Preko granice putujemo autobusom.

We travel across the border by bus.

Breakdown of Preko granice putujemo autobusom.

• autobus: bus
• putovati: to travel
• granica: border
• preko: across

Questions & Answers about Preko granice putujemo autobusom.

What is the literal, word‑for‑word breakdown of Preko granice putujemo autobusom?

• preko – across, over (a preposition that takes the genitive case)
• granice – of (the) border (genitive singular of granica = border)
• putujemo – we travel / we are traveling (1st person plural present of putovati)
• autobusom – by bus (instrumental singular of autobus = bus, used for “by means of”)

Very literal: “Across (the) border we travel by bus.”
Natural English: “We travel across the border by bus.”

Why is granice in that form and not granica or granicu?

Because of the preposition preko.

• preko always (in standard Croatian) governs the genitive case.
• The noun granica (border) in the genitive singular is granice.

So:

• nominative: granica – border (as the subject)
• accusative: granicu – often “to the border” with na (e.g. na granicu)
• genitive: granice – “of (the) border” → used after preko

Therefore preko + granice is the correct combination.
Forms like preko granica (genitive plural) or preko granicu (accusative) are not correct here.

Is granice here singular (“border”) or plural (“borders”)? The form looks plural to me.

Formally, granice can be:

• nominative plural: borders
• accusative plural: borders
• genitive singular: of (the) border

In this sentence it is genitive singular, because:

• preko requires genitive.
• The common fixed phrase is preko granice = across the border (one border you’re crossing).

For clearly plural “across (several) borders”, you’d typically say preko granica (genitive plural).

What exactly does preko mean here? Is it just “across”, and how is it different from kroz or preko granicu?

Here, preko means “across / over”, describing crossing from one side to the other.

• preko granice – across the border, i.e. you cross it.
• kroz granicu – literally through the border; this is not idiomatic for borders. Kroz (“through”) is used more with things like kroz tunel (through a tunnel), kroz šumu (through a forest).
• preko granicu – would use the accusative; but preko requires genitive, so this is grammatically wrong.

Other common uses of preko:

• preko mosta – across the bridge
• preko telefona – over the phone
• preko interneta – over the internet / online

In short: for borders, preko granice is the standard way to say across the border.

Why is the verb putujemo used, and what tense is it? Could it also refer to the future?

Putujemo is:

• present tense
• 1st person plural (“we”)
• of the verb putovati = to travel (an imperfective verb)

So it literally means “we travel / we are traveling.”

About time meaning:

• Right now / generally:
  
  • Preko granice putujemo autobusom. – We (usually) travel across the border by bus.
• Near future (from context):
  Croatian, like English, can use the present for planned future trips:
  
  • With a time expression: Sutra preko granice putujemo autobusom. – Tomorrow we’re going across the border by bus.

If you want to be explicitly future, you can say:

• Preko granice ćemo putovati autobusom. – We will travel across the border by bus.

Why is there no word for “we”? Where is the subject in putujemo?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (like I, you, we) are often omitted because the verb ending shows the subject.

• putujemo already tells you it’s “we travel”:
  • ja putujem – I travel
  • ti putuješ – you travel (sg)
  • on/ona/ono putuje – he/she/it travels
  • mi putujemo – we travel
  • vi putujete – you travel (pl/formal)
  • oni/one/ona putuju – they travel

You can say Mi preko granice putujemo autobusom, but mi is usually only added for emphasis or contrast (e.g. “We (unlike them) travel by bus.”).

Why does autobus become autobusom? What case is that, and why is it used here?

Autobusom is the instrumental case of autobus.

• nominative: autobus – bus
• instrumental: autobusom – with a bus / by bus

Croatian uses the instrumental case (often with no preposition) to express means or instrument:

• putovati autobusom – to travel by bus
• putovati vlakom – to travel by train
• ići autom – to go by car
• pisati olovkom – to write with a pencil

So putujemo autobusom literally = we travel using a bus → we travel by bus.

Could I say Preko granice putujemo s autobusom to mean “with a bus”?

No, that sounds wrong in this context.

• s autobusom literally means “with the bus”, as if the bus were your companion, not your means of transport.
• For transport, Croatian does not use s + instrumental; it just uses instrumental alone.

Correct patterns:

• putovati autobusom – travel by bus
• putovati vlakom – travel by train

So you should stick to autobusom, not s autobusom, when you mean by bus.

Can I change the word order, like Autobusom putujemo preko granice or Putujemo autobusom preko granice?

Yes, Croatian word order is quite flexible, and all of these are grammatical:

• Preko granice putujemo autobusom.
• Putujemo autobusom preko granice.
• Autobusom putujemo preko granice.

The basic meaning stays the same. The differences are about emphasis and flow:

• Starting with Preko granice highlights the border crossing.
• Starting with Autobusom emphasizes by bus (e.g. in contrast to some other way).
• Putujemo autobusom preko granice feels like a neutral, straightforward order in many contexts.

In everyday speech, all these orders are possible; context and intonation carry the nuance.

What is the difference between putujemo autobusom and idemo autobusom?

Both can be translated as “we go by bus”, but there’s a nuance:

• putovati – to travel, often suggests a trip, journey, sometimes longer or more “travel-like”.
• ići – to go, more general: to move from place to place.

So:

• Preko granice putujemo autobusom. – We travel across the border by bus. (focus on the journey)
• Preko granice idemo autobusom. – We go across the border by bus. (a bit more neutral, everyday “go”)

In many everyday situations, idemo autobusom will sound slightly more casual; putujemo autobusom may sound a bit more “properly” about travel, but both are used.

How would I say “We travel across the border by car / by train / on foot” using the same pattern?

You keep the same structure and change the noun in the instrumental:

• Preko granice putujemo autom. – We travel across the border by car.
  
  • auto → instrumental: autom
• Preko granice putujemo vlakom. – We travel across the border by train.
  
  • vlak → instrumental: vlakom
• Preko granice putujemo pješice. – We travel across the border on foot.
  
  • pješice is an adverb meaning on foot, not a case form.

So the pattern is:

Preko granice putujemo + [instrumental of transport].

Is it possible to say Na granicu putujemo autobusom instead of Preko granice putujemo autobusom?

You can say it, but the meaning changes slightly:

• Preko granice putujemo autobusom.
  – Focuses on crossing the border (from one country to another).
• Na granicu putujemo autobusom.
  – Means “We travel to the border by bus.”
  You’re going to the border, but this doesn’t explicitly say you cross it.

So:

• preko granice – across the border
• na granicu – to the border

How should I pronounce preko granice putujemo autobusom? Any tricky sounds for an English speaker?

Key points:

• preko – pre like “pre” in “press”, ko like “co” in “coffee” (but short).
• granice – gra (like “gra” in “grand”), ni like “nee”, ce pronounced “tse” (Croatian c = /ts/). So: GRA-nee-tseh.
• putujemo – pu “poo”, tu “too”, je = “ye”, mo “mo” in “motto”. Roughly: POO-too-ye-mo.
• autobusom – au like “ow” in “cow”, to like “toh”, bu “boo”, som “som” (short ‘o’). Roughly: OW-toh-boo-som.

Stress in Croatian is usually on the first syllable in these words:
PRE-ko GRA-ni-ce PU-tu-je-mo AU-to-bu-som (exact stress patterns can vary by dialect, but first‑syllable stress works well for learners).

If I just want to say “We’re going by bus”, can I simply say Putujemo autobusom?

Yes.

• Putujemo autobusom. – We are traveling by bus / We’re going by bus.

If the context already makes it clear where you’re going (for example, people are talking about a trip abroad), you don’t need to repeat preko granice.

Similarly, you can use Idemo autobusom. – We’re going by bus., which is also very common in everyday speech.