A1 Sentence Structure 1 min read かんたん

Subject-Verb Agreement in Nominative

Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

In Croatian, the verb ending changes to match the person (I, you, he/she) and the number (singular/plural) of the subject.

  • Identify the subject (e.g., 'Ja' for I).
  • Find the verb stem (e.g., 'raditi' -> 'rad-').
  • Add the correct ending (e.g., 'radim' for I work).
Subject (Nominative) + Verb (Conjugated)

Present Tense Conjugation (Verb: Raditi)

Person Singular Plural
1st (I/We)
radim
radimo
2nd (You/You all)
radiš
radite
3rd (He/She/They)
radi
rade

Meanings

Subject-verb agreement ensures that the verb form correctly reflects the grammatical person and number of the subject in the nominative case.

1

Present Tense Agreement

Matching the verb to the subject in the present tense.

“Ja radim.”

“Ti radiš.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Subject-Verb Agreement in Nominative
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Subject + Verb
Ja radim.
Negative
Ne + Verb
Ne radim.
Question
Verb + li + Subject
Radiš li?
Short Answer
Verb
Radim.
Plural
Subject + Verb (plural)
Mi radimo.
Formal
Vi + Verb (plural)
Vi radite.

フォーマル度スペクトル

フォーマル
Što radite?

Što radite? (Asking about activities)

ニュートラル
Što radiš?

Što radiš? (Asking about activities)

カジュアル
Što radiš?

Što radiš? (Asking about activities)

スラング
Šta radiš?

Šta radiš? (Asking about activities)

The Verb Core

Verb Stem

Singular

  • radim I work
  • radiš You work

Plural

  • radimo We work
  • radite You all work

レベル別の例文

1

Ja radim.

I work.

2

Ti čitaš.

You read.

3

On spava.

He sleeps.

4

Mi učimo.

We learn.

1

Ne razumijem.

I don't understand.

2

Što radiš danas?

What are you doing today?

3

Oni ne dolaze.

They are not coming.

4

Da li govoriš hrvatski?

Do you speak Croatian?

1

Zovem se Marko.

My name is Marko.

2

Moramo ići kući.

We must go home.

3

Ona se smije.

She is laughing.

4

Vi znate odgovor.

You know the answer.

1

Iako sam umoran, radim.

Although I am tired, I work.

2

Oni su odlučili otići.

They decided to leave.

3

Biste li mogli pomoći?

Could you help?

4

Svi se slažu s tim.

Everyone agrees with that.

1

Čini se da znaju sve.

It seems they know everything.

2

Ne bih to učinio.

I wouldn't do that.

3

Svatko ima svoje mišljenje.

Everyone has their own opinion.

4

Bilo bi bolje da dođu.

It would be better if they came.

1

Bijahu to dani ponosa.

Those were the days of pride.

2

Nitko ne zna kamo idu.

No one knows where they are going.

3

Kad bi barem znali istinu.

If only they knew the truth.

4

Sve se mijenja, zar ne?

Everything changes, doesn't it?

間違えやすい

Subject-Verb Agreement in Nominative Infinitive vs. Conjugated

Learners often use the dictionary form for everything.

Subject-Verb Agreement in Nominative Singular vs. Plural

Learners mix up the endings for 'he' and 'they'.

Subject-Verb Agreement in Nominative Formal vs. Informal

Using 'ti' with strangers.

よくある間違い

Ja raditi

Ja radim

Using the infinitive instead of the conjugated form.

On radim

On radi

Using the wrong person ending.

Ti radi

Ti radiš

Missing the -š ending for second person.

Mi radi

Mi radimo

Using singular for plural subject.

Ne raditi

Ne radim

Infinitive in negative.

Radiš li ja?

Radim li ja?

Wrong person in question.

Oni radi

Oni rade

Missing plural ending.

Ja se zovem Marko

Zovem se Marko

Redundant pronoun usage.

Oni su raditi

Oni su radili

Mixing past and present.

Vi radiš

Vi radite

Mixing formal and informal.

Bilo bi bolje da dolaze

Bilo bi bolje da dođu

Incorrect mood usage.

Svatko imaju

Svatko ima

Agreement with singular collective noun.

Nitko ne znaju

Nitko ne zna

Agreement with singular negative pronoun.

Oni bijahu radili

Oni bijahu radili

Archaic tense mismatch.

文型パターン

Ja ___ (verb).

Ti ___ (verb)?

Mi ___ (verb) u ___ (place).

Oni ___ (verb) jer ___ (reason).

Real World Usage

Social Media constant

Što radiš?

Job Interview very common

Radim u marketingu.

Ordering Food very common

Želim pizzu.

Travel common

Gdje stanuješ?

Texting constant

Dolazim.

Emailing common

Molim vas, javite se.

💡

Drop the pronoun

Once you know the verb ending, you don't need to say 'Ja'. It sounds more natural.
⚠️

Infinitive trap

Never use the -ti form as your main verb. It's like saying 'I to work' in English.
🎯

Group your verbs

Learn verbs in groups based on their endings (-am, -em, -im).
💬

Formal address

Always use 'Vi' (plural) for people you don't know to show respect.

Smart Tips

Look at the infinitive. If it ends in -ati, it's likely an -am verb.

Ja raditi. Ja radim.

Use the plural 'Vi' for anyone you don't know well.

Što radiš? Što radite?

Drop the pronouns to keep your flow smooth.

Ja idem u školu. Idem u školu.

Always use full forms and avoid slang.

Daj mi to. Molim vas, pošaljite mi to.

発音

ra-dim (short a)

Vowel length

Some vowels are long, some are short. This doesn't change the meaning but sounds more natural.

Question intonation

Radiš li? ↗

Rising pitch at the end for yes/no questions.

暗記しよう

記憶術

Remember the 'M-S-I' rule for singular: -m, -š, -i (My Sweet Ice cream).

視覚的連想

Imagine a robot with different colored buttons on its chest. Each button is a person (I, you, he). When you press a button, the robot's screen changes to show the correct verb ending.

Rhyme

For I use -m, for You use -š, for He/She use -i, that's the best!

Story

I am a chef. I say 'Ja kuham' (I cook). You are my helper, so you 'kuhaš' (you cook). Together, we 'kuhamo' (we cook) for the whole village.

Word Web

raditigovoritipisatičitatiučitispavati

チャレンジ

Write 5 sentences about your daily routine using different subjects.

文化メモ

In coastal regions, people often use 'šta' instead of 'što' and might drop final consonants.

Standard Croatian is spoken here, but with specific intonation patterns.

Often uses more archaic forms and specific vocabulary.

Croatian verb endings are inherited from Proto-Slavic, which had a complex system of inflection.

会話のきっかけ

Što radiš danas?

Govoriš li hrvatski?

Što želiš raditi sutra?

Kako se osjećaš danas?

日記のテーマ

Describe your daily routine.
What do your friends do on weekends?
Write about a goal you have.
Reflect on how your language skills have changed.

よくある間違い

Incorrect

正解


Incorrect

正解


Incorrect

正解


Incorrect

正解

Test Yourself

Conjugate 'raditi' for 'Ja'.

Ja ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: radim
1st person singular ends in -m.
Which is correct? 選択問題

Ti ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: čitaš
2nd person singular ends in -š.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Oni radim.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Oni rade
3rd person plural ends in -e.
Change to negative. Sentence Transformation

Ja radim.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ne radim
Negation goes before the verb.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Što ___? B: Radim.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: radiš
Asking the other person.
Order the words. Sentence Building

radim / Ja / danas

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ja radim danas
Standard word order.
Conjugate 'učiti' for 'Mi'. Conjugation Drill

Mi ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: učimo
1st person plural ends in -mo.
Match subject to verb. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: radim, radiš
Correct person matching.

Score: /8

練習問題

8 exercises
Conjugate 'raditi' for 'Ja'.

Ja ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: radim
1st person singular ends in -m.
Which is correct? 選択問題

Ti ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: čitaš
2nd person singular ends in -š.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Oni radim.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Oni rade
3rd person plural ends in -e.
Change to negative. Sentence Transformation

Ja radim.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ne radim
Negation goes before the verb.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Što ___? B: Radim.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: radiš
Asking the other person.
Order the words. Sentence Building

radim / Ja / danas

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ja radim danas
Standard word order.
Conjugate 'učiti' for 'Mi'. Conjugation Drill

Mi ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: učimo
1st person plural ends in -mo.
Match subject to verb. Match Pairs

Ja -> ?, Ti -> ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: radim, radiš
Correct person matching.

Score: /8

よくある質問 (8)

The verb ending already tells us who the subject is. It's more efficient and natural.

It will sound like you are speaking broken Croatian. Always conjugate!

Yes, like 'biti' (to be) or 'htjeti' (to want). You have to memorize these.

Look at the infinitive ending. -ati verbs usually follow one pattern, -iti another.

Yes, it is the plural form used for formal address.

Yes, if you want to emphasize that *you* (and not someone else) are doing it.

They are similar, but Croatian has specific endings that differ from Russian.

Start by memorizing the endings for -ati verbs.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

In Other Languages

Spanish high

Conjugation by person

Spanish has more tenses and moods.

French moderate

Conjugation by person

Croatian endings are always pronounced.

German moderate

Verb conjugation

German requires the pronoun for clarity.

Japanese low

No conjugation for person

Croatian requires conjugation; Japanese does not.

Arabic moderate

Gendered conjugation

Arabic conjugation is more complex with gender.

Chinese none

No conjugation

Croatian changes the verb itself.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

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