Ponekad me boli glava ujutro.

Sometimes my head hurts in the morning.

Breakdown of Ponekad me boli glava ujutro.

• ujutro: in the morning
• ponekad: sometimes
• me: me
• boljeti: to hurt
• glava: head

Questions & Answers about Ponekad me boli glava ujutro.

Why is it using me and not mi or mene?

• me is the short, unstressed accusative pronoun (object form of “I”). The verb boljeti “to hurt/ache” takes the person who feels the pain in the accusative.
• mi is dative and is used with other impersonal feelings like Hladno mi je (I feel cold). It’s not used with boljeti.
• mene is the full (stressed) accusative form, used for emphasis: Mene ponekad boli glava ujutro (emphasis on “me”).
• Natural: Ponekad me boli glava ujutro.
• Wrong with this verb: Ponekad mi boli glava ujutro.

What is the subject here, and why is boli singular?

• The grammatical subject is glava (head), which is nominative singular.
• The verb boli is 3rd person singular present and agrees with glava.
• The experiencer (me) is the direct object (accusative).
• Compare plural body parts: Oči me bole (My eyes hurt), Leđa me bole (My back hurts — leđa is plural).

Why isn’t it boli glavu or boli glavom?

• glava is the subject, so it stays in nominative: glava.
• glavu (accusative) would make “head” the object, which isn’t the structure in Croatian for pain.
• glavom (instrumental) would mean “with the head.”

Why is me right after Ponekad? Could I say Ponekad boli me glava?

• Short pronouns like me are clitics and normally sit in “second position” in the clause (after the first stressed word).
• After Ponekad the clitic me comes: Ponekad me boli glava ujutro.
• Ponekad boli me glava is unnatural in standard Croatian because the clitic isn’t in second position.
• You also can’t start a clause with a clitic: avoid Me boli glava (wrong).

Can I front glava or change the word order?

Yes, word order is flexible for emphasis as long as clitics keep their position:

• Neutral: Boli me glava (ujutro).
• Emphasis on “head”: Glava me boli (ujutro).
• Time early: Ujutro me boli glava.
• Both adverbs: Ponekad me ujutro boli glava or Ujutro me ponekad boli glava.

Do I need to say my head (moja glava)?

Usually no. Croatian uses the body-part-as-subject plus object-pronoun:

• Natural: Boli me glava.
• With a possessive for contrast/emphasis only: Boli me moja glava, a tebe bole leđa. In everyday talk, it sounds heavy or contrastive.

What’s the difference between this and Imam glavobolju?

• Boli me glava is the most common conversational way to say “I have a headache.”
• Imam glavobolju (I have a headache) is more formal/medical or careful style.
• Both are correct; choose based on tone and context.

How do I negate it?

• Put ne before the verb; clitics keep their position:
  • Ujutro me ne boli glava. (In the morning my head doesn’t hurt.)
  • Ne boli me glava ujutro.
  • Ponekad me ujutro ne boli glava. (Sometimes it doesn’t hurt in the morning.)

How do I ask a yes/no question?

• Use li after the verb; move the clitic accordingly:
  • Boli li te glava ujutro? (Does your head hurt in the morning?)
• Don’t use je li here, because boljeti doesn’t take an auxiliary in the present tense.

What about other body parts, especially plural ones?

• The verb agrees with the body part:
  • Singular: Ruka me boli. (My arm hurts.)
  • Plural: Ruke me bole. (My arms hurt.)
  • Pluralia tantum: Leđa me bole. (My back hurts.)

What’s the difference between ujutro, jutros, and u jutro?

• ujutro = in the morning (habitual/general time): Ujutro me boli glava.
• jutros = this morning (today): Jutros me je boljela glava.
• u jutro (two words) is generally avoided; standard usage is the fused adverb ujutro.

Is ponekad the same as katkad or nekad?

• ponekad and katkad are near-synonyms for “sometimes.” Ponekad is more common.
• nekad(a) can mean “sometimes” in colloquial speech, but also “once/used to/in the past,” so it can be ambiguous. Prefer ponekad for clarity.

Can I express the onset of pain (starts to hurt)?

Yes, use the perfective zaboljeti:

• Ponekad me ujutro zaboli glava. (Sometimes my head starts hurting in the morning.)
• Ongoing state uses boljeti: Ponekad me ujutro boli glava.

Can I drop me and just say Ponekad boli glava ujutro?

Grammatically possible, but it no longer means “my head hurts.” It becomes a generic statement about “the head” hurting (odd without context) or about someone else’s head. To say “I have a headache,” keep me.