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Svaki četvrtak idemo u park.

Svaki četvrtak idemo u park.
Every Thursday we go to the park.

Breakdown of Svaki četvrtak idemo u park.

ići
to go
u
to
svaki
every
park
park
četvrtak
Thursday
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Questions & Answers about Svaki četvrtak idemo u park.

What does svaki mean, and why is it used before četvrtak?

Svaki means every or each. It is an adjective that must agree with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case.

  • četvrtak (Thursday) is:
    • masculine
    • singular
    • in the nominative case here

So you use the masculine singular nominative form svaki to match it: svaki četvrtak = every Thursday.

Could I also say svakog četvrtka instead of svaki četvrtak? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say both:

  • Svaki četvrtak idemo u park.
  • Svakog četvrtka idemo u park.

Both mean Every Thursday we go to the park.

The difference:

  • svaki četvrtak – četvrtak is in the nominative; this is very common and perfectly natural.
  • svakog četvrtka – četvrtka is in the genitive; this is a common pattern for expressions of time (genitive of time).

In practice, they are both used in everyday speech with almost no difference in meaning. Some speakers might feel svakog četvrtka is a bit more formal or bookish, but both are correct.

Why isn’t četvrtak capitalized like Thursday is in English?

In Croatian, names of days of the week are written with a lowercase letter:

  • ponedjeljak (Monday)
  • utorak (Tuesday)
  • srijeda (Wednesday)
  • četvrtak (Thursday)
  • petak (Friday)
  • subota (Saturday)
  • nedjelja (Sunday)

So četvrtak is correctly written with a small č, even at the start of a sentence only the first word is capitalized (Svaki, not Četvrtak).

What exactly does idemo mean, and which form of the verb is it?

Idemo means we go or we are going.

It is the 1st person plural present tense of the verb ići (to go):

  • ja idem – I go / I am going
  • ti ideš – you go / you are going (singular, informal)
  • on/ona/ono ide – he/she/it goes / is going
  • mi idemo – we go / we are going
  • vi idete – you go / you are going (plural or formal)
  • oni/one/ona idu – they go / are going

So idemo = we go / we are going.

Why is there no word for we? Why is it just idemo, not mi idemo?

Croatian usually drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

  • idemo already tells you it is we (1st person plural).
  • mi idemo is also correct, but you usually only add mi for emphasis or contrast, for example:
    • Mi idemo u park, a oni idu u kino.
      (We are going to the park, and they are going to the cinema.)

So in a neutral sentence like Svaki četvrtak idemo u park, it is more natural to leave mi out.

Does idemo here mean a regular habit, like we go every Thursday, or something happening right now, like we are going (this Thursday)?

The Croatian present tense covers both:

  • current action (we are going now)
  • habitual/repeated action (we go regularly)

In Svaki četvrtak idemo u park, the adverbial phrase svaki četvrtak makes it clear this is a habitual action:

  • Svaki četvrtak idemo u park.
    = Every Thursday we go to the park (as a routine).

If you wanted to emphasize that something is happening right now, you would usually add a time expression like sad (now), upravo (right now), etc.

Why is it u park, not u parku? What is the difference?

The preposition u (in, into) can take:

  • accusative for movement into a place
  • locative for being in a place

u park – accusative (park) → movement
u parku – locative (parku) → location

So:

  • Idemo u park.
    We are going into the park. (movement → accusative)
  • Mi smo u parku.
    We are in the park. (location → locative)

In the sentence Svaki četvrtak idemo u park, there is movement toward the park, so accusative park is used.

Why is park not changed in form? It looks the same as the basic dictionary form.

Park is a masculine inanimate noun. In Croatian, for masculine inanimate nouns:

  • nominative singular and accusative singular are usually the same.

For park:

  • nominative singular: park (subject)
  • accusative singular: park (object of movement with u)
  • locative singular: parku

Examples:

  • Park je velik. – The park is big. (nominative)
  • Idemo u park. – We are going to the park. (accusative)
  • Sjedimo u parku. – We are sitting in the park. (locative)

So park after u indicates accusative here because the verb shows movement.

Can I change the word order, like Idemo u park svaki četvrtak? Is that still correct?

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible. All of these are grammatical:

  • Svaki četvrtak idemo u park.
  • Idemo u park svaki četvrtak.
  • U park idemo svaki četvrtak.

They all mean Every Thursday we go to the park.

The differences are mainly in emphasis and naturalness:

  • Svaki četvrtak idemo u park. – neutral, very natural; focus slightly on the time (every Thursday).
  • Idemo u park svaki četvrtak. – also neutral; some speakers might feel the focus moves a bit more to the action idemo u park.
  • U park idemo svaki četvrtak. – stronger emphasis on u park (to the park), e.g. contrasting with some other place.

For a beginner, Svaki četvrtak idemo u park and Idemo u park svaki četvrtak are the safest, most natural options.

Is there another common way to say every Thursday besides svaki četvrtak?

Yes, a common alternative is:

  • Četvrtkom idemo u park.

Here, četvrtkom is the instrumental form of četvrtak, and it can be used to mean on Thursdays / every Thursday in a general, habitual sense.

So:

  • Svaki četvrtak idemo u park.
  • Četvrtkom idemo u park.

Both mean roughly We go to the park on Thursdays / every Thursday, with a very similar idea of a repeated habit.

How do you pronounce svaki četvrtak? The group of consonants in četvrtak looks difficult.

Pronunciation tips:

  • svaki:

    • sva like sva in Swan (but short)
    • ki like key
      → SVA-ki, stress usually on sva

  • četvrtak:

    • č = ch in church
    • e = short e like in bed
    • tvrt is all consonants; pronounce each one clearly: t-v-r-t
    • ak like uck in luck but with a as in father
      → roughly CHE-tvrt-ak, with stress on the first syllable če

Say it smoothly as SVA-ki CHE-tvrt-ak.

How would I change this sentence for other days, like every Monday or every Sunday?

You keep svaki (or adjust it for gender) and change the day:

Days (nominative singular):

  • ponedjeljak – Monday (masculine)
  • utorak – Tuesday (masculine)
  • srijeda – Wednesday (feminine)
  • četvrtak – Thursday (masculine)
  • petak – Friday (masculine)
  • subota – Saturday (feminine)
  • nedjelja – Sunday (feminine)

Agreement with svaki:

  • masculine: svaki ponedjeljak / svaki utorak / svaki četvrtak / svaki petak
  • feminine: svaka srijeda / svaka subota / svaka nedjelja

Examples:

  • Svaki ponedjeljak idemo u park. – Every Monday we go to the park.
  • Svaka srijeda idemo u park. (more natural: Svake srijede idemo u park.) – Every Wednesday we go to the park.
  • Svake nedjelje idemo u park. – Every Sunday we go to the park.

For feminine nouns, the genitive form is much more common in practice (svake srijede, svake subote, svake nedjelje).