EasyCroatian_r47.an
Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 30 Three Beers: Less than 5 Things 174 / 60030 Three Beers: Less than 5 ThingsWe’re now able to say two, able to say apples, able to say beers... but do we reallyknow how to say two apples or two beers in Croatian? Sadly, not really. So let’slearn it!Surprisingly, Croatian uses two different ways of counting things: one for numbers 2-4, and another for larger numbers! I’ll show how to count less than 5 things first.Words for some numbers adapt to the gender of the noun you count:fem. neut./masc.bothobje obaobadvije obadva (colloq.)2 dvije dva3 tri4 četiriI have included the Croatian words for both, since they behave identically as thewords for two. The alternative forms obadvije and obadva are considered a bitcolloquial (opinions vary).But what form of nouns comes after the number? If you have expected N-pl, you’llbe surprised. It’s genitive singular (although it’s more than one thing). We can countapples and ships now!dvije jabuke two applesdva broda two shipsdva prijatelja two friendsBut what about using them in a sentence? Do they change as single nouns, e.g. inaccusative, etc.? No, such forms number-noun normally not change at all:Imam dvije jabuke 24 . I have two apples.Vidim dva broda 24 . I see two ships.(Standard Croatian insists that numbers also change according to case. That’s veryrare in speech. If you’re interested, check 99 Aorist Tense and Other MarginalFeatures.)What about using adjectives (red, my) with counted nouns? Somehow, a specialthing happens – adjectives get special endings:gender adjectives (2-4)fem. -eneut./masc. -a
Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 30 Three Beers: Less than 5 Things 175 / 600It’s simple to remember, since the endings are identical to noun endings for themajority of nouns, and to the end vowels of the number two:Imam dvije crvene jabuke 24 . I have two red apples.Vidim dva crvena broda 24 . I see two red ships.Of course, the endings are different if you take masculine nouns in -a or femininenouns in a consonant:Ovo su dvije duge riječi 24 . These are two long words.fYou are maybe puzzled: why adjectives get the special endings? Why not just Gforms? Why genitive singular at all?Actually, I oversimplified things a bit. After these numbers, nouns and adjectivesreally have a special, so-called ‘dual’ form (also called ‘paucal’ form). It historicallyhad specific endings, but today its endings – for nouns – look like G endings.However, if we were paying attention to vowel length, we’d see that the G endingfor nouns ending in -a, e.g. kod žene is a long vowel e, while the ending in e.g. dviježene is a short e. The forms just look the same in writing. However, since manypeople in Croatia don’t distinguish short from long vowels, these endings oftencoincide in speech as well. But ‘deep down’, the forms after numbers 2, 3, 4 andboth are not plain G forms. Adjectives still have specific endings.When such counted nouns are subjects, verbs come in plural:Dva prijatelja 24 me A čekaju. Two friends are waiting for me.1Since past forms of verbs are really a sort of adjectives, they get special endings aswell:Dva prijatelja 24 su me čekala. Two (male) friends were waiting for me.1Dvije prijateljice 24 su me čekale. Two (female) friends were waiting for me. 1As in English, possessives often come before the number; since they are reallyadjectives, they must get special endings as well:Tvoje dvije knjige 24 su kod Ane G . Your two books are at Ana’s place.Moja tri prijatelja 24 su ovdje. My three friends are here.This implies that plural is used in Croatian less than in English. For example:dva čovjeka two mentri djeteta three childrendva brata two brothersčetiri broja four numbersAs you can see, you talk about children and brothers without using their plural forms(which are yet unexplained) if there’s not more than four of them:Imam dva brata 24 i jednu sestru A . I have two brothers and a sister.However, numbers are mandatory. If there’s no number 2 to 4, you have to useplural forms.
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Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 30 Three Beers: Less than 5 Things 175 / 600
It’s simple to remember, since the endings are identical to noun endings for the
majority of nouns, and to the end vowels of the number two:
Imam dvije crvene jabuke 24 . I have two red apples.
Vidim dva crvena broda 24 . I see two red ships.
Of course, the endings are different if you take masculine nouns in -a or feminine
nouns in a consonant:
Ovo su dvije duge riječi 24 . These are two long words.
f
You are maybe puzzled: why adjectives get the special endings? Why not just G
forms? Why genitive singular at all?
Actually, I oversimplified things a bit. After these numbers, nouns and adjectives
really have a special, so-called ‘dual’ form (also called ‘paucal’ form). It historically
had specific endings, but today its endings – for nouns – look like G endings.
However, if we were paying attention to vowel length, we’d see that the G ending
for nouns ending in -a, e.g. kod žene is a long vowel e, while the ending in e.g. dvije
žene is a short e. The forms just look the same in writing. However, since many
people in Croatia don’t distinguish short from long vowels, these endings often
coincide in speech as well. But ‘deep down’, the forms after numbers 2, 3, 4 and
both are not plain G forms. Adjectives still have specific endings.
When such counted nouns are subjects, verbs come in plural:
Dva prijatelja 24 me A čekaju. Two friends are waiting for me.
1
Since past forms of verbs are really a sort of adjectives, they get special endings as
well:
Dva prijatelja 24 su me čekala. Two (male) friends were waiting for me.
1
Dvije prijateljice 24 su me čekale. Two (female) friends were waiting for me. 1
As in English, possessives often come before the number; since they are really
adjectives, they must get special endings as well:
Tvoje dvije knjige 24 su kod Ane G . Your two books are at Ana’s place.
Moja tri prijatelja 24 su ovdje. My three friends are here.
This implies that plural is used in Croatian less than in English. For example:
dva čovjeka two men
tri djeteta three children
dva brata two brothers
četiri broja four numbers
As you can see, you talk about children and brothers without using their plural forms
(which are yet unexplained) if there’s not more than four of them:
Imam dva brata 24 i jednu sestru A . I have two brothers and a sister.
However, numbers are mandatory. If there’s no number 2 to 4, you have to use
plural forms.
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