Learn Hardcore Croatian: Obično pijemo vodu ujutro, ali vikendom pijemo i sok. - We usually drink water in the morning, but on weekends we also drink juice.

Ujutro obično pijemo vodu.
Obično ujutro pijemo vodu. (like the original) Putting it late (e.g., Pijemo vodu obično ujutro) is possible but sounds marked, like an afterthought.

Do I need to say the subject pronoun mi (“we”)?

No. Croatian is a pro‑drop language. The ending in pijemo already encodes “we.” You could add mi for emphasis or contrast: Mi obično pijemo vodu… (“We, on the other hand, usually drink water…”).

Why is it vodu and not voda?

Because voda is the direct object, so it’s in the accusative case. Feminine nouns ending in -a typically change -a → -u in the accusative singular: voda → vodu.

Why doesn’t sok change its form?

Masculine inanimate nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative singular: sok → sok. Only masculine animate nouns take a special -a ending in the accusative (e.g., vidim psa “I see the dog”).

What exactly does i mean in pijemo i sok?

Here i means “also/as well,” not just “and.” The placement matters:

Pijemo i sok = we also drink juice (in addition to water).
I pijemo sok = we also drink juice (in addition to some other action, like eating), so the “also” applies to the verb phrase, not just to “juice.”

Could I use također instead of i?

Yes, but there’s a nuance:

Pijemo i sok. is compact and puts focus on “juice.”
Također pijemo sok. is a sentence adverb (“also”) and is a bit more formal/broad-scope. It doesn’t highlight “sok” as strongly.

What’s the difference between ali, a, no, and nego?

ali = “but,” a general adversative (used in the sentence).
a = a milder contrast or topic shift (“and/but”).
no = “but/however,” a bit more formal or literary.
nego = “but rather,” used after negation (e.g., Ne pijemo vodu, nego sok.).

Why is there a comma before ali?

Croatian normally uses a comma before adversative conjunctions like ali, no, nego, and often a when they connect clauses. So the comma is required here.

What is ujutro, and is u jutro or ujutru also correct?

ujutro is a single-word adverb meaning “in the morning” and is the standard Croatian form.
ujutru is common in Serbian/Bosnian; you’ll hear it regionally, but standard Croatian prefers ujutro.
u jutro (two words) is not standard for the time-of-day meaning. You may also hear jutrom (“in the mornings,” a bit stylistic/region-dependent).

What form is vikendom, and what does it imply?

Vikendom is instrumental singular used adverbially, meaning “on weekends/as a rule on weekends.” It suggests a habitual action. Alternatives:

za vikend = over/on the (a/this) weekend (often one specific weekend).
preko vikenda / tijekom vikenda = during the weekend (more about a span).
vikendima = on weekends (plural; clearly many weekends).

Can I change the word order, and what changes?

Yes, Croatian allows flexible order for emphasis:

Neutral: Obično pijemo vodu ujutro, ali vikendom pijemo i sok.
Time up front: Ujutro obično pijemo vodu…
Emphasize weekends: Vikendom pijemo i sok.
Emphasize “juice also”: keep i right before sok. Avoid overly scrambled orders unless you want a specific focus effect.

Why not use popijemo instead of pijemo?

Aspect. pijemo (imperfective) describes habits and ongoing actions. popijemo (perfective) means “we drink up/finish,” focusing on completion. For general habits, use the imperfective.

Is piti → pijemo irregular? How do you conjugate it?

Yes, the present stem adds -j-:

ja pijem
ti piješ
on/ona/ono pije
mi pijemo
vi pijete
oni/one/ona piju Past: pili smo; perfective: popili smo, etc.

Why are there no articles like “the” or “a” before vodu or sok?

Croatian has no articles. Definiteness/indefiniteness comes from context, word order, or determiners:

tu vodu = that water
neku vodu = some water Often the bare noun suffices.

Does pijemo i sok mean we drink water and juice together, or just that juice is added on weekends?

It means “we also drink juice” in addition to the usual water, but not necessarily at the same time. If you meant “instead of water,” you’d say: … ali vikendom pijemo sok (umjesto vode) or … ne pijemo vodu, nego sok.

How would I say “every morning” or “every weekend”?

“Every morning”: svako jutro (also common: svakog jutra).
“Every weekend”: svakog vikenda.
Examples: Svako jutro pijemo vodu. / Svakog vikenda pijemo i sok.

Any quick pronunciation tips for tricky parts?

j = English “y” in “yes” (so pijemo ≈ “pi-ye-mo,” three syllables).
č in Obično = “ch” in “church.”
u is always “oo,” i is always “ee.”
r is tapped/rolled.
Syllables: Obično (O-bi-čno), pijemo (pi-je-mo), ujutro (u-ju-tro), vikendom (vi-ken-dom).