A2 · Grundkenntnisse Kapitel 31

Impersonal Constructions: 'It is...' and 'There is...'

6 Gesamtregeln
1 Min.
Regeln in diesem Kapitel Schnelle Übung

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Master the art of speaking about the world without needing a specific subject.

  • Describe weather and environmental conditions naturally.
  • Express necessity and existence using common Croatian patterns.
  • Formulate passive and impersonal statements for everyday conversation.
Speak naturally, even when the subject is hidden.

Was du lernen wirst

Learn how to express impersonal statements like 'It is cold' or 'There is no one.' These constructions are common in everyday Croatian.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: describe current weather and state existence in a room.

Tipps & Tricks (4)

💡

The 'O' Rule

Almost all impersonal adverbs end in -o. If you're unsure, try ending the word with -o.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Impersonal Expressions with 'Je' (It is...)
💡

The -O Rule

If you're describing the weather state, the word almost always ends in -O (hladno, toplo, mokro).
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Expressing Weather (Hladno je, Pada kiša)
💡

Personal vs General

If you are the one doing it, use 'moram'. If it's a general rule, use 'treba'.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Expressions of Necessity (Treba, Mora se)
🎯

The 'Zero' Rule

Think of 'Nema' as the number zero. In Croatian, zero often triggers the Genitive plural or singular. It helps you remember the case shift.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Existence with 'Ima' and 'Nema' (There is/isn't)

Wichtige Vokabeln (6)

vrijeme weather treba it is needed ima there is nema there is not govori se it is said bit će it will be

Real-World Preview

coffee

Meeting at the cafe

Review Summary

  • Adjective (neuter) + je
  • Ima/Nema + Genitive

Häufige Fehler

Adjectives must be neuter in impersonal expressions, not feminine.

Wrong: Hladna je.
Richtig: Hladno je.

Use the genitive case after 'ima' and 'nema'.

Wrong: Ima kruh.
Richtig: Ima kruha.

Use the dative case (mi) instead of the nominative (ja).

Wrong: Treba ja raditi.
Richtig: Treba mi raditi.

Next Steps

You have done an amazing job reaching this milestone. Keep practicing these impersonal forms, and you will sound increasingly natural!

Write a weather report for your city.

Continue to: Relative Clauses: Connecting Ideas with 'Who' and 'Which'

Schnelle Übung (10)

Correct the mistake in this sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

Ovdje se ne puše.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ovdje se ne puši.
The verb 'pušiti' must be in the 3rd person singular 'puši'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Impersonal Reflexive Constructions (e.g., Govori se)

Choose the correct way to say 'It is sunny'.

___ je.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Sunčano
Weather states use the neuter adverb ending in -o.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Expressing Weather (Hladno je, Pada kiša)

Fill in the correct form of 'biti' for the past tense.

Jučer ___ sunčano.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: bilo je
The past tense impersonal form is always 'bilo je'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Using 'Biti' for Impersonal Statements (e.g., Bit će dobro)

Correct the mistake in this sentence: 'To je hladno vani.'

Find and fix the mistake:

To je hladno vani.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Hladno je vani.
Remove 'To' when describing the weather.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Impersonal Expressions with 'Je' (It is...)

Fill in the correct form of the verb and 'se'.

U Hrvatskoj ___ (piti) puno kave.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: pije se
We use the 3rd person singular 'pije' + 'se'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Impersonal Reflexive Constructions (e.g., Govori se)

Choose the correct sentence for 'There are many people'.

How do you say 'There are many people'?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ima puno ljudi.
Existence is always expressed with the singular 'ima'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Existence with 'Ima' and 'Nema' (There is/isn't)

How do you say 'I am bored' correctly?

Choose the correct sentence:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Meni je dosadno.
Feelings use the Dative (Meni) + impersonal 'je'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Using 'Biti' for Impersonal Statements (e.g., Bit će dobro)

Correct the following sentence: 'To je hladno vani.'

Find and fix the mistake:

To je hladno vani.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Oba su točna.
You should remove 'To' and start with the adverb or 'Vani'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Using 'Biti' for Impersonal Statements (e.g., Bit će dobro)

Which of these is a question about the weather?

Choose one:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Je li sunčano?
'Je li' is the standard way to form a question with 'biti'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Using 'Biti' for Impersonal Statements (e.g., Bit će dobro)

Find the error.

Find and fix the mistake:

Ja treba ići.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ja moram ići
Personal subject needs personal verb.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Expressions of Necessity (Treba, Mora se)

Score: /10

Häufige Fragen (6)

In Croatian, ono is a demonstrative pronoun. Saying Ono je hladno means 'That specific thing over there is cold.' For general weather, Croatian uses a subjectless construction.
Use To je to identify something (To je moj brat). Use Je alone for impersonal states (Kasno je).
Yes, but it's more common to just say Sunčano je. Adding vrijeme makes it sound a bit more like a formal report.
In Padala je kiša, 'kiša' is the subject, so the verb agrees with its feminine gender. In Bilo je hladno, there is no subject, so we use the default neuter form bilo.
No, 'trebam' is for personal need, while 'treba' is for general necessity.
Yes, it implies a firm obligation or necessity.
Vorheriges Kapitel
Conjunctions for Simple Sentence Connection
Nächstes Kapitel
Relative Clauses: Connecting Ideas with 'Who' and 'Which'
Zurück zur Roadmap