A Mixed Group as Subject

Level 3

A mixed group takes the masculine plural; an all-feminine group takes the feminine plural.

How It Works

The participle (došao, radio, otišao) changes with gender and number. For a group, one rule is enough.

GroupParticiple
all masculinedošli
masculine and femininedošli
all femininedošle

The mixed group takes the masculine, even if there are many women and one man. Mama i tata is also a mixed group, since tata is masculine: Mama i tata su ostali kući.

If the verb comes first, speakers sometimes agree with the nearest noun only. That is more common in speech, and the rule above is the one to use.

Examples (4)

  1. Amir i Lejla su otišli u Bihać.

    Amir and Lejla went to Bihać.

    Man and woman give -li.

  2. Selma i Ajla su otišle u školu.

    Selma and Ajla went to school.

    Two women give -le.

  3. Tarik i njegova sestra su ostali kod kuće.

    Tarik and his sister stayed home.

    Mixed again, so ostali.

  4. Mama i tata su radili cijeli dan.

    Mum and Dad worked all day.

    Tata is masculine, so radili.

Common Mistakes

  • Learners follow the nearest noun.

    Amir i Lejla su došle.
    Amir i Lejla su došli.

    A mixed group needs the masculine plural.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

A Mixed Group as SubjectLevel 3

Learn This First

Agreement with mixed subjects.