Learn Croatian: On ga uvijek sluša. - He always listens to him.

The word ga (him) is a short, unstressed pronoun called a clitic. In Croatian, clitics must follow a strict rule: they always take the second position in a sentence. That is why it comes immediately after the first word, On.

Why isn't there a word for "to" in this sentence?

In English, we say "listen to". But in Croatian, the verb slušati (to listen) directly takes the accusative case without needing a preposition. The word ga is already in the accusative case, so no extra word for "to" is needed.

Could ga also mean "it"?

Yes! The clitic ga is the accusative form for both "he" and "it" (masculine and neuter). Depending on the conversation, this sentence could mean he is listening to a person (him) or an object like a radio (it).

If we drop the word On, does the sentence order change?

Yes! Croatian often drops subject pronouns like On. However, because ga is a clitic, it cannot start a sentence and must stay in the second position. If you drop On, the adverb uvijek becomes the first word, making the sentence Uvijek ga sluša.