U srijedu imamo kratku pauzu zbog projekta.

On Wednesday we have a short break because of the project.

Breakdown of U srijedu imamo kratku pauzu zbog projekta.

• imati: to have
• u: on
• zbog: because of
• kratak: short
• pauza: break
• srijeda: Wednesday
• projekt: project

Questions & Answers about U srijedu imamo kratku pauzu zbog projekta.

Why is it u srijedu for “on Wednesday,” and not na srijedu or u srijedi?

• For days of the week, Croatian uses u + accusative to mean “on [a specific day]”: u ponedjeljak, u utorak, u srijedu, etc.
• Na srijedu can appear with verbs of scheduling/moving (“to move something to Wednesday”): prebaciti sastanak na srijedu.
• U srijedi (locative) would literally be “in the Wednesday,” which isn’t how Croatian expresses dates.

What case is srijedu, and how does srijeda decline?

It’s the accusative singular of the feminine noun srijeda. Key forms:

• Nominative: srijeda (Wednesday)
• Accusative: srijedu (used after u for “on Wednesday”)
• Genitive: srijede (e.g., do srijede “until Wednesday”)
• Dative/Locative: srijedi (e.g., very rarely for time; mostly with other prepositions)
• Instrumental: srijedom (“on Wednesdays,” habitually)
• Vocative: srijedo (rare)

How do I say “every Wednesday”?

Two common ways:

• Srijedom imamo kratku pauzu. (Instrumental: habitual, “On Wednesdays we have a short break.”)
• Svake srijede imamo kratku pauzu. (Genitive with svake: “Every Wednesday we have a short break.”)

Why is there no explicit “we” (mi) before imamo?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: the verb ending -mo already encodes “we.” You add mi only for emphasis or contrast:

• Neutral: Imamo kratku pauzu…
• Emphatic: Mi u srijedu imamo kratku pauzu… (“We (as opposed to others) have…”)

What case is kratku pauzu, and why kratku instead of kratka?

It’s the direct object of imamo, so it’s in the accusative singular. The adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

• Nominative: kratka pauza
• Accusative: kratku pauzu

Is the adjective kratak/kratka/kratko irregular?

Slightly. Masculine nominative is kratak, but the stem is kratk- in most other forms:

• Masc: kratak (often also seen as attributive kratki: kratki sastanak)
• Fem: kratka → Accusative fem: kratku
• Neut: kratko

Why is it zbog projekta and not zbog projekt?

The preposition zbog (“because of, due to”) always governs the genitive case. Projekt is a masculine noun; its genitive singular is projekta. Hence: zbog projekta.

What’s the difference between zbog, jer, and radi?

• zbog + Genitive = because of (a noun cause): zbog projekta (“because of the project”).
• jer + clause = because (introduces a full sentence): jer radimo na projektu (“because we’re working on the project”).
• radi + Genitive = for the sake of/for the purpose of: radi projekta (“for the sake of the project”). In casual speech it can overlap with zbog, but the nuance is more “for the purpose of.”

Can I change the word order?

Yes, Croatian word order is flexible for emphasis, as long as prepositions stay with their nouns:

• Neutral: U srijedu imamo kratku pauzu zbog projekta.
• Cause-first: Zbog projekta u srijedu imamo kratku pauzu.
• Time at end: Imamo kratku pauzu u srijedu zbog projekta. All are fine; the choice highlights different parts of the message.

Why isn’t srijedu capitalized?

Days of the week are not capitalized in Croatian unless they start a sentence. So u srijedu is correct (with only the initial U capitalized).

How do you pronounce the tricky parts like srijedu and zbog?

• srijedu: roughly “sree-YEH-doo.” The j is like English “y,” and ije is pronounced like a long “yeh.”
• zbog: “ZBOG,” with a voiced initial cluster [zb].
• Tip: Croatian r is tapped/rolled lightly.

Why u with days, but I sometimes see na with holidays (e.g., na Božić)?

• Days of the week: use u + accusative (e.g., u srijedu, u petak).
• Fixed holidays/events often take na: na Božić (at/on Christmas), na Uskrs (at/on Easter). This is a set idiomatic pattern; learn them as chunks.

Is pauza the best word here? What about stanka, predah, or odmor?

• pauza: neutral, very common for a break in work/class.
• stanka: more formal/official (e.g., parliamentary or match break).
• predah: a short breather, with a “rest” flavor.
• odmor: rest/vacation in general, not just a quick break. In a workplace/school context, pauza fits well.

How would I say this in the future or past, and where do I put the clitic?

• Future: U srijedu ćemo imati kratku pauzu zbog projekta. (clitic ćemo usually comes after the first stressed word)
  • Also fine: Imat ćemo u srijedu kratku pauzu zbog projekta.
• Past (perfect): U srijedu smo imali kratku pauzu zbog projekta. (clitic smo in second position)

How do I negate it?

Use ne with the verb; it fuses with imamo:

• U srijedu nemamo kratku pauzu zbog projekta. (“We don’t have a short break on Wednesday because of the project.”)