Language/Croatian/Grammar/Adjectives-and-Adverbs

Croatian → Grammar → Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs are essential parts of speech in any language, and Croatian is no exception. In this lesson, we will explore the use of adjectives and adverbs in Croatian, including their comparative and superlative forms.

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: Present Tense of Regular Verbs & Nouns and Cases.

Adjectives

Adjectives in Croatian are words that describe nouns and pronouns. They must agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify.

Gender

Croatian has three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. The ending of the adjective changes depending on the gender of the noun it modifies.

• Masculine adjectives typically end in -i, -ak, or -an: lijepi (beautiful), plavi (blue), strašan (terrible)
• Feminine adjectives typically end in -a or -ka: lijepa (beautiful), plava (blue), strašna (terrible)
• Neuter adjectives typically end in -o, -e, or -ko: lijepo (beautiful), plavo (blue), strašno (terrible)

Number

Like gender, adjectives in Croatian must also agree with the number of the noun they modify.

• Singular adjectives do not have any special endings, and are simply formed as usual: lijep (beautiful), plav (blue), strašan (terrible)
• Plural adjectives typically end in -i: lijepi (beautiful), plavi (blue), strašni (terrible)

Case

Finally, adjectives must also agree with the case of the noun they modify. Here are some examples:

• Nominative: Lijepa kuća (beautiful house)
• Accusative: Vidim lijepu kuću (I see a beautiful house)
• Genitive: Nema lijepih kuća (There are no beautiful houses)

Comparative and Superlative Forms

Croatian adjectives can also be compared using comparative and superlative forms. The comparative form is used to compare two things, while the superlative form is used to compare three or more things.

• Comparative: Lijepši (more beautiful)
• Superlative: Najljepši (the most beautiful)

Here are some examples of how to use comparative and superlative forms in Croatian:

• Hrvatska je ljepša od Slovenije. (Croatia is more beautiful than Slovenia.)
• Italija je najljepša od svih. (Italy is the most beautiful of all.)

To form the comparative and superlative forms, take the root of the adjective and add the following endings:

• Comparative: -(i)ji (in parentheses if the root ends in a vowel)
• Superlative: naj- + the comparative form of the adjective

Here is a table showing the comparative and superlative forms of some common Croatian adjectives:

Croatian	Comparative	Superlative	English
lijep	ljepši	najljepši	beautiful	dobar	bolji	najbolji	good	visok	viši	najviši	tall	malen	manji	najmanji	small	jak	jači	najjači	strong	velik	veći	najveći	big	dug	duži	najduži	long	zgodan	zgodniji	najzgodniji	handsome

Adverbs

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. In Croatian, adverbs are often formed by adding -o to the end of the adjective.

• Adjective: Lijep (beautiful)
• Adverb: Lijepo (beautifully)

Similarly to adjectives, adverbs also have comparative and superlative forms in Croatian:

• Comparative: -(i)je
• Superlative: naj- + the comparative form of the adverb

Here is a table showing the comparative and superlative forms of some common Croatian adverbs:

Croatian	Comparative	Superlative	English
brzo	brže	najbrže	fast	lagano	lakše	najlakše	slowly	dugo	duže	najduže	long	jako	jače	najjače	strongly	često	češće	najčešće	often	dobro	bolje	najbolje	well	rado	radije	najradije	gladly

As you can see, adjectives and adverbs are a complex part of speech in Croatian, but mastering their use is key to achieving fluency in the language.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we have learned about the important role of adjectives and adverbs in Croatian. We have examined the ways in which they must agree with nouns and pronouns in gender, number, and case, and explored how to use comparative and superlative forms. By practicing the examples in this lesson, you will be well on your way to mastering adjectives and adverbs in Croatian!

Sources

• The Croatian psycholinguistic database: Estimates for 6000 nouns ...
• Serbo-Croatian grammar - Wikipedia
• Which types of words change their endings in the Croatian language ...

Impressive work on finishing this lesson! Explore these additional pages to enhance your understanding: Conditional Mood & Participles and Gerunds.

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