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Questions & Answers about Navečer učimo hrvatski.
What exactly does navečer mean—“in the evening” or “at night”?
It means “in the evening(s),” usually as a general or habitual time. For a specific evening (tonight), use večeras. For “at night,” use noću. Example contrasts:
- Navečer učimo… = We study in the evenings (habit).
- Večeras učimo… = We’re studying tonight (this specific evening).
- Noću učimo… = We study at night.
Why is navečer written as one word? Are na večer or u večer acceptable?
Write it as one word: navečer. The variant uvečer is also accepted. The two-word forms na večer or u večer are not standard as time adverbs in modern usage; stick to navečer (or uvečer).
Why is there no “the” in the sentence?
Croatian has no articles (no “the” or “a”). Definiteness is understood from context, word order, or additional words if needed.
Can I change the word order?
Yes. All of these are natural, with slight differences in focus:
- Učimo hrvatski navečer. (neutral)
- Navečer učimo hrvatski. (focus on time: in the evening)
- Hrvatski učimo navečer. (focus on the object: Croatian) You can also add the pronoun for emphasis: Mi navečer učimo hrvatski.
Do I need to include the subject pronoun mi (“we”)?
No. The verb ending -mo in učimo already marks “we.” Adding mi is optional and adds emphasis or contrast (we, as opposed to others).
Does učimo mean “we learn,” “we study,” or “we teach”?
Here it means “we learn/study.” The verb učiti can also mean “to teach” when a person is the object (učiti nekoga + accusative = teach someone). More common “to teach” verbs are predavati (teach as a course, lecture) and podučavati (tutor/instruct).
How do you conjugate učiti in the present tense?
- ja učim
- ti učiš
- on/ona/ono uči
- mi učimo
- vi učite
- oni/one/ona uče
Does the sentence imply a habit or a one-time plan?
With navečer, it most naturally implies a habit: “We study in the evenings.” For a specific plan for tonight, use večeras: Večeras učimo hrvatski (tonight we’re studying). You can also say Večeras ćemo učiti hrvatski to make the future meaning explicit.
Why is it hrvatski and not hrvatskog?
Hrvatski is an adjective used as a noun here, with an implied masculine inanimate noun jezik (“language”). Accusative of masculine inanimate equals nominative, so it stays hrvatski. The form hrvatskog is genitive singular or accusative masculine animate (e.g., Vidim hrvatskog čovjeka = I see a Croatian man).
Is hrvatski capitalized?
No. Names of languages and nationalities as adjectives are written in lowercase in Croatian (hrvatski, engleski). The country name Hrvatska is capitalized, and the ethnonym Hrvat/Hrvatica is capitalized.
Is hrvatski here a noun or an adjective?
It’s an adjective used substantively (standing in for the omitted noun jezik). You can also say Učimo hrvatski jezik, which is fully explicit, but everyday speech often drops jezik.
How do I pronounce the sentence?
- č in navečer and učimo is like the “ch” in “church,” pronounced strongly.
- r in hrvatski is tapped/trilled.
- There’s no vowel before r in hr-, so start directly with the hr cluster.
- The ts sound you hear is the t+s sequence in hrvats- (there’s no letter c here).
- All letters are pronounced; Croatian spelling is very phonetic.
What’s the difference between učiti and naučiti?
Učiti is imperfective (“to study/learn” as an ongoing or habitual activity). Naučiti is perfective (“to learn” in the sense of “to manage to learn/finish learning” something).
- Navečer učimo hrvatski. = We study (habitually).
- Sinoć smo naučili novu lekciju. = We learned (completed the learning of) a new lesson last night.
How do I negate the sentence?
Place ne before the verb:
- Navečer ne učimo hrvatski. = We don’t study Croatian in the evenings.
How would I say “We teach Croatian in the evening”?
Use a teaching verb:
- Navečer predajemo hrvatski. (teaching as a course/subject)
- Navečer podučavamo hrvatski. (tutoring/instructing) Saying Navečer učimo hrvatski means “we learn/study,” not “we teach.”
How can I say “every evening” instead of just “in the evening”?
Use svake večeri (genitive singular):
- Svake večeri učimo hrvatski. = We study Croatian every evening.