Learn Hardcore Croatian: Njegov otac rijetko ide u restoran. - His father rarely goes to the restaurant.

u + Accusative for motion into a place: ide u restoran (goes into/to a restaurant).
u + Locative for location in/at a place: jede u restoranu (eats in a restaurant). Here we have motion, so the Accusative is required. Masculine inanimate nouns like restoran have the same form in Nominative and Accusative singular, hence restoran (not restorana).

Where should rijetko go in the sentence? Can it move?

The neutral place for frequency adverbs is before the verb: rijetko ide. You can move it for emphasis:

Njegov otac rijetko ide u restoran (neutral).
Njegov otac ide rijetko u restoran (slightly stresses the rareness).
Rijetko njegov otac ide u restoran (marked, strong focus on “rarely”). All are possible, but the first is the most natural.

Why is there no “a” or “the” before restoran?

Croatian has no articles. u restoran can mean “to a restaurant” or “to the restaurant,” depending on context. If you need to specify, use a demonstrative:

u taj restoran (to that restaurant)
u onaj/ovaj restoran (to that/this restaurant)

Why not na restoran? What’s the difference between u and na?

u ≈ in/into (enclosed places): u restoran, u kuću, u školu.
na ≈ on/onto or for certain venues/events: na koncert, na posao, na večeru. You go u restoran, but you might go na večeru (to dinner).

How is the verb ići (to go) conjugated?

Present tense:

ja idem
ti ideš
on/ona/ono ide
mi idemo
vi idete
oni/one/ona idu Past: išao/išla/išlo; Future: ići ću etc.

Why use ide (ići) and not odlazi/otići?

ići (imperfective) is neutral “to go,” ideal for habits: rijetko ide.
otići (perfective) means “to go away/leave” (one-time completed event): Otišao je u restoran (He went to the restaurant).
odlaziti (imperfective of “to depart”) is less natural here; ide is the idiomatic choice.

Why is it njegov and not njegova or njegovo?

Possessive adjectives agree with the noun they modify:

masculine: njegov otac (father)
feminine: njegova majka (mother)
neuter: njegovo dijete (child) Here, otac is masculine singular, so njegov is correct.

Should I use svoj instead of njegov here?

No. svoj refers to the subject’s own possession. Here, the subject is otac (the father), and the possessor is some other male (“his”). Njegov otac is correct. Svoj otac would mean “one’s own father” (referring back to the subject), which would be odd in this sentence.

How do I say Her father rarely goes to a restaurant?

Use the feminine possessive:

Standard Croatian: Njezin otac rijetko ide u restoran.
You’ll also hear Njen otac…; in Croatian, njezin is the normative form, but njen is widely understood.

Can I say Otac mu rijetko ide u restoran instead of Njegov otac…?

Yes. Otac mu… uses the short dative pronoun mu (“to him/his”) to show possession. It’s very natural:

Otac mu rijetko ide u restoran. Note the clitic mu sits in “second position” after the first stressed word.

If I mean restaurants in general (plural), how do I say it?

Use the Accusative plural: Rijetko ide u restorane (He rarely goes to restaurants). Accusative plural of restoran is restorane.

How would I say He rarely eats at a restaurant?

Now it’s about being located somewhere (not motion), so use Locative:

Rijetko jede u restoranu.

Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?

nj in njegov is a palatal sound like the “ny” in “canyon.”
j is like English “y” in “yes.”
c in otac is “ts.”
r is tapped/trilled.
u is “oo” (as in “food”).

Is rijetko the same as retko?

They’re regional/standard variants:

rijetko is standard in Croatian and Bosnian (Ijekavian).
retko is common in Serbian (Ekavian). Also note: rjetko is a misspelling in Croatian.

What are the key forms of otac I should know?

Some common cases:

Nominative (subject): otac
Genitive: oca
Dative: ocu
Accusative: oca (animate)
Vocative: oče Plural nominative: očevi

Can I change the word order for emphasis?

Yes, Croatian allows flexible word order:

Neutral: Njegov otac rijetko ide u restoran.
Focus on destination: U restoran njegov otac rijetko ide.
Focus on frequency: Rijetko njegov otac ide u restoran. Meaning is the same, but rhythm/emphasis changes.