On te voli.

he

Breakdown of On te voli.

• voljeti: to love
• te: you (singular, accusative short form)

Questions & Answers about On te voli.

What exactly do the words in On te voli mean and what are their forms?

• 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 and ?