Once you can build correct individual sentences, the next skill is linking them so a reader can follow your reasoning. Croatian gives you two families of linkers for the two most basic relations — addition ("and what's more…") and contrast ("but on the other hand…"). The single most important thing to grasp is that these come in two grammatically different shapes. Some are conjunctions that sit inside a sentence and glue two clauses together (Radim, ali sam umoran "I'm working but I'm tired"). Others are discourse markers — adverbs that typically open a new sentence and point back at the previous one (Umoran sam. Međutim, radim "I'm tired. However, I'm working"). They are not interchangeable: you cannot use a sentence-initial međutim the way you use the conjunction ali, and getting this split right is what separates choppy, clause-by-clause Croatian from prose that flows.
The two shapes: conjunction vs. discourse marker
A conjunction (i, a, ali) joins two clauses within one sentence and cannot start a standalone sentence in careful writing. A discourse marker (međutim, ipak, naprotiv, osim toga) is an adverb that usually opens a new sentence, set off by a comma, and refers back to what came before. The test: a conjunction needs a clause on both sides; a discourse marker can stand at the head of a fresh sentence with a full stop before it.
| Type | Position | Examples | Punctuation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conjunction | between two clauses | i, a, ali, ili | comma before contrastive ones |
| Discourse marker | sentence-initial (or parenthetical) | međutim, ipak, naprotiv, osim toga, štoviše, s druge strane | comma after it |
Htio sam doći, ali nisam stigao.
I wanted to come, but I didn't make it. — 'ali' is a conjunction, inside one sentence.
Htio sam doći. Međutim, nisam stigao.
I wanted to come. However, I didn't make it. — 'međutim' is a discourse marker opening a new sentence.
Addition: i, također, osim toga, štoviše
The plain additive conjunction is i "and", covered fully on the coordinating conjunctions page. The discourse-level additive markers stack a further point onto the previous sentence. Također "also, too" adds a parallel point. Osim toga "besides, in addition" (literally "apart from that") adds a reinforcing point. Štoviše "moreover, what's more" adds a stronger point that goes beyond the first — it raises the stakes.
Stan je premalen za nas. Osim toga, predaleko je od posla.
The flat is too small for us. Besides, it's too far from work.
Hrana je bila izvrsna. Štoviše, cijene su bile sasvim pristupačne.
The food was excellent. What's more, the prices were quite affordable.
Govori talijanski, a također i pomalo španjolski.
She speaks Italian, and also a bit of Spanish.
Mind the placement of također: it tends to sit next to the element it adds, not rigidly at the front — Također i ja idem / I ja također idem "I'm going too". Štoviše is the most emphatic of the three and slightly more formal; it signals "and here is an even stronger version of my point".
Contrast: ali vs. međutim, plus ipak, naprotiv, s druge strane
The contrast family is where the conjunction/marker split bites hardest. Ali "but" is the sentence-internal conjunction (and so is a "and / whereas", the mild-contrast word with no English equivalent — see the i vs a distinction). Međutim "however" is the discourse marker that does the same contrastive work across a sentence boundary, set off by commas. The two are not free variants: ali glues clauses, međutim opens or interrupts sentences.
Trening je bio naporan, ali isplatio se.
The training was tough, but it paid off. — conjunction 'ali' inside the sentence.
Trening je bio naporan. Međutim, isplatio se.
The training was tough. However, it paid off. — marker 'međutim' across the boundary.
Međutim can also wedge into the middle of its sentence as a parenthetical, with commas on both sides — a very common, slightly formal pattern: Trening se, međutim, isplatio "The training, however, paid off". This mobility is exactly what a conjunction like ali cannot do.
Ipak "nevertheless, still, anyway" concedes — it grants the previous point yet asserts something despite it. Naprotiv "on the contrary" reverses — it denies the previous statement and asserts the opposite. S druge strane "on the other hand" weighs an alternative side without denying the first.
Padala je kiša cijeli dan. Ipak smo otišli na izlet.
It rained all day. We went on the trip anyway.
Nije mu dosadno. Naprotiv, uživa u svakom trenutku.
He's not bored. On the contrary, he's enjoying every moment.
Posao je dobro plaćen. S druge strane, oduzima mi sve slobodno vrijeme.
The job is well paid. On the other hand, it takes up all my free time.
Note naprotiv specifically: it does not just contrast, it contradicts. It almost always follows a negated statement and then asserts its positive opposite (Nije mu dosadno. Naprotiv, uživa… "He's not bored. On the contrary, he's enjoying…"). Using it for a mere "on the other hand" overshoots — that softer weighing is s druge strane.
Punctuation recap
Contrastive conjunctions take a comma before them (…, ali …). Sentence-initial discourse markers take a comma after them (Međutim, …; Osim toga, …). When a marker is parenthetical mid-sentence, it gets commas on both sides (…, međutim, …). The additive conjunction i normally takes no comma at all in a simple join. The full inter-sentence picture is on the discourse cohesion page.
Common Mistakes
❌ Trening je bio naporan, međutim isplatio se.
Mispunctuated / mis-shaped — as a mid-sentence link use the conjunction 'ali'; if you keep 'međutim' it needs to open a new sentence or be set off: 'Trening je bio naporan. Međutim, isplatio se.'
✅ Trening je bio naporan, ali isplatio se.
The training was tough, but it paid off. — conjunction inside the sentence.
❌ Nije siromašan, s druge strane je bogat.
Wrong contrast — this denies and reverses, so it needs 'naprotiv', not the balancing 's druge strane'.
✅ Nije siromašan. Naprotiv, vrlo je bogat.
He's not poor. On the contrary, he's very rich. — 'naprotiv' contradicts.
❌ Međutim isplatilo se.
Missing comma — a sentence-initial discourse marker is set off: 'Međutim, isplatilo se.'
✅ Međutim, isplatilo se.
However, it paid off. — comma after the initial marker.
❌ Stan je premalen. Također predaleko je od posla.
Awkward — to add a separate reinforcing point across sentences, 'osim toga' is the natural marker; bare 'također' wants to sit beside the added element.
✅ Stan je premalen. Osim toga, predaleko je od posla.
The flat is too small. Besides, it's too far from work. — 'osim toga' adds a further point.
Key Takeaways
- Croatian splits linkers into conjunctions (inside one sentence: i, a, ali, ili) and discourse markers (sentence-initial or parenthetical: međutim, ipak, naprotiv, osim toga, štoviše, s druge strane).
- Ali (conjunction) and međutim (marker) both mean "but/however" but are not interchangeable: only međutim can open a new sentence and float mid-sentence between commas.
- Addition: također "also", osim toga "besides", štoviše "moreover / what's more" (the strongest, slightly formal).
- Contrast shades: ipak concedes, naprotiv contradicts (usually after a negation), s druge strane balances.
- Punctuation: comma before a contrastive conjunction, comma after an initial discourse marker, commas around a parenthetical one.
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Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- Coordinating ConjunctionsA1 — i, te, pa, a, ali, nego/već, ili, niti…niti — distinguishing i (and) from a (and-whereas) from ali (but), plus the comma rules and the negation requirement on nego/već.
- Building Cohesion Across SentencesC1 — How Croatian threads reference across a text — pro-drop and zero anaphora, demonstratives pointing back, connectives like stoga and međutim, and given-before-new ordering — without the articles English leans on.
- i vs a vs ali: The Three 'And/But'A2 — A focused drill on the i / a / ali trio — i is pure addition, a is and-whereas contrast, ali is a clear but — plus nego/već after negation and the comma rule that tracks the meaning.
- Connecting Ideas: Cause, Result, PurposeB1 — Cause connectives (jer, budući da, zbog toga što), result and conclusion markers (zato, stoga, dakle, prema tome, ukratko) — and the split between subordinating jer mid-sentence and sentence-initial stoga/dakle.
- Sequencing and Topic ManagementB1 — Ordering markers (prvo/kao prvo, zatim/onda, nakon toga, na kraju/konačno), topic introducers and shifters (što se tiče, u vezi s, kad smo već kod toga, usput), and summarisers (ukratko, sve u svemu).