Expressing Alternating Frequency
To talk about events that happen on a recurring interval—like "every other day" or "every fourth year"—Croatian uses the word svaki (every) followed by an ordinal number.
Because these are adjectives, both svaki and the ordinal number must agree in gender, number, and case with the time period they describe.
Days, Weeks, and Months (Accusative)
When expressing frequency with masculine or neuter time words—such as dan (day), tjedan (week), mjesec (month), or jutro (morning)—the phrase takes the Accusative case.
Because these are inanimate nouns, their Accusative forms look exactly the same as the Nominative.
Years and Multi-Year Cycles (Genitive)
When expressing time frequency with the feminine noun godina (year), Croatian uses the Genitive case. The phrase svaka druga godina therefore becomes svake druge godine (every other year).
This construction is essential when discussing the scheduling of major international sporting events, which typically "take place" (održavati se) on a multi-year cycle.
Sporting Events and Tournaments
You will frequently see these time expressions paired with vocabulary for athletic competitions. When reading the examples below, pay attention to how the frequency phrases adapt depending on whether the time interval is measured in months, weeks, or years.
