The universal pronoun (sav, sva, sve)

Saying "Everything"

To say "everything" in Croatian, use the pronoun sve. Because it follows the rules for neuter words, its form is exactly the same whether it acts as the subject of the sentence (nominative case) or the direct object (accusative case).

Is everything here?
Je li sve ovdje?
The inspector sees everything.
Inspektor vidi sve.

Saying "All" with Masculine Nouns

When you want to say "all" of a specific thing (like "all the money" or "all the work"), the word acts like an adjective and must agree with the noun's gender and case.

For masculine nouns, the word is sav.

Just like other adjectives modifying inanimate masculine nouns (such as objects, concepts, or materials), the accusative form is identical to the nominative form. This means you will use sav regardless of whether it is the subject or the direct object.

All the money for the tax is here.
Sav novac za porez je ovdje.
I must inspect all the work.
Moram pregledati sav posao.

Saying "All" with Feminine Nouns

For feminine nouns, the dictionary (nominative) form is sva.

equipment (f)
oprema
All the equipment is new and clean.
Sva oprema je nova i čista.

When a feminine noun becomes the direct object of a sentence, it takes the accusative case. Just like standard feminine adjectives, the ending changes to -u, making the form svu.

The inspection thoroughly checks all the equipment.
Inspekcija detaljno kontrolira svu opremu.

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