Learn Hardcore Croatian: Preko dana rijetko gledam televiziju, ali navečer gledam vijesti na Internetu. - During the day I rarely watch television, but in the evening I watch the news on the Internet.

Literally, preko means over / across, and dana is of the day, so literally: over the day.
Dana is genitive singular of dan (day).

Many prepositions in Croatian require the genitive, and preko + genitive is one of the standard ways to say during (a time period).

Can I use tijekom dana, po danu, or danju instead of preko dana? Are there any differences?

All of these are possible, but they have slightly different flavors:

preko dana – very common and neutral: during the day.
tijekom dana – also neutral; a bit more formal/literary than preko dana.
po danu – literally by day / in the daytime; often contrasts with po noći (by night).
danju – an adverb meaning by day, in the daytime; sounds a bit more literary or stylistically marked in everyday speech.

In your sentence, you could replace preko dana with tijekom dana or po danu or danju without changing the basic meaning. The original preko dana is very natural in everyday conversation.

Why is the adverb rijetko placed before the verb (rijetko gledam)? Can I move it?

In Croatian, adverbs like rijetko (rarely) most commonly appear before the verb:

Rijetko gledam televiziju. – I rarely watch TV.

You can move it, but the word order affects emphasis:

Rijetko gledam televiziju. – neutral: the frequency (rarely) is in focus.
Gledam rijetko televiziju. – possible, but sounds marked; it puts extra emphasis on rijetko and may sound a bit awkward or poetic in everyday speech.
Televiziju rijetko gledam. – emphasizes televiziju (TV), as in “It’s TV that I rarely watch (maybe I do other things more often).”

For a learner, the safest and most natural pattern is: [adverb of frequency] + [verb] → Rijetko gledam.

Why is there no ja (I) in rijetko gledam televiziju? When do I use or omit subject pronouns in Croatian?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: the verb ending usually shows the subject, so subject pronouns like ja (I), ti (you), on/ona/ono (he/she/it) are regularly omitted when they’re not needed for emphasis or clarity.

(Ja) rijetko gledam televiziju. – Both forms are correct.
The default, neutral sentence is Rijetko gledam televiziju.

You normally include ja when you want contrast or emphasis:

Ja rijetko gledam televiziju, ali ona je gleda svaki dan.
I rarely watch TV, but she watches it every day.

So in your sentence, leaving out ja is standard and natural.

Why is it televiziju and not televizija? And what’s the difference between televizija and televizor?

Televiziju is accusative singular, used as the direct object of the verb gledam (I watch).

Nominative: televizija – TV (as a medium).
Accusative: gledam televiziju – I watch TV.

As for the words:

televizija – the medium / content / service (television programming).
televizor – the physical device, the TV set.

So:

Gledam televiziju. – I watch TV (programs).
Kupio sam novi televizor. – I bought a new TV set.

Saying gledam televizor would sound like “I’m looking at the TV set” (the object itself), not “I watch TV” in the normal sense.

Why is there a comma before ali in ..., ali navečer gledam vijesti ...?

In Croatian, when ali (but) connects two independent clauses (each with its own verb), you normally must use a comma before it.

Preko dana rijetko gledam televiziju, ali navečer gledam vijesti na Internetu.
Clause 1: Preko dana rijetko gledam televiziju.
Clause 2: Navečer gledam vijesti na Internetu.

Each clause could stand alone as a sentence, so the comma is required.
This is similar to English:
“I rarely watch TV during the day, but in the evening I watch the news on the Internet.”

What exactly does navečer mean, and how is it different from uvečer, večerom, or večeras?

All these relate to evening, but they’re used differently:

navečer – in the evening, as a general time when something regularly happens.
- Navečer gledam vijesti. – I watch the news in the evening (habitually).
uvečer – also in the evening; used much less often in modern standard speech; navečer is more common and more natural.
večerom – an adverb formed from večer; can also mean in the evenings / in the evening, but it sounds more formal or literary. In everyday speech, navečer is preferred.
večeras – this evening / tonight (one specific evening, not a general habit).
- Večeras gledam vijesti. – I’m watching the news this evening / tonight.

In your habitual sentence, navečer is the best and most natural choice.

Why is vijesti plural in Croatian when news is singular/uncountable in English?

In Croatian, vijesti is grammatically plural and is the normal word for news in general.

vijest – singular: a piece of news / an item of news.
vijesti – plural: news (as a whole, or multiple pieces of news).

So:

Gledam vijesti. – I watch the news.
Imam jednu lošu vijest. – I have one bad piece of news.

This is similar to English words like arms, clothes, lingerie, etc., which are grammatically plural but can refer to a collective thing.

Which case is vijesti in here, and how is it declined?

In gledam vijesti, vijesti is accusative plural feminine.

The noun vijest (feminine) declines like this (singular / plural):

Nominative: vijest / vijesti
Genitive: vijesti / vijesti
Dative: vijesti / vijestima
Accusative: vijest / vijesti
Vocative: vijesti / vijesti
Locative: vijesti / vijestima
Instrumental: viješću / vijestima

In your sentence, gledam (I watch) takes a direct object in the accusative, hence vijesti (accusative plural).

Why is it na Internetu and not just Internet? Which case is used, and why na?

The phrase na Internetu literally means on the Internet.

na
- locative is used for location / place where something happens.
Internetu is locative singular of Internet.

So:

Gledam vijesti na Internetu. – I watch the news on the Internet.
Na televiziji – on TV.
Na radiju – on the radio.

Compare this with na + accusative, which usually means motion towards:

Idem na internet. – I’m going on(to) the internet (starting to go online).
Sam na internetu. – I am on the internet (already there; locative).

In your sentence, you are describing where you watch the news, so na + locative is required: na Internetu.

Do I have to capitalize Internetu, or can I write internetu?

Both can be seen; it’s partly a matter of style and the source you follow.

Older or more conservative usage: Internet treated as a proper name → capitalized: na Internetu.
Newer practice and many modern style guides: internet as a common noun, like telefon, radio → na internetu.

In everyday writing today, na internetu (lowercase) is very common and fully correct. As a learner, it’s safe to use lowercase internet unless your teacher or textbook insists on capitalizing it.

Could I say gledam vijesti na televiziji instead of na Internetu? How do I say “online” or “on the internet” more generally?

Yes, you can:

Gledam vijesti na televiziji. – I watch the news on TV.
Gledam vijesti na Internetu / na internetu. – I watch the news on the Internet / online.

Other common ways to express on the internet / online:

na internetu – on the internet (most common everyday phrase).
preko interneta – via the internet (emphasis on the means or channel).
- Kupujem karte preko interneta. – I buy tickets via the internet (online).

In your sentence, na Internetu / na internetu is the standard and natural way to say on the internet.

What tense is gledam, and how does it cover both “I watch” and “I am watching” in English?

Gledam is present tense, 1st person singular of the verb gledati (to watch / to look).

Croatian present tense normally covers:

habitual / general actions:
- Preko dana rijetko gledam televiziju. – I rarely watch TV during the day.
actions happening right now (context makes this clear):
- Sad gledam vijesti na internetu. – I am watching the news online (right now).

Croatian does not have a separate continuous form like English I am watching.
You just use the present tense, often with a time word like sad (now), trenutno (currently), etc., to make the meaning explicit when needed.

Is there a perfective partner to gledati? How would I say something like “I’ll (have a) watch (of) the news”?

Yes. Gledati is imperfective (process, repeated/habitual action). Perfective partners include:

pogledati – to watch / look (through) once, to have a look (completed action).

Examples:

Večeras ću pogledati vijesti na internetu.
I’ll (have a) watch (of) the news on the internet this evening.
→ one completed act of watching.
Svaki dan gledam vijesti na internetu.
I watch the news online every day.
→ repeated, habitual → imperfective gledam.

In your original sentence, you’re describing a habit (what you usually do in the evening), so the imperfective gledam is the correct and natural choice.