Learn Croatian: Hvala ti, anđele, za lijep poklon. - Thank you, angel, for the beautiful gift.

Anđele is the vocative case, which is used when you are directly addressing someone. The dictionary form is anđeo. The root of this word is actually anđel- (the l turns into an o in the dictionary form). To make the masculine vocative, we add -e to this root, creating anđele.

Why do we use the word ti right after hvala?

The word hvala (thanks) requires the dative case for the person you are thanking. Ti is the short dative form of the pronoun for 'you'. You are literally saying 'thanks to you'.

What case is used for lijep poklon after the preposition za?

It is in the accusative case. The preposition za takes the accusative case when it means 'for' in the context of an exchange, a reason, or being thankful for something.

If lijep poklon is in the accusative case, why doesn't it have a special ending?

Poklon is a masculine inanimate noun, meaning it is not a living being. For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative case is identical to the nominative (dictionary) case, so the words do not change.