Fractions: pola / četvrtina

Parts of a Whole

Level 3

Pola names half; četvrtina names a quarter.

How It Works

In pola sata and pola kruha, the following genitive names the whole of which half is meant. Pola itself does not receive an adjective-style gender ending.

Četvrtina behaves as a noun: četvrtina kruha as a subject, četvrtinu kruha as an object. Kruh stays genitive because it names the whole.

A fraction can appear inside a larger time or quantity phrase. Keep apart the case required of the fraction word and the genitive that identifies what is being divided.

Examples (3)

  1. Čekam pola sata.

    I have been waiting for half an hour.

    Sata is genitive after pola.

  2. Pojela je četvrtinu kruha.

    She ate a quarter of the loaf of bread.

    Četvrtinu is accusative; kruha names the whole.

  3. Ostala je četvrtina kolača.

    A quarter of the cake remained.

    Četvrtina is the feminine singular subject.

How It Connects

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

Fractions: pola / četvrtinaLevel 3Parts of a Whole

Learn This First

Fractions build on genitive quantity phrases while some fraction words themselves decline as nouns.

Words in This Pattern

polapolačetvrtina