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Questions & Answers about Vikendom idemo u park.
What is the form and function of the word Vikendom here?
- Vikendom is the instrumental singular of vikend used adverbially to mean “on weekends.”
- It expresses a habitual time frame (something that happens regularly on weekends).
- No preposition is needed with this adverbial use.
Are there other natural ways to say “on weekends” in Croatian?
- Vikendima (instrumental plural): also “on weekends,” emphasizing the plurality of weekends.
- Za vikend: often “on/at the weekend,” frequently used for a specific or upcoming weekend, though it can be generic in some contexts.
- Svakog vikenda: “every weekend” (genitive with svakog for full clarity).
- For specific days: Subotom (“on Saturdays”), Nedjeljom (“on Sundays”).
What person and tense is idemo, and what’s the present tense of ići?
- Idemo = 1st person plural, present tense of ići (“to go”).
- Present conjugation:
- ja idem
- ti ideš
- on/ona/ono ide
- mi idemo
- vi idete
- oni/one/ona idu
Why is it u park and not u parku?
- Motion toward/into a place uses u + accusative: u park = “to the park.”
- Location (being inside) uses u + locative: u parku = “in the park.”
Why use u and not na here?
- U is used for going “into/inside” places like buildings, rooms, enclosed or defined areas: u park, u školu, u kino.
- Na is used for surfaces, open venues, events, and institutions: na plažu, na koncert, na stadion.
- For parks, standard usage is ići u park.
What case is park in, and why doesn’t it change form?
- Park is in the accusative singular.
- For inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative (hence no visible change).
Do I need to include the subject pronoun mi (“we”)?
- No. Croatian is a pro-drop language; the verb ending in idemo already shows “we.”
- You can add Mi for emphasis or contrast: Mi vikendom idemo u park.
Can I change the word order, and does it affect meaning?
- Yes, common variants (all natural):
- Vikendom idemo u park. (time first; neutral, common)
- Idemo u park vikendom. (focus on the action/place first)
- U park idemo vikendom. (emphasizes destination)
- The core meaning stays; word order subtly changes emphasis.
How do I make the sentence negative?
- Vikendom ne idemo u park.
- Alternative: Ne idemo u park vikendom.
- The negation particle ne goes directly before the verb.
How do I talk about a specific weekend instead of all weekends?
- “This weekend”: Ovaj vikend idemo u park. or Ovog vikenda idemo u park.
- “Last weekend”: Prošli vikend …
- “Next weekend”: Sljedeći vikend (also Idući vikend).
Does ići mean walking specifically?
- No. Ići is “to go” by any means (unspecified).
- To specify means:
- on foot: ići pješice
- by car: ići autom
- by bus: ići autobusom
- by bike: ići biciklom
How can I add adverbs of frequency?
- Place them before the verb or at the start:
- Vikendom često idemo u park.
- Često vikendom idemo u park.
- Common choices: često (often), obično (usually), rijetko (rarely), ponekad (sometimes).
Are there articles (“the/a”) in Croatian, and how is that handled with u park?
- Croatian has no articles. U park can mean “to the park” or “to a park,” depending on context.
- To be specific, you can use demonstratives: u taj park (“to that park”) or, less commonly for indefiniteness, u jedan park (“to a park”).