchen.
Ana N je Goranova mama N . Ana is Goran’s mom.
Since they are adjectives, they are more flexible than English possessives: