Learn Hardcore Croatian: On voli lijepo vrijeme.

No. Croatian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person. You can simply say Voli lijepo vrijeme. Use On if you need to stress that it’s specifically “he” (not she/it/someone else) or if the context isn’t clear.

What tense and person is voli, and how do you conjugate voljeti?

Voli is 3rd person singular, present tense, of voljeti (to like/love). Present conjugation:

ja: volim
ti: voliš
on/ona/ono: voli
mi: volimo
vi: volite
oni/one/ona: vole

Past (perfect) examples:

masculine: volio je
feminine: voljela je
neuter: voljelo je

Why is it lijepo, not lijep, lijepa, or lijepu?

Because adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Vrijeme is neuter singular, so the adjective is lijepo (neuter singular).

neuter accusative singular: lijepo vrijeme
feminine accusative singular: lijepu knjigu
masculine inanimate accusative singular: lijep stol
masculine animate accusative singular: lijepog psa

What case is lijepo vrijeme, and why doesn’t it look different from the dictionary form?

It’s accusative singular, the direct object of voli (which takes the accusative: koga/što?). Neuter nouns and their adjectives look the same in nominative and accusative singular, so vrijeme and lijepo don’t change shape here.

Does vrijeme mean “time” or “weather”? How do I know which one is meant?

It can mean both. The collocation lijepo vrijeme almost always means “nice weather.” For “time,” you’d see different patterns, e.g. nema vremena (has no time), lijepa vremena (good times, plural), or context that clearly refers to time periods.

How do I say “the nice weather” vs “nice weather” if Croatian has no articles?

Croatian has no articles. Use demonstratives for specificity:

On voli ovo lijepo vrijeme. (He likes this nice weather.)
On voli to lijepo vrijeme. (He likes that nice weather.) Without a demonstrative, lijepo vrijeme is generic.

Can the word order change?

Yes, for emphasis. Neutral is On voli lijepo vrijeme. Other options:

Voli lijepo vrijeme. (no subject pronoun; still neutral)
Lijepo vrijeme on voli. (emphasizes the object)
On lijepo vrijeme voli. (object is fronted; stylistic/contrastive) Croatian allows reordering, but S–V–O is the default.

What’s the difference between voljeti and sviđati se?

voljeti = to like/love (a stronger, more personal liking): On voli lijepo vrijeme.
sviđati se
- dative = “to be pleasing to” (more neutral): Lijepo vrijeme mu se sviđa. / Sviđa mu se lijepo vrijeme. Both can translate as “to like,” but voljeti often feels stronger or more enduring.

How do I negate it? Where do pronouns go?

Negation: add ne before the verb: Ne voli lijepo vrijeme. (He doesn’t like nice weather.) With a pronoun (e.g., “it” referring to weather):

On ga ne voli.
Without the subject: Ne voli ga. Note the clitic ga (him/it) comes early in the clause (so-called second position).

How do I make it a yes–no question?

Use the question particle li: Voli li (on) lijepo vrijeme?
Or use Da li (common, especially colloquially): Da li (on) voli lijepo vrijeme?
Or rely on rising intonation: On voli lijepo vrijeme?

Is lijepo an adjective or an adverb here?

An adjective. It modifies the noun vrijeme: lijepo vrijeme (nice weather). As an adverb, it modifies verbs: On lijepo pjeva. (He sings nicely.)

Are there dialectal or Serbian variants?

Yes. Standard Croatian uses lijepo vrijeme. In Serbian (Ekavian), you’ll see lepo vreme; in many Croatian dialects you may hear lipo (Ikavian). The verb form voli is the same across standards.

What’s the plural of vrijeme, and what happens to the adjective?

Plural is vremena. The adjective becomes lijepa (neuter plural):

lijepa vremena (nice times). We don’t usually pluralize “weather,” but we do pluralize “times/periods.”

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

lj in lijepo is a single palatal sound (like the “lli” in “million”).
The ije in lijepo/vrijeme is pronounced as two sounds (roughly “ye”), not just a simple “e.”
vr in vrijeme starts with a short vri- cluster; keep the r tapped.