Language/Croatian/Grammar/Plurals

Croatian Grammar - Plurals

Hi Croatian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will explore the plural form of nouns in the Croatian language. To improve your Croatian Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Introduction

Before we dive into the plural form of nouns, let's first clarify what exactly the noun is. A noun is a word used to identify any of a class of people, places, things, or ideas. In the Croatian language, nouns have a gender (either masculine, feminine, or neutral) and can be either singular or plural.

To form the plural in Croatian, we add a suffix to the noun. The suffixes are determined by the gender of the noun and whether it ends in a consonant or a vowel. Let's explore this concept in more detail.

Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Introduction to Croatian Grammar: Gender in Croatian, Future Tense, Word Order and Sentence Structure & Adjectives: Gender and Number.

Plural Suffixes

Masculine Nouns

In Croatian grammar, masculine nouns can end in a consonant or the letter -a. If the word ends in -a, we will remove it and replace it with -i to form the plural.

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
pas	/pas/	dog
grad	/grad/	city
drvo	/dr̩vo/	tree
stol	/stol/	table

If the word ends in a consonant, we will add -(o)vi or -(e)vi to form the plural, depending on the final consonant. - If the final consonant is a hard consonant (b, c, d, đ, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, š, t, v, z, ž), we add -(o)vi. - If the final consonant is a soft consonant (č, ć, đ, j, lj, nj, š, ž), we add -(e)vi.

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
pas	/pas/	dog
grad	/grad/	city
glas	/ɡlas/	voice
list	/list/	leaf
zub	/zub/	tooth

Feminine Nouns

In Croatian grammar, feminine nouns typically end in -a, -ija or -ost. To form the plural, we add -e or -i, depending on the type of noun. - If the word ends in -a, we replace it with -e to form the plural. - If the word ends in -ija, we replace it with -ije to form the plural. - If the word ends in -ost, we replace it with -osti to form the plural.

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
pjesma	/pjɛsma/	song
knjiga	/knjiga/	book
trgovina	/trɡovina/	store
žena	/ʒɛna/	woman

Neuter Nouns

In Croatian grammar, neuter nouns typically end in -o, -e or -će. To form the plural, we add -a or -i, depending on the type of noun. - If the word ends in -o or -e, we replace it with -a to form the plural. - If the word ends in -će, we replace it with -ća to form the plural.

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
jaje	/jaːjɛ/	egg
pero	/pɛro/	feather
lice	/lit͡sɛ/	face
dijete	/dijɛ̌tɛ/	child

Irregular Plurals

As with any language, there are some exceptions to these rules. Here are some examples of words with irregular plurals:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
čovjek	/t͡ʃɔ̌vjɛk/	man
konj	/kôɲ/	horse
noć	/nɔ̂t͡ɕ/	night
oko	/ɔkɔ/	eye

Plural Dialogue

To help you see plurals in context, here is a dialogue between two friends:

• Person 1: Koliko knjiga imaš? (/kɔ̌likɔ knjigà imàʃ?/) (How many books do you have?)
• Person 2: Imam tri knjige. (/imàm tr̩i knjìɡɛ/) (I have three books.)

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have now learned how to form plural nouns in the Croatian language! By practicing this grammar rule and conversing with native Croatian speakers, you'll soon find yourself using plurals with ease. Don't forget to visit the Polyglot Club website to improve your language skills and find native speakers to practice the language with.

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Plural versions of Croatian nouns
• Serbo-Croatian grammar - Wikipedia

Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• Give your Opinion
• Negation
• Questions
• How to Use Be
• Nouns
• How to Use Have
• Pronouns
• Conditional Mood