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Croatian

When plans change or obstacles arise, you need ways to express alternatives, exceptions, and persistence. Croatian uses specific prepositions for these situations.

### Alternatives (umjesto)

When one thing replaces another, use the preposition **umjesto** (instead of). This preposition requires the noun or pronoun that follows it to be in the **genitive case**.

Feminine nouns like *kava* (coffee) take an **-e** ending (*kave*). Masculine nouns like *sok* (juice) take an **-a** ending (*soka*).

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If you are replacing a person, personal pronouns also take their genitive form. For example, *on* (he) becomes *njega*, and *ja* (I) becomes *mene*.

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### Exceptions (osim)

To single out an exception to a rule or situation, use the preposition **osim** (except, besides). Like *umjesto*, it also requires the **genitive case**.

Feminine nouns ending in **-a**, such as *kiša* (rain), change to **-e** (*kiše*).

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### Persistence (bez obzira na)

When an action continues despite a condition, use the phrase **bez obzira na** (regardless of). While the word *obzir* (consideration) is in the genitive here after *bez* (without), the preposition **na** dictates the case of the obstacle itself. In this phrase, **na** requires the **accusative case**.

For inanimate masculine nouns like *umor* (fatigue), the accusative is identical to the nominative. For feminine plural nouns like *iznimke* (exceptions), the accusative also looks the same as the nominative.

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You can combine these structures to describe complex changes in plans, making sure to apply the correct case for each preposition.

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Exceptions and alternatives (osim, umjesto, bez obzira na)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular pronouns and to be (sam, si, je)

Noun genders (-Ø, -a, -o/-e)

Demonstrative pronouns (ovaj, ova, ovo)

Plural pronouns and to be (smo, ste, su)

Masculine plural nouns (-i)

Feminine plural nouns (-e)

Neuter plural nouns (-a)

Full verb to be (jesam, jesi)

Negative verb to be (nisam, nisi)

Yes/no questions (je li)

Wh- questions (tko, gdje)

Formal vs informal address (ti vs Vi)

Regular present tense (-ati)

Regular present tense (-iti)

Regular present tense (-jeti)

Verb negation (ne)

The verb to have (imati / nemati)

Inanimate direct objects

Feminine direct objects (-u)

Plural direct objects (-e, -a)

Accusative pronouns (me, te, ga, ju)

Adjective agreement

Plural adjectives

Accusative adjectives

Numbers 1 to 10 (jedan, dva, tri)

The locative case (-u)

Feminine locative (-i)

The verb to go (ići)

Destination (u, na)

The genitive case (-a)

Accusative pronouns (nas, vas, ga, ih)

Animate masculine accusative (-a)

Adjective agreement for animate masculine (-og, -eg)

The verb can (moći)

The verb must (morati)

The verb to want (htjeti, hoću)

The future tense (ću/ćeš + infinitive)

The past tense: l-participle (radio, radila)

Past tense word order (Prvo sam radio...)

Past tense with plural subjects (-li, -le, -la)

Feminine genitive singular (-e)

Possession and origin (od, iz)

Negative existence (nema)

Numbers 2, 3, and 4

Genitive plural (-a)

Numbers 11 to 20

Past tense negation (nisam)

Past tense questions (jeste li)

Dative singular

Dative pronouns (ti, mu, joj)

Past tense negation (nisam, nisi...)

Double object pronouns (mu ga, ti ju...)

Reflexive verbs (se)

Reflexive clitic word order

Commands and requests (radi, radite)

Plural demonstratives (ovi, ove, ova)

Possessive determiners (moj, naš, njegov)

Greetings (Dobar dan, doviđenja)

The body: Boli me glava

Directions (lijevo, desno, ravno)

There is, there are (ima)

Politeness (molim vas, hvala lijepa)

How you feel (Sviđa mi se)

Counting by tens to 100 (trideset, četrdeset...)

Quantifiers with the genitive case (malo, puno...)

Adjective agreement in the genitive singular (-og, -e)

Adjective agreement in the genitive plural (-ih)

Genitive prepositions (kod, do, bez...)

Asking what kind and which (kakav, koji)

Possessive determiners (njegov, njezin...)

Possessives in the accusative case

The reflexive possessive (svoj)

Indefinite pronouns (netko, nešto, neki)

Negative pronouns (nitko, ništa)

The verb to need (trebati)

Reciprocal verbs (se)

Introduction to verbal aspect

Perfective verbs with prefixes

Perfective verbs with stem changes

Irregular perfective verbs

Aspect in the past tense

Aspect in the future tense

Vehicular motion (voziti se, putovati)

Arrival and departure ('doći', 'otići')

Entering and exiting ('ući', 'izaći')

Singular accompaniment ('s', 'sa')

Question	Answer
to choose (perfective)	odabrati
I will choose tea instead of coffee.	Odabrat ću čaj umjesto kave.
No one came except him.	Nitko nije došao osim njega.
consideration	obzir
fatigue	umor
We played football regardless of the fatigue.	Igrali smo nogomet bez obzira na umor.
exception	iznimka
That is the rule, regardless of the exceptions!	To je pravilo, bez obzira na iznimke!
replacement	zamjena
We will look for the real thing instead of a replacement.	Tražit ćemo pravu stvar umjesto zamjene.
effort (strain)	napor
She chose that job regardless of the effort.	Odabrala je taj posao bez obzira na napor.
circumstance	okolnost
In these circumstances, there are no exceptions.	U ovim okolnostima nema iznimaka.
obstacle	prepreka
Except for the rain, we have no other obstacles.	Osim kiše, nemamo drugih prepreka.
others	ostali
If he gives up, others will work instead of him.	Ako on odustane, ostali će raditi umjesto njega.
will	volja
We have a strong will regardless of the obstacles.	Imamo snažnu volju bez obzira na prepreke.
A replacement is impossible in such circumstances.	Zamjena je nemoguća u takvim okolnostima.
If you don't have the will, every effort is difficult.	Ako nemaš volje, svaki napor je težak.
Others are drinking beer instead of juice.	Ostali piju pivo umjesto soka.
He is working instead of me, regardless of fatigue.	On radi umjesto mene, bez obzira na umor.
Regardless of the rain, I think that we must go.	Bez obzira na kišu, mislim da moramo ići.
Everyone is drinking beer except him, and I want water.	Svi piju pivo osim njega, a ja želim vodu.
Instead of coffee I drank tea, so I fell asleep quickly.	Umjesto kave pio sam čaj, pa sam brzo zaspao.
to take place	održati se
The party will take place instead of the meeting.	Zabava će se održati umjesto sastanka.
despite	unatoč
The meeting will take place despite the rain.	Sastanak će se održati unatoč kiši.
Despite the fatigue, we continued working.	Unatoč umoru, nastavili smo raditi.

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