CROATIAN GRAMMAR

1- CROATIAN ALPHABET

A -> ah

B -> b

C -> ts

Č -> ch

Ć -> soft ch

D -> d

Dž -> j

Đ -> dy

E -> eh

F -> f

G -> g

H -> h

I -> ee

J -> y

K -> k

L -> l

Lj -> ly

M -> m

N -> n

Nj -> ny

O -> o

P -> p

R -> rolled r (Place the tip of your tongue just behind your upper front teeth [The same place where you make the T sound and the D sound], relax your tongue [don't push hard on it] and pronounce the letter R when you are doing that)

S -> s

Š -> sh

T -> t

U -> oo

V -> v

Z -> z

Ž -> zsh

2- WORD ORDER

1 Basic S + V Ja spavam. I sleep.

2 Direct object S + V + DO Ja čitam knjigu. I read the book.

3 Indirect object S + V + DO + IO Ja dajem knjigu njemu. I give the book to him.

4 Beneficiary S + V + DO + za + Acc Ja kupujem knjigu za njega. I buy a book for him.

5 IO pronoun S + IO + V + DO Ja mu dajem knjigu. I give him the book.

6 Adjective S + biti + Adj Knjiga je velika. The book is big.

7 Adverb S + V + Adv On čita brzo. He reads quickly.

8 Direct object + adverb S + V + DO + Adv Ja čitam knjigu brzo. I read the book quickly.

9 Time adverb S + V + Adv(time) Ja radim danas. I work today.

10 Place adverb S + V + Adv(place) On živi tamo. He lives there.

11 Prepositional phrase S + V + Prep + noun Knjiga je na stolu. The book is on the table.

12 DO + preposition S + V + DO + Prep + noun Ja stavljam knjigu na stol. I put the book on the table.

13 Determiner + noun Det + N Ova knjiga je nova. This book is new.

14 Determiner + adjective + noun Det + Adj + N Ova velika knjiga je nova. This big book is new.

15 Numeral + noun Num + N Dvije knjige su nove. Two books are new.

16 Conjunction Clause + Conj + Clause Ja čitam i on piše. I read and he writes.

17 Conjunction + objects S + V + DO + Conj + S + V + DO Ja čitam knjigu i on piše pismo. I read the book and he writes a letter.

18 Present reflexive passive S + se + V Knjiga se čita. The book is read / is being read.

19 Passive + agent S + se + V + od + Gen Knjiga se čita od njega. The book is read by him.

20 Passive + IO S + IO + se + V Knjiga mu se daje. The book is given to him.

21 Passive + IO + agent S + IO + se + V + od + Gen Knjiga joj se daje od njega. The book is given to her by him.

22 Passive + adverb S + se + V + Adv Knjiga se čita danas. The book is being read today.

23 Passive + preposition S + se + V + Prep + noun Knjiga se stavlja na stol. The book is put on the table.

24 Passive + agent + adverb S + se + V + Adv + od + Gen Knjiga se čita danas od njega. The book is being read by him today.

25 Passive + IO + agent + adverb S + IO + se + V + Adv + od + Gen Knjiga mu se daje danas od učitelja. The book is given to him today by the teacher.

26 Perfect passive S + biti + PP Knjiga je pročitana. The book has been read.

27 Perfect passive + agent S + biti + PP + od + Gen Knjiga je pročitana od njega. The book has been read by him.

28 Future passive S + će + biti + PP Knjiga će biti pročitana. The book will be read.

29 Future passive + agent S + će + biti + PP + od + Gen Knjiga će biti pročitana od njega. The book will be read by him.

30 Modal passive S + mora + biti + PP Knjiga mora biti pročitana. The book must be read.

31 Negative S + ne + V + ... Ja ne čitam knjigu. I do not read the book.

32 Negative passive S + ne + se + V + ... Knjiga se ne čita. The book is not read.

33 Yes/no question V + li + S + ...? Čitaš li knjigu? Do you read the book?

34 Passive question V + li + se + S? Čita li se knjiga? Is the book being read?

35 Agent question Od koga + se + V + S? Od koga se knjiga čita? By whom is the book being read?

36 IO question Kome + V + S + DO? Kome daješ knjigu? To whom do you give the book?

37 Imperative V + DO Čitaj knjigu! Read the book!

38 Imperative + IO V + IO + DO Daj mu knjigu! Give him the book!

39 Passive imperative Neka + se + V Neka se knjiga pročita! Let the book be read!

40 Infinitive Infinitive čitati to read

41 Infinitive + DO Infinitive + DO čitati knjigu to read the book

42 Passive infinitive biti + PP biti pročitan to be read

43 Purpose S + V + da bih/kako bih + V Jedem da bih igrao. I eat to play / in order to play.

44 Relative clause N + koji/koja/koje + clause Knjiga koju čitam je zanimljiva. The book that I read is interesting.

45 Passive relative N + koji/koja/koje + passive clause Knjiga koja se čita je zanimljiva. The book that is being read is interesting.

46 Conditional Ako + clause, clause Ako imam vremena, čitam. If I have time, I read.

47 Conditional + passive Ako + passive clause, clause Ako se knjiga čita, on uči. If the book is read, he learns.

48 Reported speech S + kaže + da + clause On kaže da čita. He says that he reads.

49 Reported question S + pita + je li + clause On pita čitam li. He asks if I read.

50 Reported command S + traži od + person + da + V On traži od mene da čitam. He asks me to read.

ADVERBS:

1 Manner Adverb + Verb / usually before or after the verb Brzo čitam ovu knjigu. I read this book quickly.

2 Place Place expression + Verb / usually before or after the verb Kod kuće čitam ovu knjigu. I read this book at home.

3 Time Time expression + Sentence / beginning, middle, or end Jučer sam čitao ovu knjigu. I read this book yesterday.

4 Frequency Frequency adverb + Verb / usually before the verb Često čitam knjige. I often read books.

5 Frequency + be Frequency adverb + biti + Predicate On je uvijek sretan. He is always happy.

6 Frequency + auxiliary Frequency adverb + Auxiliary + Verb Nikada nisam vidio ovo. I have never seen this.

7 Degree Degree adverb + Adjective Ovo je vrlo dobro. This is very good.

8 Degree + verb Degree adverb + Verb Stvarno volim ovo. I really like this.

9 Sentence adverb Sentence adverb + Clause / usually beginning Srećom, pobijedio sam. Fortunately, I won.

10 Comment adverb Comment expression + Clause / usually beginning Iskreno, ne znam. Honestly, I don't know.

11 Linking adverb Linking adverb + Clause / usually beginning Bio sam umoran, međutim, nastavio sam raditi. I was tired; however, I continued working.

12 Direction Directional adverb + Verb / often with motion verb On je izašao. He went outside.

13 Definite frequency Definite frequency expression + Verb Svaki dan idem tamo. I go there every day.

14 Duration Duration expression + Verb Učio sam dva sata. I studied for two hours.

15 Purpose Da + Present / kako bi + Verb / purpose phrase Idem tamo da učim. I am going there to study.

INDIRECT OBJECT:

1 S + V + IO Ja mu pomažem. I help him.

2 S + V + IO + DO Ja mu dajem knjigu. I give him the book.

3 S + V + DO + IO Ja dajem knjigu njemu. I give the book to him.

4 S + V + DO + IO noun Ja dajem knjigu Ivanu. I give the book to Ivan.

5 S + V + DO + za + Acc Ja kupujem knjigu za Ivana. I buy a book for Ivan.

1st singular meni mi to me

2nd singular tebi ti to you

3rd masculine njemu mu to him

3rd feminine njoj joj to her

3rd neuter njemu mu to it

1st plural nama nam to us

2nd plural vama vam to you

3rd plural njima im to them

Indirect object Dative Dajem Ivanu knjigu. I give Ivan the book.

Beneficiary za + Accusative Kupujem knjigu za Ivana. I buy a book for Ivan.

GENITIVE:

1 Possession N + Gen knjiga učenika the student's book

2 Belonging N + Gen auto mog brata my brother's car

3 "of" N + Gen vrata kuće the door of the house

4 Origin iz + Gen On je iz Zagreba. He is from Zagreb.

5 From/away from od + Gen Dolazim od prijatelja. I am coming from a friend's place.

6 Without bez + Gen Kava bez šećera. Coffee without sugar.

7 Quantity quantity + Gen puno vode a lot of water

8 Number number + Gen pet knjiga five books

9 Partitive part + Gen komad kruha a piece of bread

10 Absence nema + Gen Nema vode. There is no water.

11 Separation od + Gen daleko od grada far from the city

12 Comparison comparative + od + Gen veći od mene bigger than me

13 Time preposition + Gen tijekom dana during the day

14 Approximate quantity oko + Gen oko deset ljudi about ten people

Possession N + Gen kuća čovjeka

Of N + Gen vrata kuće

From iz + Gen iz kuće

From od + Gen od prijatelja

Without bez + Gen bez novca

Near blizu + Gen blizu grada

Because of zbog + Gen zbog kiše

Quantity quantifier + Gen puno vode

Number 5+ + Gen plural pet knjiga

Absence nema + Gen nema vode

Comparison od + Gen veći od mene

Partitive part + Gen komad kruha

During tijekom + Gen tijekom dana

INDEPENDENT POSSSESSIVE:

Person Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Plural Feminine Plural Neuter Plural

Mine moj moja moje moji moje moja

Yours tvoj tvoja tvoje tvoji tvoje tvoja

His njegov njegova njegovo njegovi njegove njegova

Hers njezin njezina njezino njezini njezine njezina

Ours naš naša naše naši naše naša

Yours vaš vaša vaše vaši vaše vaša

Theirs njihov njihova njihovo njihovi njihove njihova

Croatian possessives function like adjectives, they decline.

Nominative moj moja moje moji / moje / moja

Genitive mog moje mog mojih

Dative mom(e) mojoj mom(e) mojim(a)

Accusative mog / moj moju moje moje / mojе

Locative mom(e) mojoj mom(e) mojim(a)

Instrumental mojim mojom mojim mojim(a)

knjiga je moja = the book is mine.

English Male speaker Female speaker

I was going to Htio sam Htjela sam

You were going to Htio si Htjela si

He was going to Htio je —

She was going to — Htjela je

We were going to Htjeli smo Htjele smo

You were going to Htjeli ste Htjele ste

They were going to Htjeli su Htjele su

I was going to eat. Htio sam jesti. I intended to eat.

I was planning to eat. Planirao sam jesti. I had a plan to eat.

I was about to eat. Upravo sam trebao jesti. I was on the point of eating.

Female:

English Croatian

I was going to eat. Htjela sam jesti.

I was planning to eat. Planirala sam jesti.

I was about to eat. Upravo sam trebala jesti.

2- NOUNS

CASES:

1- MALE INANIMATE NOUN ENDING WITH A CONSONANT:

Nominative: grad / gradovi (Plural)

Genitive: grada / gradova (Plural)

Dative: gradu / gradovima (Plural)

Accusative: grad* / gradove (Plural)

Vocative: grade / gradovi (Plural)

Locative: gradu / gradovima (Plural)

Instrumental: gradom / gradovima (Plural)

2- MALE ANIMATE NOUN ENDING WITH A CONSONANT:

Nominative: pas / psi (Plural)

Genitive: psa / pasa (Plural)

Dative: psu / psima (Plural)

Accusative: psa / pse (Plural)

Vocative: pse / psi (Plural)

Locative: psu / psima (Plural)

Instrumental: psom / psima (Plural)

3- FEMALE NOUNS ENDING IN -A

Nominative: žena / žene (Plural)

Genitive: žene / žena (Plural)

Dative: ženi / ženama (Plural)

Accusative: ženu / žene (Plural)

Vocative: ženo / žene (Plural)

Locative: ženi / ženama (Plural)

Instrumental: ženom / ženama (Plural)

4- NEUTER NOUNS ENDING IN -O

Nominative: selo / sela (Plural)

Genitive: sela / sela (Plural)

Dative: selu / selima (Plural)

Accusative: selo / sela (Plural)

Vocative: selo / sela (Plural)

Locative: selu / selima (Plural)

Instrumental: selom / selima (Plural)

5- FEMALE NOUNS ENDING IN A CONSONANT

Nominative: noć / noći

Genitive: noći / noći

Dative: noći / noćima

Accusative: noć / noći

Vocative: noći / noći

Locative: noći / noćima

Instrumental: noći / noćima

Declension 5: Masculine nouns ending in -a

These refer mostly to male people but decline like feminine -a nouns.

Example: tata ("dad")

Nominative: tata tate

Genitive: tate tata

Dative: tati tatama

Accusative: tatu tate

Vocative: tata tate

Locative: tati tatama

Instrumental: tatom tatama

Another example:

vojvoda (duke)

Case Singular Plural

Nominative vojvoda vojvode

Genitive vojvode vojvoda

Dative vojvodi vojvodama

Accusative vojvodu vojvode

Vocative vojvodo vojvode

Locative vojvodi vojvodama

Instrumental vojvodom vojvodama

Important irregular nouns

čovjek (man)

Case Singular Plural

Nominative čovjek ljudi*

Genitive čovjeka ljudi

Dative čovjeku ljudima

Accusative čovjeka ljude

Vocative čovječe ljudi

Locative čovjeku ljudima

Instrumental čovjekom ljudima

*The plural ljudi is suppletive (it comes from a different historical root).

dijete (child)

Case Singular Plural

Nominative dijete djeca

Genitive djeteta djece

Dative djetetu djeci

Accusative dijete djecu

Vocative dijete djeco

Locative djetetu djeci

Instrumental djetetom djecom

Declension 6: Masculine nouns ending in -ak

Many masculine nouns ending in -ak lose the -a- in some forms.

Example: momak (young man)

Nominative: momak momci

Genitive: momka momaka

Dative: momku momcima

Accusative: momka momke

Vocative: momče momci

Locative: momku momcima

Instrumental: momkom momcima

Notice:

momak → momci (stem changes from -ak to -c- in the plural)

Another example:

junak → junaci ("hero" → "heroes")

Declension 7: Masculine nouns ending in -ac

Many nouns ending in -ac lose -a- in oblique cases and plural.

Example: otac (father)

Nominative: otac očevi

Genitive: oca očeva

Dative: ocu očevima

Accusative: oca očeve

Vocative: oče očevi

Locative: ocu očevima

Instrumental: ocem očevima

Another example:

starac → starci ("old man" → "old men")

Declension 8: Masculine nouns ending in -anin

These usually refer to nationality or place of origin.

Example: Hrvat ("Croat") does not belong here.

A true -anin example is:

građanin (citizen)

Nominative: građanin građani

Genitive: građanina građana

Dative: građaninu građanima

Accusative: građanina građane

Vocative: građanine građani

Locative: građaninu građanima

Instrumental: građaninom građanima

Other examples:

Zagrepčanin → Zagrepčani

Amerikanac ("American") follows a different -ac pattern, not this one.

Declension 9: Neuter nouns ending in -e with -et- stems

Example: dijete (child)

Nominative: dijete djeca

Genitive: djeteta djece

Dative: djetetu djeci

Accusative: dijete djecu

Vocative: dijete djeco

Locative: djetetu djeci

Instrumental: djetetom djecom

The stem changes:

dijete → djet-

plural → djec-

This is one of the most irregular noun patterns.

Declension 10: Neuter nouns ending in -me

These add -n- in most oblique cases.

Example: ime (name)

Nominative: ime imena

Genitive: imena imena

Dative: imenu imenima

Accusative: ime imena

Vocative: ime imena

Locative: imenu imenima

Instrumental: imenom imenima

Other examples:

vrijeme (time)

rame (shoulder)

tjeme (crown of the head)

Declension 11: Feminine nouns ending in -ost

These belong to the consonant-ending feminine group.

Example: mladost (youth)

Nominative: mladost mladosti

Genitive: mladosti mladosti

Dative: mladosti mladostima

Accusative: mladost mladosti

Vocative: mladosti mladosti

Locative: mladosti mladostima

Instrumental: mladošću mladostima

Other examples:

radost (joy)

budućnost (future)

starost (old age)

Notice the instrumental singular often ends in -šću after -st.

Declension 12: Feminine nouns ending in -av / -ev

Example: ljubav (love)

Nominative: ljubav ljubavi

Genitive: ljubavi ljubavi

Dative: ljubavi ljubavima

Accusative: ljubav ljubavi

Vocative: ljubavi ljubavi

Locative: ljubavi ljubavima

Instrumental: ljubavlju ljubavima

Declension 13: Masculine nouns ending in -ar

Example: ribar (fisherman)

Nominative: ribar ribari

Genitive: ribara ribara

Dative: ribaru ribarima

Accusative: ribara ribare

Vocative: ribaru ribari

Locative: ribaru ribarima

Instrumental: ribarom ribarima

Declension 14: Masculine nouns ending in -telj

Example: učitelj (teacher)

Nominative: učitelj učitelji

Genitive: učitelja učitelja

Dative: učitelju učiteljima

Accusative: učitelja učitelje

Vocative: učitelju učitelji

Locative: učitelju učiteljima

Instrumental: učiteljem učiteljima

Declension 15: Masculine nouns ending in -ist

Example: turist (tourist)

Nominative: turist turisti

Genitive: turista turista

Dative: turisti turistima

Accusative: turista turiste

Vocative: turiste turisti

Locative: turisti turistima

Instrumental: turistom turistima

Declension 16: Masculine professions ending in -log

Example: psiholog (psychologist)

Nominative: psiholog psiholozi

Genitive: psihologa psihologa

Dative: psihologu psiholozima

Accusative: psihologa psihologe

Vocative: psihologu psiholozi

Locative: psihologu psiholozima

Instrumental: psihologom psiholozima

Declension 17: Masculine nouns with k → c

Example: junak (hero)

Nominative: junak junaci

Genitive: junaka junaka

Dative: junaku junacima

Accusative: junaka junake

Vocative: junače junaci

Locative: junaku junacima

Instrumental: junakom junacima

Declension 18: Masculine nouns with g → z

Example: bog (god)

Nominative: bog bogovi

Genitive: boga bogova

Dative: bogu bogovima

Accusative: boga bogove

Vocative: bože bogovi

Locative: bogu bogovima

Instrumental: bogom bogovima

Declension 19: Masculine nouns with h → s

Example: orah (walnut)

Nominative: orah orasi

Genitive: oraha oraha

Dative: orahu orasima

Accusative: orah orahe

Vocative: oraše orasi

Locative: orahu orasima

Instrumental: orahom orasima

Declension 20: Irregular plurals

Some nouns have completely irregular plurals.

čovjek (man)

Nominative: čovjek ljudi

Genitive: čovjeka ljudi

Dative: čovjeku ljudima

Accusative: čovjeka ljude

Vocative: čovječe ljudi

Locative: čovjeku ljudima

Instrumental: čovjekom ljudima

brat (brother)

Nominative: brat braća

Genitive: brata braće

Dative: bratu braći

Accusative: brata braću

Vocative: brate braćo

Locative: bratu braći

Instrumental: bratom braćom

Pattern 21: oko (eye)

This noun has an irregular plural.

Case Singular Plural

Nominative oko oči

Genitive oka očiju

Dative oku očima

Accusative oko oči

Vocative oko oči

Locative oku očima

Instrumental okom očima

Notice:

oko → oči

oka → očiju

Pattern 22: uho (ear)

Case Singular Plural

Nominative uho uši

Genitive uha ušiju

Dative uhu ušima

Accusative uho uši

Vocative uho uši

Locative uhu ušima

Instrumental uhom ušima

Pattern 23: rame (shoulder)

These nouns insert -en- in most singular oblique cases.

Case Singular Plural

Nominative rame ramena

Genitive ramena ramena

Dative ramenu ramenima

Accusative rame ramena

Vocative rame ramena

Locative ramenu ramenima

Instrumental ramenom ramenima

Other nouns with the same pattern:

tjeme (crown of the head)

vrijeme (time)

ime (name)

sjeme (seed)

Pattern 24: tele (calf)

Young-animal nouns often have special plurals.

Case Singular Plural

Nominative tele telad

Genitive teleta teladi

Dative teletu teladi

Accusative tele telad

Vocative tele teladi

Locative teletu teladi

Instrumental teletom teladi

Similar nouns:

janje → janjad (lamb)

prase → prasad (piglet)

These are collective plurals, so they don't follow the regular neuter plural pattern.

Pattern 25: Collective nouns

These nouns are grammatically singular but refer to a group.

Examples:

lišće = foliage/leaves

cvijeće = flowers (collectively)

kamenje = stones (collectively)

grmlje = bushes

granje = branches

For example:

Case Singular (collective)

Nominative lišće

Genitive lišća

Dative lišću

Accusative lišće

Vocative lišće

Locative lišću

Instrumental lišćem

These nouns usually do not have a normal plural because they already express a collection.

Pattern 26: Plural-only nouns (pluralia tantum)

Some nouns exist only in the plural.

Examples:

škare (scissors)

hlače (trousers)

vrata (door)

naočale (glasses)

Example: hlače

Case Plural

Nominative hlače

Genitive hlača

Dative hlačama

Accusative hlače

Vocative hlače

Locative hlačama

Instrumental hlačama

Pattern 27: Singular-only nouns (singularia tantum)

Some nouns are normally used only in the singular.

Examples:

mlijeko (milk)

zlato (gold)

srebro (silver)

brašno (flour)

riža (rice)

Example: mlijeko

Case Singular

Nominative mlijeko

Genitive mlijeka

Dative mlijeku

Accusative mlijeko

Vocative mlijeko

Locative mlijeku

Instrumental mlijekom

These nouns generally have no regular plural unless used with a specialized meaning (e.g. different types of wine or cheese).

3- ADJECTIVES:

Position Usually adjective + noun velika kuća big house

Agreement Adjective agrees with noun in gender, number, and case veliki pas / velika kuća / veliko dijete big dog / big house / big child

Gender Masculine, feminine, neuter forms dobar / dobra / dobro good (m/f/n)

Number Singular and plural forms dobar čovjek → dobri ljudi good man → good people

Case Adjectives decline with nouns dobar čovjek → dobrog čovjeka good man → good man (object)

Predicate adjective biti + adjective Ona je sretna She is happy

Negative adjective Add ne- sretan → nesretan happy → unhappy

Very + adjective Use vrlo, jako, veoma jako lijep very beautiful

1. Adjective Gender

Most Croatian adjectives have these endings in the nominative singular:

Gender Ending Example English

Masculine -i / consonant dobar good

Feminine -a dobra good

Neuter -o/-e dobro good

Example:

Noun Adjective

čovjek (m.) dobar čovjek

žena (f.) dobra žena

dijete (n.) dobro dijete

ja jesam / sam I am

ti jesi / si you are

on jest / je he is

ona jest / je she is

ono jest / je it is

mi jesmo / smo we are

vi jeste / ste you are

oni/one/ona jesu / su they are

2. Full Forms (for emphasis)

Used when stressing the verb.

Croatian English

Ja jesam I am

Ti jesi You are

On jest He is

Mi jesmo We are

3. Negative Present ("am not / isn't / aren't")

Croatian uses nisam forms.

Pronoun Croatian English

ja nisam I am not

ti nisi you are not

on/ona nije he/she is not

mi nismo we are not

vi niste you are not

oni nisu they are not

Present Ja sam I am

Negative present Ja nisam I am not

Past masculine Bio sam I was

Past feminine Bila sam I was

Future Bit ću I will be

Conditional Bio bih I would be

Imperative Budi! Be!

Full forms

Pronoun Croatian English

ja jesam I am

ti jesi you are

on/ona/ono jest he/she/it is

mi jesmo we are

vi jeste you are

oni/one/ona jesu they are

Short forms (used most often)

Pronoun Short form English

ja sam I am

ti si you are

on/ona/ono je he/she/it is

mi smo we are

vi ste you are

oni/one/ona su they are

Examples:

Ja sam student.

I am a student.

Ona je sretna.

She is happy.

Mi smo kod kuće.

We are at home.

2. Negative Present (nisam = am not)

Croatian uses a separate negative verb.

Pronoun Croatian English

ja nisam I am not

ti nisi you are not

on/ona/ono nije he/she/it is not

mi nismo we are not

vi niste you are not

oni nisu they are not

Examples:

Nisam umoran.

I am not tired. (male)

Nisam umorna.

I am not tired. (female)

Ona nije ovdje.

She is not here.

3. Questions with biti

Croatian uses li after the verb.

Structure:

Verb + li + subject?

Examples:

Jesi li student?

Are you a student?

Je li ona liječnica?

Is she a doctor?

Jesu li oni spremni?

Are they ready?

4. Past Tense (Perfekt) — "was/were"

Croatian past tense uses:

biti (present) + past participle

The past participle changes by gender.

Masculine speaker

Pronoun Croatian

ja bio sam

ti bio si

on bio je

mi bili smo

vi bili ste

oni bili su

or more literary and formal:

I was bijah

You were bijaše

He was bijaše

She was bijaše

We were bijasmo

You were bijaste

They were bijahu

Example:

Bio sam umoran.

I was tired.

Bijah umoran.

I was tired.

Feminine speaker

Pronoun Croatian

ja bila sam

ti bila si

ona bila je

mi bile smo

vi bile ste

one bile su

Example:

Bila sam umorna.

I was tired.

5. Future Tense — "will be"

Formation:

ću/ćeš/će + biti

Pronoun Croatian English

ja bit ću I will be

ti bit ćeš You will be

on/ona bit će He/she will be

mi bit ćemo We will be

vi bit ćete You will be

oni bit će They will be

Examples:

Bit ću sretan.

I will be happy. (male)

Bit ću sretna.

I will be happy. (female)

6. Conditional — "would be"

Formation:

conditional of biti

Pronoun Croatian English

ja bio bih / bila bih I would be

ti bio bi / bila bi You would be

on bio bi He would be

ona bila bi She would be

mi bili bismo We would be

vi bili biste You would be

oni bili bi They would be

Examples:

Bio bih sretan.

I would be happy. (male)

Bila bih sretna.

I would be happy. (female)

7. Imperative of biti

Used for commands.

Person Croatian English

ti budi! be!

mi budimo! let's be!

vi budite! be!

Examples:

Budi miran!

Be calm!

Budite oprezni!

Be careful!

Negative:

Nemoj biti tužan!

Don't be sad!

4- PRONOUNS:

1. Nominative (Nominativ) — Subject

Question: tko? / što? = who? / what?

Used for the person/thing doing the action.

Person - Croatian - English

1st singular - ja - I

2nd singular - ti - you

3rd singular masculine - on - he

3rd singular feminine - ona - she

3rd singular neuter - ono - it

1st plural - mi - we

2nd plural - vi - you

3rd plural - oni/one/ona - they

Example:

Ja radim.

I work.

Ona govori.

She speaks.

2. Genitive (Genitiv) — Possession, "of", absence

Questions: koga? čega? = of whom? of what?

Uses:

possession

after some prepositions

"none/no"

Person - Croatian

I - mene / me

you - tebe / te

he/it - njega / ga

she - nje

we - nas

you plural - vas

they - njih / ih

Examples:

To je knjiga mene.

This is my book.

More natural:

To je moja knjiga.

This is my book.

Nema mene.

I am not here.

3. Dative (Dativ) — Indirect Object

Questions: komu? čemu? = to whom? to what?

Used for:

giving

speaking

helping

belonging

Person - Croatian

I - meni / mi

you - tebi / ti

he/it - njemu / mu

she - njoj / joj

we - nama / nam

you plural - vama / vam

they - njima / im

Examples:

Dajem mu knjigu.

I give him a book.

Govorim ti? ❌

Govorim ti = spoken form

Govorim tebi.

I speak to you.

4. Accusative (Akuzativ) — Direct Object

Questions: koga? što? = whom? what?

Used for the receiver of the action.

Person - Croatian

I - mene / me

you - tebe / te

he/it - njega / ga

she - nju / je

we - nas

you plural - vas

they - njih / ih

Examples:

Vidim ga.

I see him.

Volim te.

I love you.

Poznajem ih.

I know them.

5. Vocative (Vokativ) — Addressing Someone

Used when calling someone.

Personal pronouns usually do not have vocative forms.

Instead, nouns and names change:

Marko → Marko!

Ana → Ana!

Example:

Ti, dođi ovamo!

You, come here!

6. Locative (Lokativ) — About / In / On

Questions: o kome? o čemu? = about whom? about what?

Always used with prepositions:

o = about

u = in

na = on

Person - Croatian

I - meni

you - tebi

he/it - njemu

she - njoj

we - nama

you plural - vama

they - njima

Examples:

Govorim o njemu.

I speak about him.

Razmišljam o tebi.

I think about you.

7. Instrumental (Instrumental) — With / By means of

Questions: s kim? s čim? = with whom? with what?

Used with:

s/sa = with

tools

means

Person - Croatian

I - mnom(e)

you - tobom

he/it - njim(e)

she - njom(e)

we - nama

you plural - vama

they - njima

Examples:

Idem s tobom.

I go with you.

Razgovaram s njom.

I talk with her.

Reflexive Pronoun (sebe/se) — All Cases

Used for myself, yourself, himself, herself, themselves.

It does not change for person.

Case - Form - English

Nominative - — - —

Genitive - sebe - of oneself

Dative - sebi - to oneself

Accusative - sebe/se - oneself

Vocative - — - —

Locative - sebi - about oneself

Instrumental - sobom - with oneself

Examples:

Vidim sebe.

I see myself.

Govori o sebi.

He talks about himself.

Ponosan sam na sebe.

I am proud of myself.

1. "This" — ovaj / ova / ovo

Gender - Singular - English

Masculine - ovaj - this (m.)

Feminine - ova - this (f.)

Neuter - ovo - this (n.)

Plural masculine - ovi - these (m.)

Plural feminine - ove - these (f.)

Plural neuter - ova - these (n.)

Examples:

Ovaj je moj.

This one is mine.

Ovo je dobro.

This is good.

Ove su nove.

These are new.

2. "That" — taj / ta / to

Gender - Singular - English

Masculine - taj - that (m.)

Feminine - ta - that (f.)

Neuter - to - that (n.)

Plural masculine - ti - those (m.)

Plural feminine - te - those (f.)

Plural neuter - ta - those (n.)

Examples:

Taj je čovjek moj prijatelj.

That man is my friend.

To je istina.

That is the truth.

3. "That (far away)" — onaj / ona / ono

Gender - Singular - English

Masculine - onaj - that (far m.)

Feminine - ona - that (far f.)

Neuter - ono - that (far n.)

Plural masculine - oni - those (far m.)

Plural feminine - one - those (far f.)

Plural neuter - ona - those (far n.)

Examples:

Onaj auto je skup.

That car over there is expensive.

Ona kuća je stara.

That house over there is old.

Demonstrative Pronoun Cases

"This" — ovaj (masculine singular)

Case - Form - Example

Nominative - ovaj - ovaj čovjek

Genitive - ovog(a) - bez ovog čovjeka

Dative - ovom(e) - prema ovom čovjeku

Accusative - ovog(a) - vidim ovog čovjeka

Vocative - ovaj - —

Locative - ovom(e) - o ovom čovjeku

Instrumental - ovim - s ovim čovjekom

Feminine Singular — ova

Case - Form

Nominative - ova

Genitive - ove

Dative - ovoj

Accusative - ovu

Vocative - ova

Locative - ovoj

Instrumental - ovom

Example:

Vidim ovu ženu.

I see this woman.

Neuter Singular — ovo

Case - Form

Nominative - ovo

Genitive - ovog(a)

Dative - ovom(e)

Accusative - ovo

Vocative - ovo

Locative - ovom(e)

Instrumental - ovim

Example:

Volim ovo.

I like this.

Plural Forms (Nominative)

Gender - This - That - That (far)

Masculine - ovi - ti - oni

Feminine - ove - te - one

Neuter - ova - ta - ona

Examples:

Ovi ljudi rade.

These people work.

Te knjige su stare.

Those books are old.

Oni automobili su novi.

Those cars over there are new.

Demonstrative Pronouns as Standalone Words

When the noun is omitted, they act as pronouns.

Example:

Koji auto želiš?

Which car do you want?

Ovaj.

This one.

Examples:

Ovaj je moj.

This one is mine.

Taj je bolji.

That one is better.

Onaj je skup.

That one over there is expensive.

Ovo je lijepo.

This is beautiful.

To nije istina.

That is not true.

Difference Between ovaj / taj / onaj

Croatian - Meaning - Distance

ovaj - this - close to me

taj - that - close to you / already known

onaj - that over there - far from both

5- VERB TENSES:

ja pišem I write

ti pišeš you write

on piše he writes

ona piše she writes

ono piše it writes

mi pišemo we write

vi pišete you write

oni pišu they write

one pišu they write

ona pišu they write

Masculine speaker

ja pisao sam I wrote / I have written

ti pisao si you wrote

on pisao je he wrote

ona pisala je she wrote

ono pisalo je it wrote

mi pisali smo we wrote

vi pisali ste you wrote

oni pisali su they wrote

one pisale su they wrote

ona pisala su they wrote

For a female speaker:

pisala sam = I wrote / I have written

Masculine speaker

ja bio sam pisao I had written

ti bio si pisao you had written

on bio je pisao he had written

ona bila je pisala she had written

ono bilo je pisalo it had written

mi bili smo pisali we had written

vi bili ste pisali you had written

oni bili su pisali they had written

one bile su pisale they had written

ona bila su pisala they had written

Female:

Bila sam pisala. = I had written.

The pluperfect is less common in everyday Croatian than the perfect.

ja pisat ću I will write

ti pisat ćeš you will write

on pisat će he will write

ona pisat će she will write

ono pisat će it will write

mi pisat ćemo we will write

vi pisat ćete you will write

oni pisat će they will write

one pisat će they will write

ona pisat će they will write

You can also put the auxiliary before the infinitive:

Ja ću pisati.

But when ću follows the infinitive, the infinitive usually loses its final -i:

pisati + ću → pisat ću

With masculine speaker

ja budem pisao I will have written

ti budeš pisao you will have written

on bude pisao he will have written

ona bude pisala she will have written

ono bude pisalo it will have written

mi budemo pisali we will have written

vi budete pisali you will have written

oni budu pisali they will have written

one budu pisale they will have written

ona budu pisala they will have written

Example:

Kad budem napisao pismo, poslat ću ga.

When I have written the letter, I will send it.

Female:

Kad budem napisala pismo, poslat ću ga.

ja pisah I wrote

ti pisa you wrote

on pisa he wrote

ona pisa she wrote

ono pisa it wrote

mi pisasmo we wrote

vi pisaste you wrote

oni pisahu they wrote

one pisahu they wrote

ona pisahu they wrote

Pisao sam. = I wrote. → perfect

Pisah. = I wrote. → aorist

ja pisah I was writing

ti pisaše you were writing

on pisaše he was writing

ona pisaše she was writing

ono pisaše it was writing

mi pisasmo we were writing

vi pisaste you were writing

oni pisahu they were writing

one pisahu they were writing

ona pisahu they were writing

Important

The Croatian imperfect is archaic/literary in modern Croatian. In everyday speech, Croatian normally uses the perfect:

Pisao sam.

I was writing / I wrote.

rather than the literary:

Pisah.

Masculine speaker

ja pisao bih I would write

ti pisao bi you would write

on pisao bi he would write

ona pisala bi she would write

ono pisalo bi it would write

mi pisali bismo we would write

vi pisali biste you would write

oni pisali bi they would write

one pisale bi they would write

ona pisala bi they would write

Female speaker:

Pisala bih.

I would write.

9. Conditional II

The second conditional is used for past hypothetical situations, approximately:

I would have written.

It uses the conditional auxiliary plus the past form of biti + participle.

For example:

Bio bih pisao.

I would have written. — masculine

Bila bih pisala.

I would have written. — feminine

This construction is relatively formal and there are other ways to express hypothetical past situations in Croatian.

I wrote napisah (Perfective prefix [-na and etc...] + past ending)

You wrote napisa

He wrote napisa

We wrote napisasmo

You wrote napisaste

They wrote napisaše

6- PASSIVE TENSES:

PASSIVE VERB FORMATION

-ati → stem + an

-iti → stem + jen/en

-jeti → often -ljen/-đen

-ći → irregular (-čen, -đen, -rečen)

Present Passive

I am written - ja sam pisan/pisana

You are written - ti si pisan/pisana

He is written - on je pisan

She is written - ona je pisana

It is written - ono je pisano

We are written - mi smo pisani/pisane

You are written - vi ste pisani/pisane

They are written - oni su pisani

Past Passive

I was written - bio sam napisan

You were written - bio si napisan

He was written - bio je napisan

We were written - bili smo napisani

They were written - bili su napisani

FEMALE:

I was written - bila sam napisana

You were written - bila si napisana

She was written - bila je napisana

We were written - bile smo napisane

They were written - bile su napisane

Future Passive

ja ću biti pisan - I will be written

ti ćeš biti pisan - you will be written

on će biti pisan - he will be written

mi ćemo biti pisani - we will be written

vi ćete biti pisani - you will be written

oni će biti pisani - they will be written

FEMALE:

ja ću biti pisana - I will be written

ti ćeš biti pisana - you will be written

ona će biti pisana - she will be written

mi ćemo biti pisane - we will be written

vi ćete biti pisane - you will be written

one će biti pisane - they will be written

Future Perfect Passive

ja budem pisan - I will have been written

ti budeš pisan - you will have been written

on bude pisan - he will have been written

mi budemo pisani - we will have been written

vi budete pisani - you will have been written

oni budu pisani - they will have been written

FEMALE:

ja budem pisana - I will have been written

ti budeš pisana - you will have been written

ona bude pisana - she will have been written

mi budemo pisane - we will have been written

vi budete pisane - you will have been written

one budu pisane - they will have been written

Past Perfect Passive

ja sam bio bio pisan - I had been written

ti si bio bio pisan - you had been written

on je bio bio pisan - he had been written

mi smo bili bili pisani - we had been written

oni su bili bili pisani - they had been written

FEMALE:

ja sam bila bila pisana - I had been written

ti si bila bila pisana - you had been written

ona je bila bila pisana - she had been written

mi smo bile bile pisane - we had been written

one su bile bile pisane - they had been written

Aorist Passive

bijah pisan - I was written

bijaše pisan - you were written

bijaše pisan - he was written

bijasmo pisani - we were written

bijahu pisani - they were written

7- NEGATION:

radim → ne radim - I work → I do not work

idem → ne idem - I go → I do not go

govorim → ne govorim - I speak → I do not speak

znam → ne znam - I know → I do not know

Negative form of biti

ja jesam → nisam (I am not)

ti jesi → nisi

on/ona jest/je → nije

mi jesmo → nismo

vi jeste → niste

oni jesu → nisu

Negative Past

ja nisam radio/radila

ti nisi radio/radila

on nije radio

ona nije radila

mi nismo radili

vi niste radili

oni nisu radili

Knjiga (f.) Knjiga nije napisana The book is not written

Pismo (n.) Pismo nije poslano The letter is not sent

Čovjek (m.) Čovjek nije pozvan The man is not invited

Dokumenti (m. pl.) Dokumenti nisu potpisani The documents are not signed

8- QUESTIONS:

YES/NO QUESTIONS:

Verb + subject?

or

Subject + verb?

Govoriš li hrvatski?

Do you speak Croatian?

or:

Ti govoriš hrvatski?

You speak Croatian?

verb + li + rest of sentence

Radiš li?

Do you work?

QUESTION WORDS:

tko = who

koga = whom

komu/kome = to whom

što/šta = what

čega = of what

čemu = to/about what

koji = which

čiji = whose

kakav = what kind

gdje = where

kamo = where to

odakle = where from

kada/kad = when

zašto = why

kako = how

koliko = how much/how many

tko? = who?

Tko je to? — Who is that?

što? / šta? = what?

Što radiš? — What are you doing?

koji? = which?

Koji auto želiš? — Which car do you want?

čiji? = whose?

Čija je knjiga? — Whose book is it?

kakav? = what kind of? / what is it like?

Kakav je film? — What is the film like?

koliko? = how much/how many?

Koliko imaš godina? — How old are you?

koliko dugo? = how long?

Koliko dugo čekaš? — How long are you waiting?

9- ADVERBS:

Croatian Transliteration English

dobro dobro well

loše loše badly

lijepo lijepo nicely/beautifully

ružno ruzhno badly/ugly

brzo brzo quickly

polako polako slowly

sporo sporo slowly

pažljivo pazhlyivo carefully

oprezno oprezno carefully/cautiously

sigurno sigurno safely/certainly

lako lako easily

teško tesko with difficulty

jednostavno jednostavno simply/easily

teško teško with difficulty

jasno jasno clearly

glasno glasno loudly

tiho tiho quietly

mirno mirno calmly

spokojno spokojno peacefully

ozbiljno ozbiljno seriously

pažljivo pažljivo carefully

pravilno pravilno correctly

pogrešno pogrešno incorrectly

točno točno correctly/exactly

netočno netočno incorrectly

stvarno stvarno really

iskreno iskreno honestly

otvoreno otvoreno openly

slobodno slobodno freely

namjerno namjerno deliberately

slučajno slučajno accidentally

odjednom odjednom suddenly/all at once

zajedno zajedno together

odvojeno odvojeno separately

posebno posebno specially/separately

osobno osobno personally

uglavnom uglavnom mainly/generally

potpuno potpuno completely

djelomično djelomično partially

izravno izravno directly

neizravno neizravno indirectly

upravo upravo precisely/just

tako tako thus/so

ovako ovako like this

onako onako like that

Example

On govori polako.

On govori polako.

= He speaks slowly.

2. Time adverbs — vremenski prilozi

These answer kada? = when?

Croatian Transliteration English

sada sada now

sad sad now

danas danas today

jučer yucher yesterday

prekjučer prekyucher the day before yesterday

sutra sutra tomorrow

prekosutra prekosutra the day after tomorrow

odmah odmah immediately

upravo upravo just

već vech already

još yosh still/yet

još uvijek yosh uvyek still

više vishe anymore/no longer

uskoro uskoro soon

nedavno nedavno recently

odavno odavno long ago

davno davno long ago

prije prije before/earlier

ranije ranije earlier

poslije poslije afterward

kasnije kasnije later

zatim zatim then

potom potom afterward/then

nakon toga nakon toga after that

prije toga prije toga before that

napokon napokon finally

konačno konačno finally

isprva isprva at first

najprije najprije first

ispočetka ispočetka from the beginning

ponovo ponovo again

ponovno ponovno again

opet opet again

neprestano neprestano continuously

stalno stalno constantly

privremeno privremeno temporarily

istodobno istodobno simultaneously

istovremeno istovremeno simultaneously

danas danas today

noćas noćas tonight/last night

jutros jutros this morning

večeras večeras tonight

sinoć sinoć last night

prekjučer prekjučer day before yesterday

sutradan sutradan the next day

svakodnevno svakodnevno daily

svakog dana svakog dana every day

3. Frequency adverbs — prilozi učestalosti

These answer koliko često? = how often?

Croatian Transliteration English

uvijek uvijek always

često često often

vrlo često vrlo često very often

redovito redovito regularly

obično obično usually

uglavnom uglavnom generally/usually

ponekad ponekad sometimes

katkad katkad sometimes

katkada katkada sometimes

povremeno povremeno occasionally

rijetko rijetko rarely

vrlo rijetko vrlo rijetko very rarely

nikad nikad never

nikada nikada never

gotovo nikad gotovo nikad almost never

stalno stalno constantly

neprestano neprestano continually

svakodnevno svakodnevno daily

tjedno tjedno weekly

mjesečno mjesečno monthly

godišnje godišnje annually

ponovno ponovno again

opet opet again

dvaput dvaput twice

triput triput three times

jednom jednom once

višekratno višekratno repeatedly

često puta često puta often

4. Place adverbs — mjesni prilozi

These answer gdje? = where?

Croatian Transliteration English

ovdje ovdje here

tu tu here

tamo tamo there

ondje ondje there

ovamo ovamo hereward/to here

onamo onamo thereward/to there

svugdje svugdje everywhere

svuda svuda everywhere

nigdje nigdje nowhere

negdje negdje somewhere

bilo gdje bilo gdje anywhere

drugdje drugdje elsewhere

unutra unutra inside

vani vani outside

izvana izvana from outside

iznutra iznutra from inside

gore gore up/above

dolje dolje down/below

ispred ispred in front

iza iza behind

pokraj pokraj beside

blizu blizu near

daleko daleko far

nadesno nadesno to the right

nalijevo nalijevo to the left

desno desno right

lijevo lijevo left

svuda uokolo svuda uokolo all around

uokolo uokolo around

okolo okolo around

posvuda posvuda everywhere

nigdje nigdje nowhere

Example

On je ovdje.

On je ovdje.

= He is here.

5. Direction adverbs — directional adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

ovamo ovamo this way/here

onamo onamo that way/there

kamo kamo where to

nekamo nekamo somewhere/to somewhere

nikamo nikamo nowhere/to nowhere

bilo kamo bilo kamo anywhere

gore gore upward

dolje dolje downward

unutra unutra inward

van van out

vani vani outside

natrag natrag back

naprijed naprijed forward

unatrag unatrag backward

udesno udesno to the right

ulijevo ulijevo to the left

dalje dalje farther/onward

bliže bliže closer

kući kući homeward/at home

kamo kamo where to

odakle odakle from where

6. Degree adverbs — prilozi stupnja

These answer koliko? / u kojoj mjeri? = to what degree?

Croatian Transliteration English

vrlo vrlo very

veoma veoma very

jako jako very/strongly

izuzetno izuzetno exceptionally

iznimno iznimno exceptionally

osobito osobito particularly

posebno posebno especially

naročito naročito especially

prilično prilično quite/rather

dosta dosta quite/enough

dovoljno dovoljno enough

previše previše too much/too

premalo premalo too little

toliko toliko so much/that much

toliko mnogo toliko mnogo so much

toliko malo toliko malo so little

mnogo mnogo much/a lot

malo malo little

više više more

manje manje less

najviše najviše most

najmanje najmanje least

potpuno potpuno completely

posve posve completely

sasvim sasvim completely/quite

gotovo gotovo almost

skoro skoro almost

jedva jedva barely

jedva da jedva da barely

napola napola halfway

djelomično djelomično partially

donekle donekle to some extent

prilično prilično fairly

poprilično poprilično quite considerably

naročito naročito especially

krajnje krajnje extremely

izrazito izrazito extremely/markedly

neizmjerno neizmjerno immensely

beskrajno beskrajno infinitely

7. Quantity adverbs — quantity

Croatian Transliteration English

mnogo mnogo much/many

malo malo little/few

dosta dosta enough/quite a lot

dovoljno dovoljno sufficiently/enough

previše previše too much

premalo premalo too little

toliko toliko that much

koliko koliko how much

nešto nešto somewhat/something

nimalo nimalo not at all

nimalo nimalo in no amount

imalo imalo at all

ponešto ponešto somewhat/a little

mnogo više mnogo više much more

mnogo manje mnogo manje much less

što više što više the more

što manje što manje the less

8. Certainty adverbs — certainty

Croatian Transliteration English

sigurno sigurno certainly/surely

zasigurno zasigurno certainly

svakako svakako certainly/definitely

definitivno definitivno definitely

nedvojbeno nedvojbeno undoubtedly

nesumnjivo nesumnjivo undoubtedly

bez sumnje bez sumnje without doubt

zasigurno zasigurno certainly

zacijelo zacijelo surely

doista doista indeed

zaista zaista really/indeed

stvarno stvarno really

uistinu uistinu truly

upravo upravo precisely

dakako dakako of course

naravno naravno naturally/of course

jasno jasno clearly

očito očito obviously

očigledno očigledno evidently

9. Probability adverbs — probability

Croatian Transliteration English

možda možda maybe

vjerojatno vjerojatno probably

vjerovatno vjerovatno probably

navjerojatnije navjerojatnije most probably

zasigurno zasigurno certainly

zacijelo zacijelo surely

vjerojatno vjerojatno likely

moguće moguće possibly

moguće je moguće je it is possible

valjda valjda presumably/probably

navodno navodno allegedly

tobože tobože supposedly

izgleda izgleda apparently

očito očito apparently/obviously

očigledno očigledno evidently

čini se čini se it seems

prividno prividno apparently

navodno navodno reportedly/allegedly

10. Interrogative adverbs — upitni prilozi

These are especially important.

Croatian Transliteration English

kako kako how

gdje gdje where

kamo kamo where to

kuda kuda by which way/where through

odakle odakle from where

kada kada when

kad kad when

zašto zašto why

zbog čega zbog čega why

čemu čemu what for/why

koliko koliko how much/many

koliko dugo koliko dugo how long

koliko često koliko često how often

koliko daleko koliko daleko how far

koliko brzo koliko brzo how fast

otkada otkada since when

dokada dokada until when

otkad otkad since when

dokad dokad until when

11. Negative adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

ne ne not

nikad nikad never

nikada nikada never

nigdje nigdje nowhere

nikamo nikamo nowhere/to nowhere

nikuda nikuda nowhere

nikako nikako in no way

nimalo nimalo not at all

nipošto nipošto by no means

niotkuda niotkuda from nowhere

nikad više nikad više never again

nigdje više nigdje više nowhere anymore

nimalo ne nimalo ne not at all

Example

Nikada ne idem tamo.

Nikada ne idem tamo.

= I never go there.

12. Focus and emphasis adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

samo samo only

jedino jedino only

tek tek only/not until/just

upravo upravo exactly/just

baš bash exactly/really

upravo upravo precisely

naročito naročito particularly

osobito osobito especially

posebno posebno especially

čak čak even

također također also

takođe takođe also

isto isto also/as well

još još still/even

također također also

upravo upravo just

barem barem at least

bar bar at least

barem barem at least

barem toliko barem toliko at least that much

pogotovo pogotovo especially

ponajviše ponajviše above all/mostly

uglavnom uglavnom mainly

13. Restrictive adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

samo samo only

jedino jedino only

tek tek only/just

isključivo isključivo exclusively

jedino jedino solely

jedino tako jedino tako only that way

barem barem at least

bar bar at least

najmanje najmanje at least/minimally

najviše najviše at most/most

14. Additive adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

također također also

takođe takođe also

isto tako isto tako likewise

također i također i also

još još also/additionally

dodatno dodatno additionally

nadalje nadalje furthermore

osim toga osim toga besides

uz to uz to in addition

također također too

čak čak even

15. Comparative adverbs

Croatian adverbs can have positive, comparative and superlative forms.

Positive Comparative Superlative English

brzo brže najbrže quickly/faster/fastest

polako sporije najsporije slowly/more slowly/most slowly

dobro bolje najbolje well/better/best

loše gore najgore badly/worse/worst

mnogo više najviše much/more/most

malo manje najmanje little/less/least

blizu bliže najbliže near/nearer/nearest

daleko dalje najdalje far/farther/farthest

visoko više najviše high/higher/highest

nisko niže najniže low/lower/lowest

rano ranije najranije early/earlier/earliest

kasno kasnije najkasnije late/later/latest

dugo dulje najdulje long/longer/longest

kratko kraće najkraće briefly/shorter/shortest

Example:

On trči brzo.

On trči brzo.

= He runs quickly.

On trči brže.

On trči brže.

= He runs faster.

On trči najbrže.

On trči najbrže.

= He runs the fastest.

16. Sequence adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

najprije najprije first

prvo prvo first

najprije najprije firstly

zatim zatim then

potom potom afterward

onda onda then

nakon toga nakon toga after that

poslije poslije afterward

kasnije kasnije later

naposljetku naposljetku finally

napokon napokon finally

konačno konačno finally

na kraju na kraju in the end

u početku u početku at first

isprva isprva initially

prethodno prethodno previously

unaprijed unaprijed beforehand

naknadno naknadno subsequently

istodobno istodobno simultaneously

17. Repetition adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

opet opet again

ponovno ponovno again

ponovo ponovo again

iznova iznova anew

nanovo nanovo anew

ponovljeno ponovljeno repeatedly

višekratno višekratno repeatedly

iznova i iznova iznova i iznova again and again

stalno stalno repeatedly/constantly

neprestano neprestano continually

18. Approximation adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

otprilike otprilike approximately

približno približno approximately

oko oko approximately/about

nekako nekako somehow/about

otprilike toliko otprilike toliko approximately that much

manje-više manje-vishe more or less

gotovo gotovo almost

skoro skoro almost

približno približno roughly

okvirno okvirno approximately

19. Adverbs of result/consequence

Croatian Transliteration English

zato zato therefore/that's why

stoga stoga therefore

dakle dakle therefore/thus

prema tome prema tome therefore

time time thereby

tako tako thus

samim time samim time thereby/consequently

posljedično posljedično consequently

slijedom toga slijedom toga consequently

These are often better called connective/discourse adverbs, rather than ordinary adverbs.

20. Discourse adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

dakle dakle therefore/so

međutim međutim however

ipak ipak nevertheless

stoga stoga therefore

zato zato therefore

također također also

osim toga osim toga besides

nadalje nadalje furthermore

zapravo zapravo actually

uostalom uostalom after all

naime naime namely

uglavnom uglavnom generally

općenito općenito generally

konačno konačno finally

napokon napokon finally

primjerice primjerice for example

primjerom primjerom by way of example

međutim međutim however

naprotiv naprotiv on the contrary

inače inače otherwise/by the way

jednostavno jednostavno simply

ukratko ukratko briefly

svejedno svejedno anyway/regardless

svakako svakako certainly/in any case

uistinu uistinu indeed

doista doista indeed

posebno posebno especially

21. Attitude / speaker-evaluation adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

nažalost nazhalost unfortunately

srećom srećom fortunately

na sreću na sreću fortunately

iskreno iskreno honestly

iskreno govoreći iskreno govoreći honestly speaking

srećom srećom luckily

nažalost nažalost unfortunately

navodno navodno allegedly

očito očito obviously

vjerojatno vjerojatno probably

prirodno prirodno naturally

razumljivo razumljivo understandably

očekivano očekivano as expected

iznenađujuće iznenađujuće surprisingly

začudo začudo surprisingly

čudom čudom amazingly

navodno navodno supposedly

22. Manner/question series

A very important Croatian system is the relationship between demonstrative, interrogative, indefinite and negative adverbs.

Meaning Interrogative Demonstrative Indefinite Negative

how kako tako nekako nikako

where gdje ovdje/tamo negdje nigdje

where to kamo ovamo/onamo nekamo nikamo

where through kuda ovuda/tuda nekuda nikuda

from where odakle odavde/odatle nekud? / odnekud niotkuda

when kada tada nekada nikada

why zašto zato — —

how much koliko toliko nekoliko nimalo

This is one of the most useful ways to understand Croatian adverbs.

23. Demonstrative adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

ovdje ovdje here

tu tu here

tamo tamo there

ondje ondje there

ovamo ovamo to here

onamo onamo to there

ovuda ovuda this way

tuda tuda that way

tada tada then

tako tako in this/that way

zato zato for that reason

odavde odavde from here

odatle odatle from there

dotad dotad until then

otad otad since then

24. Indefinite adverbs

Croatian commonly creates indefinite adverbs with ne- and related particles.

Croatian Transliteration English

nekako nekako somehow

negdje negdje somewhere

nekamo nekamo somewhere/to somewhere

nekuda nekuda somewhere/by some route

nekada nekada sometime

nekad nekad sometime

odnekud odnekud from somewhere

ponegdje ponegdje in some places

ponegdje ponegdje somewhere/some places

bilo kako bilo kako somehow/any way

bilo gdje bilo gdje anywhere

bilo kamo bilo kamo anywhere/to anywhere

bilo kada bilo kada anytime

kako god kako god however

gdje god gdje god wherever

kamo god kamo god wherever/to wherever

kada god kada god whenever

25. Negative indefinite-type adverbs

Croatian Transliteration English

nikako nikako in no way

nigdje nigdje nowhere

nikamo nikamo nowhere/to nowhere

nikuda nikuda nowhere

nikada nikada never

nikad nikad never

niotkuda niotkuda from nowhere

nipošto nipošto by no means

nimalo nimalo not at all

26. Conditional / circumstantial adverbial expressions

These are adverbial phrases, rather than single adverbs, but they are important in Croatian grammar.

Croatian Transliteration English

inače inače otherwise

u tom slučaju u tom slučaju in that case

u svakom slučaju u svakom slučaju in any case

po mogućnosti po mogućnosti if possible

prema potrebi prema potrebi as needed

po potrebi po potrebi if necessary

po potrebi po potrebi as required

u međuvremenu u međuvremenu meanwhile

s vremenom s vremenom over time

prema tome prema tome accordingly

27. “Only / just / even / also” system

Croatian Transliteration English

samo samo only

jedino jedino only

tek tek only/just

baš baš exactly/really

upravo upravo exactly/just

čak čak even

također također also

isto isto also

još još still/even

barem barem at least

najmanje najmanje at least

najviše najviše at most

28. Croatian adverb formation

A huge number of Croatian adverbs are derived from adjectives.

Common pattern

Adjective neuter form → adverb

Adjective Adverb English

brz brzo quick → quickly

spor sporo slow → slowly

dobar dobro good → well

loš loše bad → badly

lijep lijepo beautiful → beautifully

jasan jasno clear → clearly

ozbiljan ozbiljno serious → seriously

pažljiv pažljivo careful → carefully

oprezan oprezno cautious → cautiously

miran mirno calm → calmly

siguran sigurno safe/certain → safely/certainly

10- CONJUNCTIONS:

Croatian Transliteration English

i i and

pa pa and, so, then

te te and, as well as

a a and, but, whereas

ali ali but

nego nego but rather

no no but

već već but rather, instead

nego što nego što rather than, than

ili ili or

ili…ili ili…ili either…or

bilo…bilo bilo…bilo whether…or / either…or

ni…ni ni…ni neither…nor

niti…niti niti…niti neither…nor

ni ni nor / not even

te…te te…te both…and / as well as

Examples

i — and

Ivan čita i Ana piše.

Ivan reads and Ana writes.

ali — but

Želim ići, ali nemam vremena.

I want to go, but I don't have time.

nego — but rather

Ne čitam knjigu, nego novine.

I am not reading a book, but rather a newspaper.

ili — or

Hoćeš čaj ili kavu?

Do you want tea or coffee?

ni…ni — neither…nor

Ni Ivan ni Ana nisu došli.

Neither Ivan nor Ana came.

2. Additive conjunctions — Sastavni veznici

These join things that are added together.

Croatian Transliteration English

i i and

pa pa and, then

te te and

ni ni nor

niti niti nor

također i također i also and

kako…tako i kako…tako i both…and / as well as

ne samo…nego i ne samo…nego i not only…but also

ne samo…već i ne samo…već i not only…but also

ne samo…nego također ne samo…nego također not only…but also

i…i i…i both…and

ni…ni ni…ni neither…nor

Example

Ne samo da čita, nego i piše.

He/she not only reads, but also writes.

3. Adversative conjunctions — Suprotni veznici

These express contrast.

Croatian Transliteration English

a a but, whereas

ali ali but

no no but

nego nego but rather

već već but rather, instead

nego što nego što rather than

samo samo only, but

samo što samo što except that, only that

dok dok whereas, while

dok… dok… whereas/while

Examples

Ja radim, a on spava.

I work, whereas he sleeps.

Nije crveno, nego plavo.

It isn't red, but rather blue.

Volim ga, samo što je ponekad težak.

I like him, except that he is sometimes difficult.

4. Alternative conjunctions — Rastavni veznici

These express alternatives.

Croatian Transliteration English

ili ili or

ili…ili ili…ili either…or

bilo…bilo bilo…bilo either…or / whether…or

ili pak ili pak or else

ili…ili pak ili…ili pak either…or else

bilo da…bilo da bilo da…bilo da whether…or

čas…čas čas…čas sometimes…sometimes

sad…sad sad…sad now…now

bilo…ili bilo…ili whether…or

Example

Ili ćeš doći, ili ćeš ostati kod kuće.

Either you will come or you will stay at home.

5. Negative conjunctions — Niječnički / sastavni constructions

Croatian Transliteration English

ni ni nor

niti niti nor

ni…ni ni…ni neither…nor

niti…niti niti…niti neither…nor

ne…nego ne…nego not…but rather

ne…već ne…već not…but rather

ne samo…nego i ne samo…nego i not only…but also

ne samo…već i ne samo…već i not only…but also

Example:

Ne čitam knjigu, nego časopis.

I am not reading a book, but rather a magazine.

6. Causal conjunctions — Uzročni veznici

These express cause/reason.

Croatian Transliteration English

jer jer because

jerbo jerbo because

budući da budući da since, because

zato što zato što because

stoga što stoga što because

s obzirom na to da s obzirom na to da considering that

kako kako since, as

kad kad since, as

Most important

jer = because

zato što = because

budući da = since/because

s obzirom na to da = considering that

Example:

Ostao sam kod kuće jer sam bolestan.

I stayed home because I am sick.

7. Result / consecutive conjunctions — Posljedični veznici

These express result or consequence.

Croatian Transliteration English

tako da tako da so that, so

tako…da tako…da so…that

takav…da takav…da such…that

toliko…da toliko…da so much/many…that

tako mnogo…da tako mnogo…da so much…that

tako malo…da tako malo…da so little…that

stoga stoga therefore

zato zato therefore, so

prema tome prema tome therefore, accordingly

Important: stoga, zato and prema tome are more accurately connective adverbs, not strict conjunctions.

Example:

Bio je umoran, tako da je otišao spavati.

He was tired, so he went to sleep.

8. Purpose conjunctions — Namjerni veznici

These express purpose.

Croatian Transliteration English

da da so that, in order that

kako bi kako bi so that, in order to

kako ne bi kako ne bi so that…not

da bi da bi in order to / so that

da ne bi da ne bi in order not to

ne bi li ne bi li so that…might / in order to

kako bi se kako bi se so that one would

Example:

Učim hrvatski da bih bolje govorio.

I study Croatian in order to speak better.

9. Conditional conjunctions — Pogodbeni veznici

These introduce conditions.

Croatian Transliteration English

ako ako if

ako…onda ako…onda if…then

ako…tada ako…tada if…then

kad kad when / if

kada kada when / if

ukoliko ukoliko if, provided that

ako li ako li if

samo ako samo ako only if

jedino ako jedino ako only if

osim ako osim ako unless

osim ako ne osim ako ne unless

pod uvjetom da pod uvjetom da provided that

uz uvjet da uz uvjet da provided that

u slučaju da u slučaju da in case

pod pretpostavkom da pod pretpostavkom da assuming that

Example:

Ako dođeš, razgovarat ćemo.

If you come, we will talk.

Samo ako radiš, možeš uspjeti.

You can succeed only if you work.

10. Concessive conjunctions — Dopusni veznici

These express although, even if, despite the fact that.

Croatian Transliteration English

iako iako although

premda premda although

mada mada although

makar makar although, even if

premda i premda i although

i ako i ako even if

čak i ako čak i ako even if

čak i kada čak i kada even when

bez obzira na to što bez obzira na to što regardless of the fact that

bez obzira na to da li bez obzira na to da li regardless of whether

ma koliko ma koliko no matter how much

ma kako ma kako no matter how

ma gdje ma gdje wherever

ma tko ma tko whoever

ma što ma što whatever

koliko god koliko god however much

kako god kako god however

gdje god gdje god wherever

tko god tko god whoever

što god što god whatever

kad god kad god whenever

kamo god kamo god wherever/to wherever

kuda god kuda god wherever

Example:

Iako je umoran, radi.

Although he is tired, he works.

Čak i ako pada kiša, idem.

Even if it rains, I am going.

11. Temporal conjunctions — Vremenski veznici

These express time.

Croatian Transliteration English

kad kad when

kada kada when

dok dok while, until

dok ne dok ne until

dok god dok god as long as

sve dok sve dok as long as, until

sve dok ne sve dok ne until

otkad otkad since

otkako otkako since

otkad god otkad god ever since

čim čim as soon as

čim što čim što as soon as

tek što tek što just as, as soon as

jedva što jedva što hardly…when

prije nego prije nego before

prije nego što prije nego što before

nakon što nakon što after

pošto pošto after, since

kad god kad god whenever

svaki put kad svaki put kad every time when

odmah čim odmah čim immediately as soon as

prije no što prije no što before

nakon što nakon što after

Examples

Kad dođeš, nazovi me.

When you arrive, call me.

Čim stignem, nazvat ću te.

As soon as I arrive, I will call you.

Čekat ću dok ne dođeš.

I will wait until you come.

12. Comparative conjunctions — Usporedni veznici

Croatian Transliteration English

kao kao as, like

kao što kao što as

kao da kao da as if

kao što…tako kao što…tako just as…so

kao…tako i kao…tako i both…as well as

nego nego than

nego što nego što than

no što no što than

koliko…toliko koliko…toliko as much…as

što…to što…to the more…the more

što više…to više što više…to više the more…the more

što manje…to manje što manje…to manje the less…the less

kao da kao da as though

kao da bi kao da bi as though

Example:

On radi kao da je šef.

He works as if he were the boss.

Što više učiš, to više znaš.

The more you study, the more you know.

13. Manner conjunctions — Načinski veznici

These introduce clauses describing how something happens.

Croatian Transliteration English

kako kako how, as

kao što kao što as

kao da kao da as if

tako kako tako kako the way that

onako kako onako kako in the way that

kako god kako god however / no matter how

kao što…tako kao što…tako just as…so

onako kao onako kao in the way that

Example:

Radi kako želiš.

Do it as/how you want.

14. Complement / content conjunctions — Izrični veznici

These introduce a clause that functions as the content of a verb such as say, know, think, ask.

Croatian Transliteration English

da da that

što što that / what

kako kako how / that

je li je li whether / if

da li da li whether / if

hoće li hoće li whether

kad kad when

kada kada when

gdje gdje where

kamo kamo where/to where

kako kako how

zašto zašto why

tko tko who

što što what

koji koji which

Example:

Znam da dolazi.

I know that he is coming.

Ne znam hoće li doći.

I don't know whether he will come.

15. Correlative conjunctions — Korelativni veznici

These work in pairs.

Croatian English

i…i both…and

ni…ni neither…nor

niti…niti neither…nor

ili…ili either…or

bilo…bilo either…or / whether…or

čas…čas sometimes…sometimes

sad…sad now…now

kako…tako i both…and / as…so

kao…tako i both…and

ne samo…nego i not only…but also

ne samo…već i not only…but also

ne samo…nego također not only…but also

što…to the more…the more

što više…to više the more…the more

što manje…to manje the less…the less

koliko…toliko as much…as

ako…onda if…then

ako…tada if…then

iako…ipak although…nevertheless

premda…ipak although…nevertheless

makar…ipak even though…nevertheless

dok…dotle while…in the meantime

gdje…tamo where…there

kamo…tamo where…there

kako…tako as…so

kad…tad when…then

16. No-matter constructions

Croatian uses interrogative/relative words + god or ma.

Croatian Transliteration English

tko god tko god whoever

što god što god whatever

koji god koji god whichever

kakav god kakav god whatever kind

kako god kako god however

gdje god gdje god wherever

kamo god kamo god wherever/to wherever

kuda god kuda god wherever

odakle god odakle god from wherever

kad god kad god whenever

koliko god koliko god however much/many

ma tko ma tko whoever

ma što ma što whatever

ma koji ma koji whichever

ma kakav ma kakav whatever kind

ma kako ma kako however

ma gdje ma gdje wherever

ma kamo ma kamo wherever

ma kada ma kada whenever

ma koliko ma koliko however much/many

17. Common conjunctional phrases

These are extremely important, although they are multi-word conjunctions, not single words.

Croatian English

zato što because

budući da because/since

s obzirom na to da considering that

tako da so that/so

tako…da so…that

da bi in order to

da ne bi in order not to

kako bi so that/in order to

kako ne bi so that…not

ako samo if only

samo ako only if

jedino ako only if

osim ako unless

pod uvjetom da provided that

uz uvjet da provided that

u slučaju da in case

pod pretpostavkom da assuming that

prije nego što before

prije no što before

nakon što after

čim as soon as

tek što as soon as/just after

dok ne until

sve dok as long as/until

sve dok ne until

čak i ako even if

čak i kada even when

bez obzira na to što regardless of the fact that

bez obzira na to da li regardless of whether

ne samo…nego i not only…but also

ne samo…već i not only…but also

kao da as if

kao što as

kao što…tako just as…so

što…to the more…the more

koliko…toliko as much…as

18. The core Croatian conjunctions

If we restrict ourselves to actual lexical conjunctions rather than every conjunctional phrase, connective adverb, particle, or interrogative word, the core inventory is much smaller:

Type Core Croatian conjunctions

Additive i, pa, te, ni, niti

Contrastive a, ali, no, nego, već

Alternative ili

Causal jer, budući da, kako

Purpose da

Conditional ako, ukoliko

Concessive iako, premda, mada, makar

Temporal kad, kada, dok, čim, otkad, otkako, pošto

Comparative kao, nego, nego što, kako

Complement da, što

Master pattern

Croatian conjunctions can be summarized as:

Coordination

S + V + i/ali/ili/nego + S + V

Cause

S + V + jer/zato što/budući da + S + V

Condition

Ako + S + V, S + V.

Concession

Iako/premda/mada + S + V, S + V.

Time

Kad/dok/čim/nakon što/prije nego što + S + V, S + V.

Purpose

S + V + da/da bi/kako bi + S + V.

Comparison

S + V + kao da/kao što + S + V.

Content

S + V + da/što + S + V.

11- PREPOSITIONS:

# Croatian Transliteration English meaning Typical case

1 bez bez without Genitive

2 blizu blizu near Genitive

3 do do to, up to, until Genitive

4 duž duž along Genitive

5 iz iz from, out of Genitive

6 između između between, among Genitive

7 iznad iznad above Genitive

8 ispod ispod below, underneath Genitive

9 ispred ispred in front of Genitive

10 iza iza behind Genitive

11 k k to, toward Dative

12 kod kod at, by, at someone's place Genitive

13 kraj kraj beside, near Genitive

14 kroz kroz through Accusative

15 među među among, between Accusative / Instrumental

16 mimo mimo past, by Genitive

17 na na on, onto, to Accusative / Locative

18 nad nad above, over Accusative / Instrumental

19 nasuprot nasuprot opposite, facing Dative

20 o o about, concerning Accusative / Locative

21 ob ob beside, by; on/at Accusative / Locative

22 oko oko around, about Genitive

23 osim osim except, besides Genitive

24 po po by, along, around, according to Accusative / Locative

25 pod pod under, beneath Accusative / Instrumental

26 pored pored beside, next to Genitive

27 poput poput like, such as Genitive

28 posred posred amid, in the middle of Genitive

29 poslije poslije after Genitive

30 preko preko across, over Genitive

31 prema prema toward, according to Dative

32 pred pred in front of, before Accusative / Instrumental

33 pri pri at, during, in the presence of Locative

34 protiv protiv against Genitive

35 radi radi for the sake of, because of Genitive

36 s / sa s / sa with, from Instrumental / Genitive in some uses

37 spram spram toward, in relation to, opposite Genitive

38 suprotno suprotno contrary to Dative

39 u u in, into, at, to Accusative / Locative

40 usprkos usprkos despite, in spite of Dative

41 uz uz alongside, beside, with Accusative

42 za za for, behind, to, during Accusative / Instrumental

2. Genitive prepositions — prijedlozi s genitivom

These are especially important because Croatian uses the genitive extensively after prepositions.

Croatian Transliteration English

bez bez without

blizu blizu near

do do to, up to

duž duž along

iz iz from, out of

između između between

iznad iznad above

ispod ispod below

ispred ispred in front of

iza iza behind

kod kod at/by

kraj kraj beside

mimo mimo past

oko oko around/about

osim osim except

pored pored beside

poput poput like

posred posred amid

poslije poslije after

preko preko across/over

protiv protiv against

radi radi for the sake of

spram spram toward/opposite

više više above, more than

diljem diljem throughout

nasred nasred in the middle of

nadohvat nadohvat within reach of

usred usred in the middle of

uime uime on behalf of

Examples

bez knjige

bez knjige — without a book

iz kuće

iz kuće — from the house

kod prijatelja

kod prijatelja — at a friend's place

ispred škole

ispred škole — in front of the school

iza kuće

iza kuće — behind the house

3. Dative prepositions — prijedlozi s dativom

Croatian Transliteration English

k / ka k / ka to, toward

prema prema toward, according to

nasuprot nasuprot opposite

usprkos usprkos despite

unatoč unatoč despite

nadomak nadomak near, within reach of

naspram naspram opposite, in relation to

suprotno suprotno contrary to

Example

Idem prema gradu.

Idem prema gradu.

I am going toward the city.

Unatoč kiši, idem.

Unatoč kiši, idem.

Despite the rain, I am going.

4. Accusative prepositions — prijedlozi s akuzativom

Croatian Transliteration English

kroz kroz through

među među among, between

na na onto, to

nad nad over

o o about / against

ob ob against, beside

pod pod under

pred pred in front of

uz uz alongside, beside

za za for, behind

u u into, to

po po around, for, to get

Examples

Idem u školu.

I am going to school.

Stavljam knjigu na stol.

I put the book onto the table.

Hodam kroz park.

I walk through the park.

5. Locative prepositions — prijedlozi s lokativom

Croatian Transliteration English

u u in, at

na na on, at

o o about

po po around, throughout, according to

pri pri at, during

ob ob on, at

prema prema toward / according to (in some constructions)

Examples:

u kući

in the house

na stolu

on the table

o knjizi

about the book

pri radu

during work / while working

6. Instrumental prepositions — prijedlozi s instrumentalom

Croatian Transliteration English

s / sa s / sa with

nad nad above, over

pod pod under

pred pred in front of

među među among

za za behind

These are particularly important because several prepositions change meaning according to case.

Example

pod stolom

pod stolom — under the table

pod stol

pod stol — under/to underneath the table

So:

pod + Instrumental → location

pod + Accusative → movement

7. The major two-case prepositions

Some Croatian prepositions take different cases depending on whether you mean location or movement/direction.

U — in / into

Formation Meaning

u + Accusative into/to

u + Locative in/at

Idem u kuću.

I am going into the house.

Ja sam u kući.

I am in the house.

Na — onto / on

Formation Meaning

na + Accusative onto/to

na + Locative on/at

Stavljam knjigu na stol.

I put the book on/onto the table.

Knjiga je na stolu.

The book is on the table.

Pod — under

Formation Meaning

pod + Accusative to/under

pod + Instrumental under

Stavljam kutiju pod stol.

I put the box under the table.

Kutija je pod stolom.

The box is under the table.

Nad — above

Formation Meaning

nad + Accusative movement to above

nad + Instrumental located above

Pred — in front of

Formation Meaning

pred + Accusative movement to in front of

pred + Instrumental located in front of

Za — behind / for

Formation Meaning

za + Accusative movement behind / purpose

za + Instrumental located behind

Među — among/between

Formation Meaning

među + Accusative movement among/between

među + Instrumental located among/between

8. S / SA

s and sa mean with when used as an instrumental preposition.

Croatian English

s prijateljem with a friend

s bratom with a brother

sa sestrom with a sister

sa mnom with me

sa školom with the school

sa is often used when pronunciation would otherwise be difficult.

9. Spatial prepositions

Croatian English

iznad above

ispod below

ispred in front of

iza behind

između between

među among/between

nad above

pod under

pred in front of

pored beside

kraj beside

oko around

uz alongside

nasuprot opposite

blizu near

daleko od far from

pokraj beside

posred amid

usred in the middle of

nasred in the middle of

diljem throughout

uzduž along

10. Time prepositions

Croatian English

prije before

nakon after

poslije after

do until

od from/since

za in/after (future period)

tijekom during

tokom during

kroz throughout

u in/during

na on/at

po on/at/after

oko around/about

pred before

iza after/behind, depending on context

sredinom in the middle of

početkom at the beginning of

krajem toward the end of

Examples:

prije ručka — before lunch

nakon škole — after school

tijekom godine — during the year

za dva dana — in two days

od ponedjeljka — from/since Monday

11. Cause/reason prepositions

Croatian English

zbog because of

radi for the sake of / because of

uslijed due to

zbog toga because of that

zahvaljujući thanks to

usprkos despite

unatoč despite

krivnjom through the fault of

zaslugom thanks to/by the merit of

Examples

Zbog kiše ostajem kod kuće.

I am staying home because of the rain.

Zahvaljujući njemu, uspjeli smo.

Thanks to him, we succeeded.

12. Purpose / beneficiary prepositions

Croatian English

za for

radi for the sake of

u svrhu for the purpose of

s ciljem with the aim of

u cilju with the aim of

namjesto instead of

umjesto instead of

Example:

Ovo je za tebe.

This is for you.

Došao je radi razgovora.

He came for the purpose of a conversation.

13. Means / instrument / accompaniment

Croatian English

s / sa with

putem by means of / via

pomoću with the help of

posredstvom through / by means of

uz pomoć with the help of

preko via / through

kroz through

Examples:

Putujem vlakom.

I travel by train.

Pomoću računala radim.

I work with the help of a computer.

14. Comparison / similarity

Croatian English

poput like

poput + Genitive like/such as

kao like/as

spram compared with / in relation to

prema according to/in relation to

u odnosu na compared with/in relation to

u usporedbi s compared with

naspram compared with/opposite

za razliku od unlike/in contrast to

Examples:

On je poput brata.

He is like a brother.

U usporedbi s njim, ja sam viši.

Compared with him, I am taller.

15. Exception / exclusion

Croatian English

osim except/besides

izuzev except

izuzevši excepting

mimo apart from/beyond

bez without

umjesto instead of

namjesto instead of

za razliku od unlike

izvan outside of

van outside of

Example:

Svi osim Ivana su došli.

Everyone except Ivan came.

16. Topic / reference

Croatian English

o about

glede regarding

u vezi s regarding / concerning

vezano uz related to

što se tiče as for / regarding

kada je riječ o when it comes to

u pogledu regarding / with regard to

s obzirom na with regard to / considering

Examples:

Razgovaramo o knjizi.

We are talking about the book.

Što se tiče mene, sve je u redu.

As for me, everything is fine.

17. Multi-word prepositional expressions

These are very important in Croatian.

Croatian English

u skladu s in accordance with

u vezi s in connection with

u odnosu na in relation to

u usporedbi s in comparison with

u pogledu regarding

s obzirom na considering / with regard to

zbog because of

zahvaljujući thanks to

uslijed due to

za vrijeme during

tijekom during

tokom during

na temelju on the basis of

temeljem on the basis of

na račun at the expense of / on account of

u ime in the name of / on behalf of

u korist in favor of / for the benefit of

na štetu to the detriment of

u slučaju in case of

u svrhu for the purpose of

s ciljem with the aim of

u cilju with the aim of

uz pomoć with the help of

pomoću by means of

posredstvom through / by means of

putem via / by means of

za razliku od unlike

umjesto instead of

namjesto instead of

u blizini near

u blizini od near

u sredini in the middle of

u središtu in the center of

na području in the area of

na području od in the area of

izvan outside of

unutar within/inside

između between/among

s obje strane on both sides of

s jedne strane on one side

s druge strane on the other side

18. Compound spatial prepositions

Croatian also forms compounds involving iz-, s-, po-, pod-, nad-, pred- etc.

Croatian English

iznad above

ispod below

ispred in front of

iza behind

između between

izvan outside

unutar inside/within

ponad above

popod under/below

povrh above/on top of

pored beside

pokraj beside

posred amid

usred in the middle of

nasred in the middle of

nasuprot opposite

nadomak within reach of

nadohvat within reach of

uzduž along

diljem throughout

19. Preposition + case master table

This is the most useful table for memorizing Croatian prepositions.

Preposition Case Main meaning

bez Genitive without

blizu Genitive near

do Genitive to/up to

duž Genitive along

iz Genitive from/out of

između Genitive between

iznad Genitive above

ispod Genitive below

ispred Genitive in front of

iza Genitive behind

kod Genitive at/by

kraj Genitive beside

mimo Genitive past

oko Genitive around/about

osim Genitive except

pored Genitive beside

poput Genitive like

posred Genitive amid

poslije Genitive after

preko Genitive across/over

protiv Genitive against

radi Genitive for the sake of

s/sa Instrumental with

k/ka Dative toward/to

prema Dative toward/according to

nasuprot Dative opposite

usprkos Dative despite

unatoč Dative despite

u Acc./Loc. into/in

na Acc./Loc. onto/on

pod Acc./Instr. under

nad Acc./Instr. above

pred Acc./Instr. in front of

za Acc./Instr. behind/for

među Acc./Instr. among/between

kroz Accusative through

uz Accusative alongside

o Acc./Loc. about

ob Acc./Loc. against/at

po Acc./Loc. around/by

pri Locative at/during

20. The most important movement vs. location rule

For u, na, pod, nad, pred, za, među, the case often changes the meaning:

Preposition Movement → Location →

u Accusative Locative

na Accusative Locative

pod Accusative Instrumental

nad Accusative Instrumental

pred Accusative Instrumental

za Accusative Instrumental

među Accusative Instrumental

For example:

u kuću = into the house

u kući = in the house

na stol = onto the table

na stolu = on the table

pod stol = under/to under the table

pod stolom = under the table

pred kuću = to/in front of the house

pred kućom = in front of the house

12- DETERMINERS

1. Demonstrative determiners — pokazne odrednice

These point to a specific noun.

Croatian Transliteration English Example

ovaj ovaj this ovaj čovjek — this man

ova ova this ova žena — this woman

ovo ovo this ovo dijete — this child

ovi ovi these ovi ljudi — these people

ove ove these ove knjige — these books

ova ova these ova sela — these villages

taj taj that taj čovjek — that man

ta ta that ta žena — that woman

to to that to dijete — that child

ti ti those ti ljudi — those people

te te those te knjige — those books

ta ta those ta sela — those villages

onaj onaj that one over there onaj čovjek

ona ona that one over there ona žena

ono ono that one over there ono dijete

oni oni those over there oni ljudi

one one those over there one knjige

ona ona those over there ona sela

Distance distinction

ovaj = this, near the speaker

taj = that, usually associated with the listener/intermediate distance

onaj = that over there, farther away

2. Possessive determiners — posvojne odrednice

These identify the possessor.

Croatian Transliteration English

moj moj my

moja moja my

moje moje my

moji moji my

moje moje my

moja moja my

tvoj tvoj your

tvoja tvoja your

tvoje tvoje your

tvoji tvoji your

tvoje tvoje your

tvoja tvoja your

njegov njegov his

njegova njegova his

njegovo njegovo his

njezin njezin her

njezina njezina her

njezino njezino her

naš naš our

naša naša our

naše naše our

vaš vaš your

vaša vaša your

vaše vaše your

njihov njihov their

njihova njihova their

njihovo njihovo their

Examples:

moja knjiga — my book

tvoj auto — your car

njegova kuća — his house

njezina sestra — her sister

naš grad — our city

vaš učitelj — your teacher

njihov pas — their dog

3. Reflexive possessive determiner — povratno-posvojna odrednica

Croatian has a particularly important reflexive possessive:

Croatian Transliteration English

svoj svoj one's own

svoja svoja one's own

svoje svoje one's own

svoji svoji one's own

svoje svoje one's own

svoja svoja one's own

Example:

Ivan voli svoju kuću.

Ivan voli svoju kuću.

Ivan loves his own house.

This is different from:

Ivan voli njegovu kuću.

Ivan loves his (another man's) house.

4. Interrogative determiners — upitne odrednice

These ask which, whose, what, or how many.

Croatian Transliteration English

koji koji which

koja koja which

koje koje which

koji koji which

koje koje which

koja koja which

čiji čiji whose

čija čija whose

čije čije whose

čiji čiji whose

čije čije whose

čija čija whose

kakav kakav what kind of

kakva kakva what kind of

kakvo kakvo what kind of

kakvi kakvi what kind of

kakve kakve what kind of

kakva kakva what kind of

koliki koliki how big/how much/how many

kolika kolika how big/how much

koliko koliko how much/how many

Examples:

Koju knjigu čitaš?

Which book are you reading?

Čija je ovo knjiga?

Whose book is this?

Kakav auto želiš?

What kind of car do you want?

Koliko knjiga imaš?

How many books do you have?

5. Relative determiner — odnosna odrednica

The main relative determiner is:

Croatian Transliteration English

koji koji which

koja koja which

koje koje which

koji koji which

koje koje which

koja koja which

Example:

Čovjek koji živi ovdje je moj prijatelj.

The man who/that lives here is my friend.

Knjiga koju čitam je zanimljiva.

The book that/which I am reading is interesting.

6. Indefinite determiners — neodređene odrednice

These express some, a certain, any, whichever, etc.

Croatian Transliteration English

neki neki some, a certain

neka neka some, a certain

neko neko some, a certain

neki neki some

neke neke some

neka neka some

nečiji nečiji someone's

nečija nečija someone's

nečije nečije someone's

neki drugi neki drugi some other

nekoliko nekoliko several

nešto nešto some/ something

ikakav ikakav any kind of

ikakva ikakva any kind of

ikakvo ikakvo any kind of

ikakvi ikakvi any kind of

ikakve ikakve any kind of

ikakva ikakva any kind of

išta išta anything / any

bilo koji bilo koji any / whichever

bilo koja bilo koja any

bilo koje bilo koje any

bilo kakav bilo kakav any kind of

bilo kakva bilo kakva any kind of

bilo kakvo bilo kakvo any kind of

Examples:

Neki čovjek me nazvao.

Some man called me.

Kupio sam nekoliko knjiga.

I bought several books.

Možeš izabrati bilo koju knjigu.

You can choose any book.

7. Negative determiners — niječne odrednice

These express no, no kind of, nobody's, etc.

Croatian Transliteration English

nijedan nijedan no / not a single

nijedna nijedna no / not a single

nijedno nijedno no / not a single

nijedni nijedni no

nijedne nijedne no

nijedna nijedna no

ničiji ničiji nobody's / no one's

ničija ničija nobody's

ničije ničije nobody's

nikakav nikakav no kind of

nikakva nikakva no kind of

nikakvo nikakvo no kind of

nikakvi nikakvi no kind of

nikakve nikakve no kind of

nikakva nikakva no kind of

Examples:

Nijedan učenik nije došao.

No student came.

Nemam nikakvu ideju.

I don't have any idea / no idea.

To nije ničija knjiga.

That is nobody's book.

8. Universal determiners — sveobuhvatne odrednice

These express every, all, each.

Croatian Transliteration English

svaki svaki every/each

svaka svaka every/each

svako svako every/each

svaki svaki every

svake svake every

svaka svaka every

sav sav all

sva sva all

sve sve all

svi svi all

sve sve all

sva sva all

svaki pojedini svaki pojedini each individual

svaki od svaki od each of

svi od svi od all of

Examples:

Svaki učenik ima knjigu.

Every student has a book.

Svi učenici imaju knjige.

All students have books.

Svaka kuća ima vrata.

Every house has a door.

9. Distributive determiners

These express each individually / respectively.

Croatian English

svaki each/every

svaki pojedini each individual

svaki od each of

po jedan one each

po dva two each

po jedan čovjek one person each

svatko everyone/each person

svaki zasebno each separately

Example:

Dobili su po jednu knjigu.

They each received one book.

10. Quantifier-like determiners

Croatian often uses quantifiers rather than determiners.

Croatian Transliteration English

mnogo mnogo much/many

puno puno much/many/a lot of

malo malo little/few

nekoliko nekoliko several

dosta dosta enough/quite a lot

dovoljno dovoljno enough

previše previše too much/many

premalo premalo too little/few

više više more

manje manje less/fewer

najviše najviše most

najmanje najmanje least/fewest

toliko toliko that much/many

koliko koliko how much/many

nešto nešto some

išta išta any

ništa ništa no/none

nimalo nimalo not at all/no amount

većina većina majority

manjina manjina minority

sve sve all/everything

pola pola half

polovica polovica half

dio dio part

dio od dio od part of

Examples:

Mnogo ljudi živi ovdje.

Many people live here.

Nekoliko učenika je došlo.

Several students came.

Imam dovoljno vremena.

I have enough time.

11. Numeral determiners

Numerals can determine a noun.

Cardinal numbers

Croatian English

jedan one

dva two

tri three

četiri four

pet five

šest six

sedam seven

osam eight

devet nine

deset ten

jedanaest eleven

dvanaest twelve

trinaest thirteen

četrnaest fourteen

petnaest fifteen

šesnaest sixteen

sedamnaest seventeen

osamnaest eighteen

devetnaest nineteen

dvadeset twenty

trideset thirty

četrdeset forty

pedeset fifty

sto hundred

tisuću thousand

milijun million

milijarda billion

Examples:

jedna knjiga — one book

dvije knjige — two books

tri knjige — three books

pet knjiga — five books

12. Ordinal determiners

These identify position/order.

Croatian English

prvi first

drugi second

treći third

četvrti fourth

peti fifth

šesti sixth

sedmi seventh

osmi eighth

deveti ninth

deseti tenth

sljedeći next

prethodni previous

zadnji last

posljednji last/final

prvotni original/initial

idući next/following

Examples:

prvi dan — the first day

druga knjiga — the second book

sljedeći tjedan — next week

posljednji dan — the last day

13. Fractional / partitive determiners

Croatian English

pola half

polovica half

trećina third

četvrtina quarter

petina fifth

desetina tenth

dio part

dio od part of

veći dio most / larger part

manji dio smaller part

većina majority

manjina minority

neki dio some part

jedan dio one part

Examples:

pola sata — half an hour

trećina godine — one third of a year

većina ljudi — most people

14. Collective / total determiners

Croatian English

sav all

sva all

sve all

svi all

cijeli whole/entire

cijela whole

cijelo whole

cijeli whole

čitav whole/entire

čitava whole

čitavo whole

čitavi whole

čitave whole

čitava whole

ukupan total/overall

ukupna total

ukupno total

sveukupan overall/total

sveukupna overall

sveukupno overall

Examples:

cijeli dan — the whole day

cijela godina — the whole year

svi ljudi — all people

ukupan broj — total number

15. General / free-choice determiners

These express any, whichever, whatever kind.

Croatian English

bilo koji any/whichever

bilo koja any

bilo koje any

bilo kakav any kind of

bilo kakva any kind of

bilo kakvo any kind of

bilo čiji anyone's/anybody's

bilo čija anyone's

bilo čije anyone's

ma koji whichever

ma koja whichever

ma koje whichever

ma kakav whatever kind

ma kakva whatever kind

ma kakvo whatever kind

svaki any/every

proizvoljan arbitrary/any

proizvoljna arbitrary/any

proizvoljno arbitrary/any

Example:

Izaberi bilo koju knjigu.

Choose any book.

16. Other / another determiners

Croatian English

drugi other

druga other

drugo other

drugi other

druge other

druga other

neki drugi some other

neka druga some other

neko drugo some other

drugi jedan another one

još jedan another one

još jedna another one

još jedno another one

drugi another/second/other

preostali remaining

preostala remaining

preostalo remaining

ostali other/remaining

ostala other/remaining

ostalo other/remaining

Examples:

druga knjiga — another/other book

neki drugi čovjek — some other man

još jedan dan — another day

preostali učenici — the remaining students

17. Same / identical determiners

Croatian English

isti same

ista same

isto same

isti same

iste same

ista same

jednak equal/same

jednaka equal/same

jednako equal/same

identičan identical

identična identical

identično identical

isti taj that same

ista ta that same

to isto the same thing

Example:

isti čovjek

the same man

ista knjiga

the same book

18. Specificity / definiteness

This is where Croatian differs substantially from English.

Croatian normally has no word equivalent to English "the".

Compare:

knjiga

= a book / the book / book

The context determines whether the noun is indefinite or definite.

However, Croatian can make a noun more explicitly definite using demonstratives and adjectives:

Croatian English

ovaj čovjek this man

taj čovjek that man

onaj čovjek that man over there

određeni čovjek a certain/specific man

dotični čovjek the particular man in question

spomenuti čovjek the aforementioned man

navedeni čovjek the mentioned man

19. "A/an" in Croatian

There is no regular indefinite article equivalent to English a/an.

However, jedan/jedna/jedno can sometimes function similarly to one/a certain.

Croatian English

jedan čovjek one man / a man

jedna žena one woman / a woman

jedno dijete one child / a child

But:

jedan does not simply mean English a/an in every sentence.

20. "The" in Croatian

There is no definite article.

English:

I saw the dog.

Croatian can simply say:

Vidio sam psa.

Literally:

I saw dog.

Context determines definiteness.

If you need to emphasize which dog:

Vidio sam tog psa.

I saw that/the particular dog.

21. Restrictive determiner-like words

These restrict the noun.

Croatian English

samo only

jedino only

tek only/just

isključivo exclusively

puki mere/pure

puka mere

puko mere

jedini only/sole

jedina only/sole

jedino only/sole

These are not all strict determiners; some are adverbs or particles.

Example:

jedini odgovor

the only answer

samo jedna knjiga

only one book

22. Emphatic / identifying determiners

Again, these are often classified separately from strict determiners.

Croatian English

sam himself/itself; the very

sama herself/itself; the very

samo itself/only

upravo taj precisely that

baš taj exactly that

isti taj that very same

dotični the said/particular

spomenuti aforementioned

navedeni mentioned

određeni certain/specific

stanoviti a certain

Example:

baš taj čovjek

that very man

određeni problem

a particular problem

23. Determiner-like adjectives

Some adjectives can specify or identify a noun.

Croatian English

određeni certain/specific

stanoviti a certain

dotični the particular/said

spomenuti aforementioned

navedeni mentioned

prethodni previous

sljedeći next

idući following/next

jedini only

čitav whole

cijeli whole

ukupan total

preostali remaining

drugi other

isti same

bivši former

budući future

These are technically adjectives, but they perform determiner-like functions.

24. Possessive noun constructions

Croatian can also determine a noun through another noun in the genitive.

Formation

Noun + Genitive noun

Croatian English

knjiga Ivana Ivan's book

kuća moje sestre my sister's house

vrata škole the school's door

auto mog prijatelja my friend's car

13- IF CONDITIONAL

Zero ako + present, present Ako pada, zemlja je mokra If it rains, ground is wet

First ako + present, future Ako učim, položit ću If I study, I will pass

Second kad bih/da + conditional Kad bih učio, položio bih If I studied, I would pass

Third da + perfect, conditional Da sam učio, položio bih If I had studied, I would have passed

Mixed da + perfect, conditional Da sam učio, sada bih radio If I had studied, I would work now

ja ja bih radio I would work

ti ti bi radio you would work

on on bi radio he would work

mi mi bismo radili we would work

vi vi biste radili you would work

oni oni bi radili they would work

FEMALE:

ja ja bih radila I would work

ti ti bi radila you would work

ona ona bi radila she would work

mi mi bismo radile we would work

vi vi biste radile you would work

one one bi radile they would work

ja bio bih radio I would have worked

ti bio bi radio you would have worked

on bio bi radio he would have worked

mi bili bismo radili we would have worked

vi bili biste radili you would have worked

oni bili bi radili they would have worked

FEMALE:

ja bila bih radila I would have worked

ti bila bi radila you would have worked

ona bila bi radila she would have worked

mi bile bismo radile we would have worked

vi bile biste radile you would have worked

one bile bi radile they would have worked

Knjiga ne bi bila napisana. The book would not be written.

Kuća bi bila prodana. The house would be sold.

Posao bi bio završen. The work would be finished.

Problem bi bio riješen. The problem would be solved.

Knjige bi bile pročitane. The books would be read.

ako if real

ukoliko if formal

ako slučajno if by chance possibility

kad/kada when/if time/hypothetical

kad god whenever repeated

kad bi if (would) hypothetical

da if unreal

samo ako only if necessary condition

jedino ako only if necessary condition

čak i ako even if concession

čak i kad even when concession

osim ako unless exception

ako ne unless/if not negative condition

bilo da... ili... whether...or alternatives

bilo... bilo... whether...or alternatives

kao da as if comparison

dok while/until time condition

dokle god as long as duration

sve dok as long as duration

pod uvjetom da provided that formal

u slučaju da in case possibility

gdje god wherever indefinite

što god whatever indefinite

14- COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

Positive adjective velik big

Basic adjective adjective velik big

Comparative adjective -ji/-iji/-ši veći bigger

Superlative adjective naj + comparative najveći biggest

More adjective više + adj više važan more important

Less adjective manje + adj manje važan less important

Most adjective naj + comparative najvažniji most important

Least adjective najmanje + adj najmanje važan least important

Equal jednako + adj + kao visok kao as tall as

Adverb comparative -e/-je brže faster

Adverb superlative naj + adv comparative najbrže fastest

More noun više + genitive više novca more money

Most noun najviše + genitive najviše novca most money

Verb frequency češće/najčešće češće radi works more often

Ivan je viši od Marka. Ivan is taller than Mark.

On radi bolje od mene. He works better than me.

Imam više knjiga. I have more books.

On ima više novca. He has more money.

Imam manje vremena. I have less time.

-iji Most regular, especially longer adjectives važniji, zanimljiviji, sigurniji

-ji Many short adjectives, often with stem changes mlađi, viši, niži, širi, skuplji

-ši Small group with historical sound changes ljepši, lakši, mekši, tiši

Irregular Must be memorized bolji, gori, veći, manji, kraći

1. Comparative in -iji

This is the most productive and regular comparative ending.

It is commonly used with longer adjectives and many adjectives ending in -an, -en, -av, -iv, -ski, etc.

Formation:

adjective stem + -iji

Positive     Comparative     English

važan     važniji     more important

zanimljiv     zanimljiviji     more interesting

ozbiljan     ozbiljniji     more serious

koristan     korisniji     more useful

siguran     sigurniji     safer

miran     mirniji     calmer

bogat     bogatiji     richer

siromašan     siromašniji     poorer

Examples:

Ovaj posao je važniji.

This job is more important.

Knjiga je zanimljivija od filma.

The book is more interesting than the movie.

2. Comparative in -ji

Many short adjectives form their comparative with -ji, often accompanied by consonant changes.

Positive     Comparative     English

mlad     mlađi     younger

drag     draži     dearer / preferred

blag     blaži     milder

strog     stroži     stricter

skup     skuplji     more expensive

dubok     dublji     deeper

visok     viši     higher/taller

nizak     niži     lower

širok     širi     wider

uzak     uži     narrower

Examples:

Moj brat je mlađi od mene.

My brother is younger than me.

Ova cesta je šira.

This road is wider.

3. Comparative in -ši

A relatively small group of adjectives uses -ši, usually because of historical sound changes.

Positive     Comparative     English

lijep     ljepši     more beautiful

lak     lakši     easier/lighter

mek     mekši     softer

tih     tiši     quieter

suh     suši     drier

Examples:

Ovo je ljepša kuća.

This is a more beautiful house.

Ovaj jastuk je mekši.

This pillow is softer.

4. Completely Irregular Comparatives

These do not follow any productive pattern.

Positive     Comparative     English

dobar     bolji     better

loš     gori     worse

velik     veći     bigger

mali     manji     smaller

dug     dulji / duži     longer

kratak     kraći     shorter

5. Sound Changes

Many comparatives involve consonant alternations in addition to the suffix.

Positive     Comparative     Change

visok     viši     sok → š

širok     širi     rok → r

dubok     dublji     insertion of l

blag     blaži     g → ž

strog     stroži     g → ž

mlad     mlađi     d → đ

lijep     ljepši     jep → jepš

These alternations are historical and generally need to be learned with each adjective.

6. Superlative Formation

Regardless of how the comparative is formed, the superlative is straightforward:

naj- + comparative

Comparative     Superlative

važniji     najvažniji

mlađi     najmlađi

ljepši     najljepši

bolji     najbolji

veći     najveći

15- RELATIVE CLAUSES

koji who/which/that

koja who/which/that (feminine)

koje which/that (neuter)

što what/that/which

čiji whose

kakav what kind of

koliki how much/how big

gdje where

kamo where to

odakle where from

kada when

Masculine singular (koji)

Case Form Meaning

Nominative koji who/which

Genitive kojeg / čijeg of whom

Dative kojemu/kojem to whom

Accusative kojeg whom/which

Locative kojem about whom

Instrumental kojim with whom

Knjiga koju čitam je zanimljiva. The book that I am reading is interesting.

Why koju?

Because:

knjiga = feminine

I read it → object → accusative

Relative clauses can be without relative pronouns BUT ONLY for everyday speech and place/time words:

The house where I live kuća u kojoj živim -> kuća gdje živim

The city where I work grad u kojem radim -> grad gdje živim

The day when I came dan kada sam došao -> dan kad sam došao

The place where I go mjesto u koje idem -> mjesto kamo idem

The country where I come from zemlja iz koje dolazim -> zemlja odakle dolazim

The way I work način na koji radim -> način kako radim

16- REPORTED SPEECH AND DIRECT SPEECH

Direct Speech: Person + verb of speaking + quotation

Reported Speech:

Statement reći + da Rekao je da radi.

Yes/no question pitati + li Pitao je dolazim li.

Wh-question pitati + question word Pitao je gdje idem.

Command reći + da + present Rekao je da dođem.

Negative ne/nije + verb Rekao je da ne radi.

17- INFINITIVES AND VERBAL NOUNS

Infinitive raditi to work

Negative infinitive ne raditi not to work

Verbal noun raditi → rad working/work

Verbal noun učiti → učenje learning

Present participle radeći working/while working

I am happy seeing you Sretan sam što te vidim. adjective + što + clause

I am happy to see you Drago mi je vidjeti te. expression + infinitive

I plan to eat Planiram jesti. verb + infinitive

I plan eating Planiram jesti. verb + infinitive (not a gerund)

I see him run Vidim ga kako trči. perception verb + object + kako + clause

I see him running Vidim ga kako trči. same construction

I eat to play Jedem da bih igrao/igrala. purpose clause with da bih

I eat in order to play Jedem kako bih igrao/igrala. purpose clause with kako bih

18- SUBJUNCTIVE

Želim da... I want that...

Volio bih da... I would like that...

Nadam se da... I hope that...

Bojim se da... I fear that...

Važno je da... It is important that...

Potrebno je da... It is necessary that...

Drago mi je da... I am glad that...

Molim te da... Please...

Bolje je da... It is better that...

19- TAG QUESTIONS

You are tired, aren't you? Umoran si, zar ne?

She is here, right? Ona je ovdje, je li?

You know him, don't you? Poznaješ ga, zar ne?

It is true, isn't it? To je istina, zar ne?

We will go, right? Ići ćemo, je li tako?

Don't you work? Ne radiš li? / Zar ne radiš?

Aren't you tired? Nisi li umoran? / Zar nisi umoran?

Didn't he come? Nije li došao? / Zar nije došao?

Won't they go? Neće li ići? / Zar neće ići?

Wouldn't you help? Ne bi li pomogao?

20- MODAL WORDS

Croatian Transliteration English

moći moći can, be able to

mogu mogu I can / they can

možeš možeš you can

može može he/she can

možemo možemo we can

možete možete you can

mogu mogu they can

biti sposoban biti sposoban be able/capable

biti sposobna biti sposobna be able/capable

biti u stanju biti u stanju be able to

uspjeti uspjeti manage/succeed in

znati znati know how to

umjeti umjeti know how to / be able to

Formation

moći + infinitive

Mogu čitati.

Mogu čitati.

I can read.

biti u stanju + infinitive

U stanju sam to učiniti.

I am able to do that.

2. Permission — Dopuštenje

Croatian Transliteration English

moći moći can / may

smjeti smjeti may / be allowed to

biti dopušteno biti dopušteno be permitted

biti dozvoljeno biti dozvoljeno be allowed

imati dopuštenje imati dopuštenje have permission

imati dozvolu imati dozvolu have permission

dopustiti dopustiti allow

dozvoliti dozvoliti permit/allow

dati dopuštenje dati dopuštenje give permission

odobriti odobriti approve/authorize

Examples

Smijem ući?

Smijem ući?

May I enter?

Možeš otići.

Možeš otići.

You may/can leave.

3. Possibility — Mogućnost

Croatian English

moći can/may

možda perhaps/maybe

moguće possible

moguće je it is possible

moguće je da it is possible that

može biti it may be

može biti da it may be that

moglo bi biti it could be

postoji mogućnost there is a possibility

ima mogućnosti there is a possibility

ima šanse there is a chance

mogao bi could/might

mogla bi could/might

mogli bi could/might

možda bi perhaps would

Example:

Možda će doći.

Maybe he/she will come.

4. Probability — Vjerojatnost

Croatian English

vjerojatno probably

vjerojatno je it is probable

najvjerojatnije most probably

moguće possibly

možda perhaps

valjda probably / presumably

zacijelo surely / probably

zasigurno certainly

jamačno certainly

sigurno surely / certainly

izgleda it seems

izgleda da it seems that

čini se it seems

čini se da it seems that

po svemu sudeći apparently / judging by everything

navodno allegedly / reportedly

navodno je supposedly is

kako izgleda apparently / as it seems

Example:

Vjerojatno će doći.

He/she will probably come.

5. Necessity — Nužnost

Croatian English

morati must / have to

trebati need to

biti potrebno be necessary

potrebno je it is necessary

nužno je it is necessary

nužno necessarily

neophodno je it is essential

neophodno necessarily/essentially

potrebno je da it is necessary that

mora se one must / it must be

treba one should / it is necessary

valja one should / it is proper to

valjalo bi one should / it would be advisable

nužno mora necessarily must

Formation

morati + infinitive

Moram raditi.

I must work / I have to work.

trebati + infinitive

Trebam raditi.

I need to work.

treba + infinitive

Treba raditi.

One should / needs to work.

6. Obligation — Obveza

Croatian English

morati must/have to

trebati need to/should

biti dužan be obliged

biti dužna be obliged

biti obvezan be obligated

biti obvezna be obligated

imati obvezu have an obligation

imati dužnost have a duty

dužan sam I am obliged

obvezan sam I am obligated

dužnost je it is one's duty

obveza je it is an obligation

Example:

Moraš završiti posao.

You must finish the work.

Dužan si platiti.

You are obliged to pay.

7. Should / ought to — Trebanje / preporuka

Croatian English

trebati should / ought to

treba should / ought to

trebao bi should

trebala bi should

trebali bi should

trebale bi should

valjati ought to / be proper

valja one should

valjalo bi one should

bilo bi dobro it would be good

bilo bi poželjno it would be desirable

poželjno je it is desirable

preporučljivo je it is advisable

Formation

trebao/trebala + bi + infinitive

Trebao bi učiti.

You should study.

8. Prohibition — Zabrana

Croatian English

ne smjeti must not / may not

ne smiješ you must not

ne smije he/she must not

ne smijemo we must not

ne smijete you must not

ne smiju they must not

ne može cannot / may not

nije dopušteno it is not allowed

nije dozvoljeno it is not permitted

zabranjeno je it is forbidden

ne dopušta se it is not permitted

ne dozvoljava se it is not allowed

ne valja one shouldn't / it is not good

nemoj don't

nemojte don't

ne smije se one must not

Example:

Ne smiješ pušiti ovdje.

You must not smoke here.

Nemoj to raditi.

Don't do that.

9. Lack of necessity — Nedostatak nužnosti

Croatian English

ne morati not have to

ne trebati not need to

ne treba need not / don't need to

ne mora does not have to

nije potrebno it is not necessary

nije nužno it is not necessary

nije neophodno it is not essential

nema potrebe there is no need

nije potrebno da it is not necessary that

Example:

Ne moraš doći.

You don't have to come.

Ne trebaš čekati.

You don't need to wait.

10. Volition — Volja / želja

Croatian English

htjeti want to

željeti wish/want to

željeti desire

voljeti like/love to

rado gladly

biti voljan be willing

biti voljna be willing

biti spreman be willing/ready

biti spremna be willing/ready

rado bih I would gladly

htio bih I would like

željela bih I would like

volio bih I would like

Example:

Želim učiti hrvatski.

I want to learn Croatian.

Volio bih putovati.

I would like to travel.

11. Willingness — Spremnost

Croatian English

htjeti be willing/want

željeti wish

biti voljan be willing

biti spreman be willing/ready

pristati agree/consent

složiti se agree

rado gladly

dragovoljno voluntarily

dobrovoljno voluntarily

Example:

Spreman sam pomoći.

I am willing/ready to help.

12. Intention — Namjera

Croatian English

namjeravati intend to

namjeravati + infinitive intend to

planirati plan to

planirati + infinitive plan to

kaniti intend to

spremati se be preparing/intending to

imati namjeru intend to

imati plan plan to

nakaniti intend

naumiti intend

odlučiti decide to

odlučiti se decide to

predomisliti se change one's mind

Example:

Planiram putovati sutra.

I plan to travel tomorrow.

Namjeravam učiti.

I intend to study.

13. Future / "will"

Croatian normally uses the future tense, rather than a separate modal verb equivalent to English will.

Croatian English

ću I will

ćeš you will

će he/she/it will

ćemo we will

ćete you will

će they will

budem + participle will be… / future construction

Formation

ću/ćeš/će/ćemo/ćete/će + infinitive

Čitat ću.

I will read.

Doći će.

He/she will come.

14. "Going to" / planned future

Croatian does not have an exact grammatical equivalent of English be going to. Several constructions are used.

Croatian English

namjeravati + infinitive be going to / intend to

planirati + infinitive be going to / plan to

spremati se + infinitive be preparing to

kaniti + infinitive intend to

imati namjeru + infinitive intend to

htjeti + infinitive want/intend to

upravo će + infinitive be about to

Example:

Spremam se otići.

I am getting ready to / going to leave.

15. "Was going to"

Croatian English

namjeravao sam + infinitive I was going to

namjeravala sam + infinitive I was going to

planirao sam + infinitive I was going to / planned to

planirala sam + infinitive I was going to

spremao sam se + infinitive I was going to / was preparing to

spremala sam se + infinitive I was going to

htio sam + infinitive I wanted/intended to

htjela sam + infinitive I wanted/intended to

kanio sam + infinitive I intended to

kanila sam + infinitive I intended to

Example:

Namjeravao sam otići.

I was going to leave.

Planirala je kupiti auto.

She was going to buy a car.

16. Hypothetical "would"

Croatian does not have a single modal word equivalent to English would.

It normally uses the conditional mood:

Croatian English

bih I would

bi you/he/she would

bismo we would

biste you would

bi they would

Formation

bih/bi/bismo/biste/bi + past active participle

Ja bih išao.

I would go.

Ona bi došla.

She would come.

Mi bismo radili.

We would work.

17. Would rather — Radije bih

Croatian English

radije rather

radije bih I would rather

radije bi you/he/she would rather

radije bismo we would rather

radije biste you would rather

radije bi they would rather

prije bih I would rather

radije nego rather than

umjesto da instead of

Example:

Radije bih ostao kod kuće.

I would rather stay at home.

Radije bih čitao nego gledao televiziju.

I would rather read than watch television.

18. Advice — Savjet

Croatian English

trebati should

treba should

trebao bi should

bilo bi dobro it would be good

bilo bi bolje it would be better

najbolje je it is best

preporučljivo je it is advisable

poželjno je it is desirable

valja one should

valjalo bi one should

radije rather

bolje je it is better

Example:

Trebao bi više učiti.

You should study more.

19. Supposition / "supposed to"

Croatian English

trebati be supposed to

trebao bi is supposed to / should

trebala bi is supposed to

trebali bi are supposed to

biti predviđen be scheduled/intended

biti namijenjen be intended

biti određen be designated/intended

po planu according to plan

prema planu according to the plan

Example:

On bi trebao doći danas.

He is supposed to come today.

20. Certainty — Sigurnost

Croatian English

sigurno certainly/surely

zasigurno certainly

svakako certainly/definitely

zacijelo surely

jamačno certainly

nedvojbeno undoubtedly

nesumnjivo undoubtedly

bez sumnje without doubt

definitivno definitely

sigurno je it is certain

izvjesno je it is certain

nedvojbeno je it is undeniable

zasigurno će will certainly

sigurno će will surely

Example:

Sigurno će doći.

He will certainly come.

21. Uncertainty / doubt — Nesigurnost

Croatian English

možda maybe

možda će may/might

vjerojatno probably

valjda presumably/probably

možebitno possibly

moguće possibly

moguće je it is possible

upitno je it is questionable

sumnjivo je it is doubtful

dvojbeno je it is doubtful

teško je reći it is hard to say

tko zna who knows

navodno supposedly

navodno je supposedly

izgleda apparently

čini se it seems

22. Evidential / appearance modality

These indicate that the speaker's information is based on appearance, hearsay, or inference.

Croatian English

navodno reportedly/supposedly

navodno je supposedly is

izgleda apparently

izgleda da it seems that

čini se it seems

čini se da it seems that

očito obviously/apparently

očigledno evidently

vidljivo visibly/evidently

sudeći po judging by

po svemu sudeći apparently/judging by everything

kako izgleda apparently

prema svemu sudeći judging by everything

Example:

Čini se da je umoran.

It seems that he is tired.

23. Logical deduction

Croatian English

mora da must be

mora biti must be

sigurno je must/certainly is

zasigurno je certainly is

očito je obviously is

vjerojatno je is probably

trebao bi biti should probably be

izgleda da it seems that

čini se da it seems that

Important

Mora da je kod kuće.

He must be at home.

Here mora da expresses deduction, not physical obligation.

24. Hope / wish — Nada / želja

Croatian English

nadati se hope

nadam se da I hope that

nadam se I hope

željeti wish

želim da I wish that

volio bih I would like

voljela bih I would like

bilo bi lijepo it would be nice

daj Bože God willing

neka let/may

kad bi barem if only

da barem if only

barem at least

Example:

Nadam se da ćeš doći.

I hope that you will come.

25. "Let / may"

Croatian commonly uses neka.

Croatian English

neka let / may

neka bude let it be

neka dođe let him/her come

neka rade let them work

daj da let me/let us

dopusti da allow/let

Example:

Neka uđe.

Let him/her enter.

Neka bude tako.

Let it be so.

26. Dare — Usuditi se

Croatian English

usuditi se dare

smjeti dare/be allowed

imati hrabrosti have the courage to

ne usuditi se not dare

ne smjeti not dare

kako se usuđuješ how dare you

Example:

Ne usuđujem se pitati.

I don't dare ask.

Kako se usuđuješ?

How dare you?

27. "Have to / be forced to"

Croatian English

morati have to

biti prisiljen be forced to

biti prisiljena be forced to

biti primoran be forced to

biti primorana be forced to

biti natjeran be forced to

morati have no choice but to

nemati izbora nego have no choice but to

biti prisiljen na be forced into

Example:

Morao sam otići.

I had to leave.

Bio sam prisiljen otići.

I was forced to leave.

28. "Can't help" / involuntary action

Croatian English

ne moći a da ne can't help but

ne moći se suzdržati can't help / cannot restrain oneself

ne moći odoljeti can't resist

ne moći prestati can't stop

ne mogu a da ne I can't help but

ne mogu odoljeti I can't resist

Example:

Ne mogu a da se ne smijem.

I can't help laughing.

29. Almost / near occurrence

These are modal-like expressions concerning an event that nearly happened.

Croatian English

zamalo almost

umalo almost

skoro almost

gotovo almost

malo je nedostajalo da it was almost the case that

zamalo da almost

umalo da almost

skoro da almost

gotovo da almost

Example:

Zamalo sam pao.

I almost fell.

30. Preference

Croatian English

radije rather

radije bih I would rather

prije bih I would rather

više voljeti prefer

preferirati prefer

draže mi je I prefer / I would rather

više volim I prefer

radije nego rather than

umjesto da instead of

Example:

Više volim čaj nego kavu.

I prefer tea to coffee.

31. Modal particles and small modal words

These are important but are not all strict modal verbs.

Croatian English / function

li question/doubt

zar surely? / really?

valjda presumably/probably

možda maybe

navodno supposedly

barem at least

bar at least

samo only/just

čak even

baš exactly/really

upravo precisely/just

ipak nevertheless

dakako of course

doista indeed

zaista really/indeed

stvarno really

zacijelo surely

svakako certainly

jamačno certainly

valjda probably/presumably

navodno allegedly

kao like/as if; sometimes discourse/modal

kvragu emotionally modal/discourse, not core modal

32. Conditional modality

Croatian conditional forms are extremely important for English would/could/might meanings.

Croatian English

bih would

bi would

bismo would

biste would

bi would

mogao bih I could

mogla bih I could

mogli bismo we could

trebao bih I should

trebala bih I should

morao bih I would have to

morala bih I would have to

htio bih I would like

željela bih I would like

volio bih I would like

smio bih I might be allowed to

Examples:

Mogao bih doći.

I could come.

Trebao bih učiti.

I should study.

Morao bih otići.

I would have to leave.

Htio bih razgovarati.

I would like to talk.

33. Past modality

Croatian can express past obligation, ability, permission, intention, etc.

Croatian English

morao sam I had to

morala je she had to

mogao sam I could

mogla je she could

smio sam I was allowed to

smjela je she was allowed to

trebao sam I was supposed to / should have

trebala je she was supposed to

htio sam I wanted to

htjela je she wanted to

namjeravao sam I intended to

planirao sam I planned to

morao bih I would have to

mogao bih I could

trebao bih I should

34. Negative modal constructions

Positive Negative English

mogu ne mogu can / cannot

smijem ne smijem may / may not

moram ne moram must / don't have to

trebam ne trebam need to / don't need to

želim ne želim want / don't want

hoću neću will/want / won't

moguće je nije moguće possible / impossible

potrebno je nije potrebno necessary / unnecessary

moram ne moram have to / don't have to

smijem ne smijem may / must not

Important distinction

Ne moram ići.

I don't have to go.

This does not mean:

I must not go.

For must not, use:

Ne smijem ići.

I must not / may not go.

35. Core strict Croatian modal verbs

If we narrow everything down to the most important true modal verbs, the list is approximately:

Croatian English

moći can, be able to

morati must, have to

trebati need to, should

smjeti may, be allowed to

htjeti want to / will

željeti want/wish to

znati know how to

umjeti know how to

usuditi se dare to

valjati ought to / be proper to

imati (in certain constructions) have to

kaniti intend to

The central Croatian modal pattern

For most modal verbs:

modal verb + infinitive

Mogu čitati.

Mogu čitati.

I can read.

Moram raditi.

Moram raditi.

I must work.

Smijem ući.

Smijem ući.

I may enter.

Trebam učiti.

Trebam učiti.

I need to study.

For would/could/should meanings, Croatian very commonly uses the conditional:

Mogao bih čitati. — I could read.

Trebao bih čitati. — I should read.

Morao bih čitati. — I would have to read.

Htio bih čitati. — I would like to read.

Radije bih čitao. — I would rather read.

21- THERE IS / HAVE / BE

There is a book Ima knjiga / Postoji knjiga

There are books Ima knjiga / Postoje knjige

There is no book Nema knjige

There was a problem Bio je problem / Bilo je problema

There were people Bilo je ljudi

There will be time Bit će vremena

Is there water? Ima li vode?

There is a restaurant here Ovdje ima restoran / Ovdje se nalazi restoran

I have imam

you have imaš

he/she has ima

we have imamo

they have imaju

I don't have nemam

Do you have? Imaš li?

I had imao/imala sam

I will have imat ću

I would have imao/imala bih

IMPERATIVES:

ti radi!

mi radimo!

vi radite!

negative ti nemoj raditi!

negative vi nemojte raditi!

Be respected! Budi poštovan!

Let it be done! Neka bude učinjeno!

Let the door be closed! Neka vrata budu zatvorena!

Do not be disturbed! Nemoj biti ometan!

The document must be signed Dokument treba biti potpisan