Breakdown of Moram uzimati lijek svaki dan.
svaki
every
dan
day
morati
to have to
lijek
medicine
uzimati
to take
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Questions & Answers about Moram uzimati lijek svaki dan.
What nuance does moram carry compared to English “must” vs “have to,” and how is it different from trebam?
- Moram expresses strong obligation/necessity; it usually maps to English “have to” or “must,” often an external requirement (doctor’s orders, rules, etc.).
- Trebam means “I need (to)” and is milder or more about a personal need.
Both can be followed by an infinitive: Moram uzimati... (stronger) vs Trebam uzimati... (softer). In modern Croatian, trebati + infinitive is common and acceptable, but for clear obligation, morati is preferred.
Why is the imperfective infinitive uzimati used instead of the perfective uzeti?
Because the action is repeated/habitual (“every day”). Imperfective verbs describe ongoing/repeated processes: Moram uzimati lijek svaki dan.
Use perfective for a single, one‑off action: Moram uzeti lijek (“I have to take the medicine [this time]”).
Could I use uzeti or popiti instead of uzimati?
- Uzimati = to take regularly/over time (course of treatment).
- Uzeti = to take once (a single dose/occasion).
- Popiti = to drink/swallow a dose to completion (often used for pills/liquids in one go).
Examples: - Habit: Moram uzimati lijek svaki dan.
- One time: Moram uzeti lijek sada. / Moram popiti tabletu sada.
Why is uzimati in the infinitive and not uzimam?
After modal verbs like morati, smjeti, moći, htjeti, trebati, Croatian uses the infinitive: Moram uzimati, not “Moram uzimam.” Same pattern: Mogu ići, Smijem pušiti?, Želim učiti.
Can I move svaki dan to other positions?
Yes. All are natural, with only slight shifts in emphasis:
- Svaki dan moram uzimati lijek.
- Moram svaki dan uzimati lijek.
- Moram uzimati lijek svaki dan.
With a pronoun: Svaki dan ga moram uzimati. / Moram ga svaki dan uzimati.
Why is lijek in that form? Which case is it?
It’s the accusative singular, used for direct objects. Lijek is a masculine inanimate noun; its accusative equals the nominative (no -a ending):
- Nom/Acc sg: lijek
- Gen sg: lijeka
- Acc pl (if plural “medicines”): lijekove
Croatian has no articles. So how do I know if lijek means “a medicine” or “the medicine”?
Context supplies that. Lijek can mean either “a medicine” or “the medicine.” If you must be specific, you can add a demonstrative: taj lijek (“that/that particular medicine”).
Why is svaki singular even though it refers to many days?
Svaki means “each/every,” and in Croatian it always takes a singular noun: svaki dan, svaka godina, svako jutro.
What’s the difference between svaki dan and svakog(a) dana?
Both mean “every day.”
- Svaki dan uses nominative and is very common in all styles.
- Svakog(a) dana uses genitive and can sound a bit more formal or emphatic.
Both svakog and svakoga are correct.
How do I say “I have to take it every day”?
Use a clitic pronoun after the first stressed word:
- For masculine singular (like lijek): Moram ga uzimati svaki dan.
If the noun were feminine singular (e.g., tableta), you’d say: Moram je (ju) uzimati svaki dan.
Plural “them” (e.g., lijekove/tablete): Moram ih uzimati svaki dan.
How do I negate this? Is “don’t have to” the same as “mustn’t”?
- “Don’t have to / not necessary”: Ne moram uzimati lijek svaki dan.
- “Mustn’t / not allowed”: Ne smijem uzimati lijek svaki dan.
Croatian clearly distinguishes ne moram (no necessity) from ne smijem (prohibited).
Can I say svakodnevno instead of svaki dan?
Yes: Moram svakodnevno uzimati lijek. It’s an adverb meaning “daily/on a daily basis.” Style choice; meaning is the same here.
Quick conjugation: how do morati and uzimati conjugate in the present?
- morati: moram, moraš, mora, moramo, morate, moraju
- uzimati: uzimam, uzimaš, uzima, uzimamo, uzimate, uzimaju
Aspect pair: imperfective uzimati vs perfective uzeti (1sg fut./perf. forms: uzeo/uzela sam “I took”).
Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?
- Each letter is pronounced.
- j = English y (as in “yes”).
- r is tapped/trilled.
- svaki ≈ “SVAH-kee” (no schwa).
- lijek: the ije sounds like “ye”; roughly “LEE-yeck.”
- uzimati: “oo-ZEE-ma-tee.”
- moram: stress early; “MO-ram.”
I’ve seen lek instead of lijek. What’s the difference?
That’s a regional/standard difference. Standard Croatian uses lijek (Ijekavian), while Serbian commonly uses lek (Ekavian). The sentence here is standard Croatian.