Past Passive Participles (Glagolski pridjevi trpni)
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Past passive participles describe an action received by an object, acting like an adjective that agrees in gender and number.
- Formed by adding -n, -en, -jen, or -t to the verb stem: 'pisati' -> 'pisan'.
- They must agree with the noun they describe in gender and number: 'Knjiga je napisana'.
- Used to form the passive voice or as descriptive adjectives: 'Otvorena vrata'.
Participle Agreement Table
| Gender/Number | Ending | Example (pisati) | Example (raditi) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Masculine Singular
|
-n/-en
|
pisan
|
rađen
|
|
Feminine Singular
|
-na/-ena
|
pisana
|
rađena
|
|
Neuter Singular
|
-no/-eno
|
pisano
|
rađeno
|
|
Masculine Plural
|
-ni/-eni
|
pisani
|
rađeni
|
|
Feminine Plural
|
-ne/-ene
|
pisane
|
rađene
|
|
Neuter Plural
|
-na/-ena
|
pisana
|
rađena
|
Meanings
The past passive participle is a verbal adjective used to describe the state of an object that has undergone an action. It is essential for forming the passive voice in Croatian.
Passive State
Describing an object that has received an action.
“Ručak je kuhan.”
“Vrata su zatvorena.”
Adjectival Use
Used as a standalone adjective to describe a noun.
“Otvoren prozor.”
“Izgubljen ključ.”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Noun + je/su + Participle
|
Knjiga je napisana.
|
|
Negative
|
Noun + nije/nisu + Participle
|
Knjiga nije napisana.
|
|
Question
|
Je li/Jesu li + Noun + Participle
|
Je li knjiga napisana?
|
|
Short Answer (Yes)
|
Je / Jesu
|
Je.
|
|
Short Answer (No)
|
Nije / Nisu
|
Nije.
|
|
Adjectival
|
Participle + Noun
|
Napisana knjiga.
|
طیف رسمیت
Rad je završen. (Workplace)
Rad je gotov. (Workplace)
Gotovo je. (Workplace)
Sve riješeno. (Workplace)
Participle Agreement Map
Gender
- Muški Masculine
- Ženski Feminine
- Srednji Neuter
Number
- Jednina Singular
- Množina Plural
Active vs Passive
Do I need a participle?
Is the object the focus?
Common Suffixes
Suffixes
- • -an
- • -en
- • -jen
- • -t
مثالها بر اساس سطح
Kruh je pečen.
The bread is baked.
Vrata su otvorena.
The doors are opened.
Pismo je napisano.
The letter is written.
Ručak je gotov.
The lunch is done.
Soba je očišćena.
The room is cleaned.
Kava je popijena.
The coffee is drunk.
Zadatak nije riješen.
The task is not solved.
Jesu li prozori zatvoreni?
Are the windows closed?
Projekt je završen na vrijeme.
The project is finished on time.
Ulaznice su kupljene online.
The tickets were bought online.
Ova knjiga je prevedena na hrvatski.
This book is translated into Croatian.
Svi su pozvani na zabavu.
Everyone is invited to the party.
Odluka je donesena nakon dugih pregovora.
The decision was made after long negotiations.
Kuća je sagrađena od kamena.
The house is built of stone.
Rezultati su objavljeni u novinama.
The results are published in the newspaper.
Pitanje je postavljeno od strane stručnjaka.
The question was posed by an expert.
Sve je rečeno u izvještaju.
Everything is stated in the report.
Zakon je usvojen jednoglasno.
The law was adopted unanimously.
Ovaj običaj je zaboravljen u modernom dobu.
This custom is forgotten in the modern age.
Planovi su izmijenjeni zbog novih okolnosti.
The plans are altered due to new circumstances.
Djelo je napisano u duhu romantizma.
The work is written in the spirit of Romanticism.
Svi su uvjeti ispunjeni sukladno propisima.
All conditions are met in accordance with regulations.
Ovaj fenomen je detaljno istražen.
This phenomenon is researched in detail.
Sve je učinjeno kako bi se izbjegla šteta.
Everything was done to avoid damage.
بهراحتی اشتباه گرفته میشود
Learners mix up the endings (-o vs -n).
Both use 'biti'.
They look identical.
اشتباهات رایج
Knjiga je pisao
Knjiga je napisana
Knjiga je napisan
Knjiga je napisana
Knjiga napisan
Knjiga je napisana
Knjiga su napisane
Knjiga je napisana
Vrata je otvoren
Vrata su otvorena
Ručak je kuhano
Ručak je kuhan
Pitanje je riješena
Pitanje je riješeno
On je bio pozvan
On je pozvan
Sve je rečen
Sve je rečeno
Posao je završenom
Posao je završen
Zakon je usvojio
Zakon je usvojen
Planovi su izmijenjen
Planovi su izmijenjeni
Odluka je donijeta
Odluka je donesena
Fenomen je istraženom
Fenomen je istražen
الگوهای جملهسازی
___ je ___.
Jesu li ___ ___?
Odluka je ___ nakon ___.
Sve je ___ sukladno ___.
Real World Usage
Projekt je uspješno završen.
Sve je riješeno.
Zakon je usvojen.
Rezervacija je potvrđena.
Narudžba je pripremljena.
Sve je rečeno.
Check the Noun
Don't skip 'biti'
Use for formality
Listen to the news
Smart Tips
Look at the noun ending. -a = feminine, consonant = masculine, -o/-e = neuter.
Use passive voice to focus on the result, not the person.
Always check if the participle is plural too.
Use the passive voice consistently to maintain an objective tone.
تلفظ
Suffix stress
Stress usually falls on the syllable before the participle suffix.
Declarative
Knjiga je napisana. ↘
Falling intonation for statements.
حفظ کنید
روش یادسپاری
Think of the 'N' in 'Done' (English) and 'N' in 'Pisan' (Croatian). Both mark the action as finished.
تداعی تصویری
Imagine a letter (pismo) with a big 'N' stamped on it, meaning it is 'Napisano'.
Rhyme
If the action is done and the object is clear, add -n or -en to make it appear.
Story
Ana wrote a letter. The letter was finished. The letter is now 'napisano'. She put it in the mailbox.
شبکه واژگان
چالش
Look around your room and describe 3 objects using the passive participle (e.g., 'Prozor je otvoren').
نکات فرهنگی
Passive voice is highly valued in formal and academic writing to maintain neutrality.
Often uses different participle forms or avoids passive voice in favor of active structures.
Tends to use shorter, more direct forms in daily speech.
Derived from Proto-Slavic passive participles, these forms have been stable for centuries.
شروعکنندههای مکالمه
Je li tvoj posao završen?
Jesu li svi pozvani na vjenčanje?
Kako je donesena ta odluka?
Smatraš li da je ovaj problem istražen?
موضوعات نگارش
اشتباهات رایج
Test Yourself
Knjiga je ___ (napisati).
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Ručak je kuhan.
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
The letter is written.
Answer starts with: Pis...
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
pozvati -> ?
Soba / očistiti
Score: /8
تمرینهای عملی
8 exercisesKnjiga je ___ (napisati).
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Ručak je kuhan.
je / završen / Projekt / .
The letter is written.
otvoriti -> ?
pozvati -> ?
Soba / očistiti
Score: /8
سوالات متداول (8)
Croatian is a highly inflected language. The participle acts like an adjective, so it must agree with the noun's gender and number.
Yes, but don't overdo it. It can sound a bit stiff if used in every sentence.
No. 'Napisao' is the active past participle (he wrote), while 'napisano' is the passive participle (it was written).
The participle must also be plural. 'Knjige su napisane'.
Yes, especially verbs ending in -t. Always check your dictionary.
'Je' is for singular objects, 'su' is for plural objects.
No, it's a participle used to form the passive voice, not the past tense itself.
Forgetting to change the ending to match the noun's gender.
Scaffolded Practice
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2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Participio Pasivo
Spanish uses 'ser' for passive and 'estar' for state; Croatian uses 'biti' for both.
Participe Passé
French has more complex rules for auxiliary verbs (avoir vs être).
Partizip II
German participles are invariant, whereas Croatian ones must agree.
Passive voice (ukemi)
Japanese does not use gender/number agreement.
Ism al-Maf'ul
Arabic uses a root-based system rather than suffix-based conjugation.
Bei-construction
Chinese has no verb conjugation or gender agreement.
