Learn Hardcore Croatian: On traži svoje sunčane naočale po sobi, ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu. - He is looking for his sunglasses around the room, but they are on the table the whole time.

On traži svoje sunčane naočale po sobi, ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.

He is looking for his sunglasses around the room, but they are on the table the whole time.

Breakdown of On traži svoje sunčane naočale po sobi, ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.

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Questions & Answers about On traži svoje sunčane naočale po sobi, ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.

Do we need the word On at the beginning, or could we just say Traži svoje sunčane naočale…?

In Croatian, the subject pronoun (on, ona, oni, etc.) is usually optional, because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

On traži… = He is looking… (neutral, or slightly emphasizing he)
Traži… = He is looking… (normally understood from context)

You use On when:

you want to emphasize he (not someone else), or
the subject might not be clear from context.

Otherwise, simply Traži svoje sunčane naočale… is perfectly natural.

Why is it svoje and not njegove for “his sunglasses”?

Croatian distinguishes between reflexive and non‑reflexive possessives:

svoje = one’s own (belongs to the subject of the clause)
njegove = his (belongs to some male person, not necessarily the subject)

In this sentence the subject is on (he), and he is looking for his own sunglasses, so you must use the reflexive:

On traži svoje sunčane naočale.
= He is looking for his own sunglasses.

If you said:

On traži njegove sunčane naočale.

it would usually be understood as:

He is looking for *some other guy’s sunglasses.*

How does traži express “is looking for”? There’s no separate continuous tense like in English.

Croatian doesn’t have a special continuous form (like is looking). The present tense covers both:

On traži svoje sunčane naočale.
= He looks for his sunglasses.
= He is looking for his sunglasses.

The continuous meaning (an action going on right now) is understood from context and from adverbials like:

sada, trenutno (now, currently)
po sobi (around the room)

So traži here naturally means is looking for.

Why are sunčane naočale plural in Croatian when “sunglasses” in English can feel like one object?

In both languages, “sunglasses” are grammatically plural:

English: sunglasses (plural noun)
Croatian: naočale (only plural form; there is no singular naočala)

Because naočale is feminine plural, the adjective must also be feminine plural:

sunčane naočale
(sunčane = fem. plural, naočale = fem. plural)

Other similar Croatian nouns that are always plural:
hlače (trousers), škare (scissors), vrata (door[s]).

What case is svoje sunčane naočale in, and why?

Svoje sunčane naočale is in the accusative plural, because it’s the direct object of the verb tražiti (to look for).

Pattern:

Nominative sg: naočala (theoretical form; in practice people use only plural)
Nominative pl: naočale
Accusative pl: naočale (same form as nominative plural)

The adjective and possessive pronoun also take accusative plural feminine:

svoje (acc. pl. fem.)
sunčane (acc. pl. fem.)
naočale (acc. pl. fem.)

So the whole phrase svoje sunčane naočale is accusative plural feminine.

Why is it po sobi and not u sobi?

Both use the locative case, but the preposition changes the nuance:

u sobi = in the room (just location)
po sobi = around the room / all over the room (movement within the area, scattered places)

Because he’s searching in different spots in the room, Croatian naturally uses po:

On traži svoje sunčane naočale po sobi.
= He is looking for his sunglasses around the room (here and there in the room).

If you said u sobi, it would just say in the room without the sense of searching all around.

What case is sobi in, and how do we know?

Sobi is in the locative singular of soba (room).

Nominative: soba
Locative: (u/po) sobi

You know it’s locative because it appears after prepositions that typically require the locative for location:

u sobi (in the room)
po sobi (around the room)

So: preposition po + locative sobi = po sobi.

In the second part, why do we only have ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu, without repeating naočale or using one (they)?

Croatian often omits the subject when it’s already clear from context.

Subject of the first clause: (one) sunčane naočale (they, the sunglasses)
Second clause: ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu
The subject is understood: (one) or (sunčane naočale).

The verb form su (3rd person plural) is enough to signal that the subject is they, referring back to naočale.

You could say:

… ali one su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.

but the pronoun one is usually unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis.

Why does su come right after ali, instead of after naočale or stolu?

Su is a clitic form of the verb biti (to be). Croatian clitics follow the “second position” rule: they usually go in the second position in the clause, regardless of English word order.

In ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu:

ali = first element
su (clitic) = must come next

If you expanded the subject:

Ali sunčane naočale su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.

Here sunčane naočale is the first element of the new clause, so su comes second, after it.

So the placement of su is grammatical, not about emphasis in the English sense.

Shouldn’t it be past tense: ali su bile cijelo vrijeme na stolu, since we say “the whole time”?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different flavors:

Ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.
Literally present tense, but in storytelling this often functions like “but they’re on the table the whole time” — a kind of vivid, “movie-like” present. It can feel more immediate or humorous.
Ali su bile cijelo vrijeme na stolu.
Clear past tense: but they were on the table the whole time.
This is neutral narration of a past event.

In casual spoken Croatian, using the present like in the original sentence is common when telling a funny or illustrative story.

Why is it cijelo vrijeme and not something like cijeli vrijeme?

Vrijeme (time, weather) is a neuter singular noun, so its modifying adjective must also be neuter singular:

cijelo vrijeme (the whole time)

Agreement:

masculine sg: cijeli dan (the whole day)
feminine sg: cijela soba (the whole room)
neuter sg: cijelo vrijeme (the whole time)

So cijelo (neuter) is the correct form with vrijeme.

Why is it na stolu and not na stol?

With na, Croatian distinguishes between:

location (where?) → na
- locative
  na stolu = on the table (no movement)
movement (onto where?) → na
- accusative
  na stol = onto the table (motion towards)

In this sentence, the sunglasses are just located there:

… ali su cijelo vrijeme na stolu.
= but they are on the table the whole time.

If you wanted to say He puts his sunglasses onto the table, you’d use the accusative:

On stavlja svoje sunčane naočale na stol.