Learn Hardcore Croatian: On te voli.

On = he (3rd person singular, masculine, nominative pronoun)
te = you (singular, informal), unstressed clitic in the accusative (direct object)
voli = loves, 3rd person singular present of voljeti (to love) Put together: On te voli = He loves you.

Why is te in the middle? Why not On voli te?

te is an unstressed clitic pronoun. In Croatian, clitics normally sit in second position in the clause (right after the first stressed word). With the subject present, the natural place is after On: On te voli.

Correct: On te voli.
Correct (no subject): Voli te.
Incorrect in standard Croatian: On voli te.
Also incorrect: Te voli. (clitic cannot start the clause)

Can I omit On?

Yes. Croatian regularly drops subject pronouns when the verb form makes the subject clear.

Voli te. = Loves you. (In English: He/She/It loves you; gender is not marked in the verb, so context decides.)
Keep On if you want to emphasize or clarify that it’s specifically “he”: Voli te on.

What’s the difference between te and tebe?

Both are “you” (singular) in the accusative, but:

te is the clitic (unstressed) form and goes to second position: On te voli.
tebe is the stressed (full) form, used for emphasis or after prepositions:
- Emphasis/contrast: On voli tebe (a ne nju). = He loves you (not her).
- After prepositions (must use full form): bez tebe, za tebe, s tobom (instrumental: tobom).

When do I use ti, te, tebe, tebi, etc.?

Very briefly:

Nominative (subject): ti (Ti me voliš. = You love me.)
Accusative (direct object): clitic te (On te voli.), full tebe (On voli tebe.)
Dative (to/for you): clitic ti (On ti piše. = He writes to you.), full tebi (On piše tebi.)
Genitive: tebe (bez tebe = without you)
Locative: o tebi (about you)
Instrumental: tobom (with you)

How do I make it negative?

Use ne immediately before the verb, and keep the clitic in its usual early position:

On te ne voli.
Without the subject: Ne voli te.
Avoid: On ne te voli. (incorrect)

How do I ask “Does he love you?” in Croatian?

Two common ways:

Neutral yes–no question with li: Voli li te (on)?
Everyday intonation question: On te voli? (spoken, rising intonation)
Note: je li goes with forms of biti (to be) or in compound tenses, not here in the simple present.

How do I say it in the past and future?

Past (male subject): On te je volio.
Past (female subject): Ona te je voljela.
Future: On će te voljeti.
Negation: On te nije volio. / On te neće voljeti.

Is voli “love” or can it mean “like” too?

voljeti primarily means “to love” (romantically or platonically, like loving family, friends, food, activities).
For “to like (someone)”, Croatian usually uses sviđati se + dative:

Sviđaš mu se. = He likes you. (Literally: You please him.)

How do I say “He loves you” when speaking formally to one person or to several people?

Use the 2nd person plural pronoun:

On vas voli. = He loves you (formal singular or plural).
Negative: On vas ne voli.

What other word orders are possible and what do they emphasize?

On te voli. Neutral, with subject present.
Voli te. Neutral, no subject (very common).
On voli tebe. Emphasizes “you.”
Tebe on voli. Strong focus on “you” (contrastive).
Voli te on. Emphasizes “he.”
Avoid: On voli te. (clitic misplacement)

Which case does voljeti take?

Accusative direct object. That’s why it’s te/tebe (accusative) in On te voli / On voli tebe.

Why is the verb in voli the same for “he,” “she,” and “it”?

In the present tense, 3rd person singular is voli for all genders. Croatian does not mark gender on present-tense verb endings. Gender shows up in the past participle: volio (he), voljela (she), voljelo (it).

I’ve seen te used to mean “and.” Is that the same word?

No. There are two different words spelled te:

te (clitic pronoun) = you (accusative)
te (conjunction) = and/and then (formal/literary)
In On te voli, it’s the pronoun.

How would I say “I love you” and “She loves you”?

“I love you”: Volim te.
“She loves you”: Ona te voli. (or simply Voli te., if context is clear)