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Questions & Answers about U nedjelju obično ne radimo.
Why does the word nedjelju end in -u?
- It’s the accusative singular of the feminine noun nedjelja (Sunday).
- With days of the week, Croatian uses u + accusative to mean on [that day].
- Mini map of common forms:
- Nominative: nedjelja
- Accusative: nedjelju
- Locative: nedjelji
- Instrumental (used adverbially): nedjeljom
Why is it u nedjelju and not u nedjelji?
- For days of the week, the pattern is u + accusative = on [that day], e.g., u ponedjeljak, u srijedu, u nedjelju.
- u + locative usually means in/at a place or within a time period, e.g., u Zagrebu (in Zagreb), u siječnju (in January).
- u nedjelji would literally mean in Sunday, which is odd in everyday speech and would only appear in very specific, figurative contexts.
Can I say nedjeljom instead? What’s the difference from u nedjelju?
- Nedjeljom = on Sundays (habitually, as a rule).
- U nedjelju = on Sunday; it can refer to a specific Sunday, but in your sentence the adverb obično makes it generic/habitual.
- A more clearly habitual variant of your sentence is: Nedjeljom obično ne radimo.
Where can I put the adverb obično?
- Natural options:
- U nedjelju obično ne radimo.
- Obično u nedjelju ne radimo.
- Obično ne radimo u nedjelju.
- Mi obično ne radimo u nedjelju.
- Avoid Ne radimo obično unless you are making a contrast (see below).
Is there a difference between obično ne radimo and ne radimo obično?
- Neutral, most common: obično ne radimo (we usually don’t work).
- ne radimo obično is marked/contrastive, e.g., Ne radimo obično u nedjelju, ali ovog puta hoćemo (We don’t usually work on Sunday, but this time we will).
Why is there no mi (we)? Do I need to include it?
- Croatian drops subject pronouns because verb endings show the subject.
- radimo already means we work, so mi is optional.
- Use mi for emphasis or contrast: Mi u nedjelju ne radimo, ali oni rade.
How is negation formed? Why is ne before radimo?
- Rule: ne + [finite verb] → ne radimo.
- With auxiliaries, ne goes before the auxiliary and may fuse:
- nisam, nisi, nije, nismo, niste, nisu (ne + jesam)
- neću, nećeš, neće... (ne + ću/ćeš/će…)
- Often: nemam, nemaš... (ne + imam)
- Examples:
- Present: Ne radimo u nedjelju.
- Past: Nismo radili u nedjelju.
- Future: Nećemo raditi u nedjelju.
Can I move the time phrase to the end: Obično ne radimo u nedjelju?
- Yes. Time expressions are flexible in position; that sentence is natural.
Do you capitalize days of the week?
- No. They are lowercase: ponedjeljak, utorak, srijeda, četvrtak, petak, subota, nedjelja.
- Capitalize only at the start of a sentence or in title case.
How do you pronounce nedjelju and obično?
- u = short “oo” as in boot.
- dj in nedjelju is a soft “dy” sound, close to Croatian đ; roughly “neh-DYEL-yoo”.
- lj = palatal “ly” (like Spanish ll in many dialects).
- č in obično = “ch” in church; roughly “OH-beech-no”.
- Don’t stress about pitch accents early on; aiming for these segment sounds is enough.
Is raditi transitive or intransitive here?
- Here it’s intransitive (to work, be at work), so no object is needed.
- It can be transitive in other uses: radimo projekt (we’re doing a project) or more commonly with a preposition: radimo na projektu (we’re working on a project).
How would I say We never work on Sundays?
- Nikad ne radimo nedjeljom.
- Croatian uses negative words like nikad together with ne (so-called “double negative”).
What’s the present-tense conjugation of raditi?
- ja: radim
- ti: radiš
- on/ona/ono: radi
- mi: radimo
- vi: radite
- oni/one/ona: rade
Is there any variation for the word Sunday?
- Standard Croatian: nedjelja.
- Serbian: nedelja.
- Some Croatian dialects: nedilja.
- For standard Croatian, use nedjelja.
Can I generalize to weekends: Za vikend obično ne radimo?
- Yes. Za vikend means on/over the weekend (in general).
- For a single Sunday: u nedjelju; for habitual Sundays: nedjeljom.
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