Understanding Singular and Plural Nouns in Hrvatski
In the Hrvatski language, nouns can be singular or plural. Singular means there is one of something, and plural means there is more than one. Just like in English, we change the word a little bit to show if we mean one or many.
Singular nouns are used when we talk about just one person, animal, thing, or idea. In Hrvatski, the noun in its basic form is usually singular.
Examples
- Pas je u vrtu.
- Mačka spava na kauču.
- Stol je u sobi.
When we want to talk about more than one, we use plural nouns. In Hrvatski, we often change the ending of the word to make it plural. There are different endings depending on the gender of the noun.
Important Points
- For masculine nouns, change the ending '-a' to '-i'.
- For feminine nouns, change the ending '-a' to '-e'.
- For neuter nouns, change the ending '-o' or '-e' to '-a'.
Examples
- Psi su u vrtu.
- Mačke spavaju na kauču.
- Stolovi su u sobi.
Some nouns don't follow the regular rules and have unique plural forms. These are called irregular plurals.
Examples
- Dijete (child) becomes Djeca (children).
- Čovjek (man) becomes Ljudi (people).
The best way to get better at using singular and plural nouns in Hrvatski is to practice. Try making sentences and changing singular nouns to plural and see how the meaning changes.