Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ti imaš mačku.

Ti is the singular, informal second-person pronoun “you” (nominative case). In Croatian, the verb ending (-š in imaš) already tells you who the subject is, so Ti is not strictly necessary. You could simply say Imaš mačku and still mean “You have a cat.” Including Ti adds emphasis or clarity (“You—not someone else—have a cat”).

How do you pronounce imaš in English-style phonetics?

imaš is pronounced roughly as “EE-mash.”

The i sounds like the English ee in see.
The a is like the a in father but short.
The š is the same as the sh in she.

What is the infinitive form of imaš, and what does that verb mean?

The infinitive is imati, which means “to have.” It’s an irregular verb in Croatian but extremely common.

How do you conjugate imati in the present tense?

Present-tense conjugation of imati (to have):
• ja imam – I have
• ti imaš – you have (singular, informal)
• on/ona/ono ima – he/she/it has
• mi imamo – we have
• vi imate – you have (plural or formal)
• oni/one imaju – they have

Why is mačka changed to mačku here?

Because mačku is the accusative singular form of mačka. In Croatian, direct objects take the accusative case. Feminine nouns ending in -a switch to -u in the accusative singular: mačka → mačku.

What case is mačku, and how do I recognize it?

Mačku is in the accusative case, marking the direct object (“the cat” you have). You recognize it because:

It answers “whom?” or “what?” after the verb (What do you have? A cat.)
Feminine nouns ending in -a change to -u in the accusative singular.

What gender is mačka, and how does that affect its endings?

Mačka is a feminine noun (most feminine nouns end in -a). In the singular:

Nominative (subject): mačka
Accusative (direct object): mačku
Other cases follow the regular feminine -a declension pattern.

Can the word order change—for example, Mačku ti imaš?

Yes, Croatian has relatively free word order due to case markings. You could say Mačku ti imaš for emphasis on mačku (“It’s a cat that you have”). The neutral order is Ti imaš mačku, but you can move elements around to highlight a particular word.