Za nju pripremam ribu, a za njega pripremam meso.

and

Breakdown of Za nju pripremam ribu, a za njega pripremam meso.

• za: for
• meso: meat
• nju: her
• pripremati: to prepare
• riba: fish
• njega: him

Questions & Answers about Za nju pripremam ribu, a za njega pripremam meso.

What does za mean here, and why do we need it before nju and njega?

Za is a preposition that usually means for (among other meanings).

In this sentence:

• za nju = for her
• za njega = for him

You can’t say *nju pripremam ribu or *njega pripremam meso to mean I prepare fish for her / meat for him.
The preposition za is required to express the idea of for (someone) in this context.

So the structure is:

• za + accusative → for + object
  
  • za nju (for her)
  • za njega (for him)
  • za mamu (for mum)
  • za prijatelja (for a friend)

What case are nju and njega, and how do they relate to ona and on?

Ona and on are nominative (dictionary form) meaning she and he.
In this sentence we use the accusative form of the 3rd person pronoun after za.

• ona → accusative nju
• on → accusative njega

So:

• za nju = for her (literally: for she → for her)
• za njega = for him (literally: for he → for him)

Compare:

• Ona jede. – She is eating. (subject → nominative)
• Gledam nju. – I’m watching her. (object → accusative)
• Za njega radim. – I work for him. (object of preposition → accusative)

Could we use joj or njemu instead of nju and njega?

Joj and njemu are dative forms (mainly “to her / to him”), not accusative.

• joj = to her (dative)
• njemu = to him (dative)

With za, you need the accusative, so za nju, za njega are correct.

However, if you change the construction, you can use dative:

• Pripremam joj ribu. – I’m preparing fish for her.
• Pripremam mu meso. – I’m preparing meat for him.

Here:

• joj and mu are indirect objects (to/for her, to/for him).
• There is no za in this version.

So:

• With za → accusative: za nju, za njega
• Without za, using an indirect object → dative clitics: joj, mu

Why is it ribu and meso, not riba and meso or something else?

Riba (fish) is a feminine noun. In this sentence, it’s the direct object of pripremam, so it must be in the accusative:

• Nominative: riba
• Accusative: ribu

That’s why the sentence has ribu.

Meso (meat) is a neuter noun that has the same form in nominative and accusative:

• Nominative: meso
• Accusative: meso

So meso stays meso even as an object. Both ribu and meso are in the accusative here; they just look different because of their gender/declension type.

Why is there no word for the or a before ribu and meso?

Croatian does not have articles like the or a/an. Nouns appear without articles, and definiteness is understood from context.

So:

• pripremam ribu can mean I’m preparing fish, I’m preparing the fish, or I’m preparing a fish, depending on what is already known from the situation or previous conversation.

Same with meso:

• pripremam meso can be I’m preparing (some) meat or I’m preparing the meat.

Context, word order, and sometimes additional words (like ovu = this, onu = that) help specify which meaning is intended.

Why is there no word for I? Where is the subject?

In Croatian, the subject pronoun is usually dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• pripremam ends in -am, which clearly marks 1st person singular (I).

So:

• Ja pripremam ribu. = I prepare fish.
• Pripremam ribu. = I prepare fish. (the same, but more natural)

You could say:

• Ja za nju pripremam ribu…
  to emphasize I (as opposed to someone else), but normally you just omit ja.

What does the conjunction a mean here? Is it the same as i?

Both a and i can be translated as and, but they have different nuances.

• i = neutral and, just adding things.
• a = and / while / whereas, often marking contrast or a slight opposition.

In this sentence:

• Za nju pripremam ribu, a za njega pripremam meso.

a suggests a contrast:

• For her I’m preparing fish, whereas for him I’m preparing meat.

You could say i, but a is more natural because you are contrasting what you do for her vs him.

Can we avoid repeating pripremam in the second part of the sentence?

Yes. Croatian often omits repeated verbs when the meaning is clear. A very natural version is:

• Za nju pripremam ribu, a za njega meso.

Here, pripremam is understood in the second part:

• (Za nju) pripremam ribu, a (za njega pripremam) meso.

All of these are grammatically correct:

1. Za nju pripremam ribu, a za njega pripremam meso.
2. Za nju pripremam ribu, a za njega meso.

(2) is more concise and sounds very natural in everyday speech.

Can we change the word order, for example: Pripremam ribu za nju, a meso za njega?

Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible, and your example is idiomatic:

• Pripremam ribu za nju, a meso za njega.

Meaning stays the same. Different orders highlight different parts:

• Za nju pripremam ribu, a za njega meso.
  – Emphasis a bit more on for her / for him.

• Ribu pripremam za nju, a meso za njega.
  – Emphasis on fish vs meat.

• Pripremam ribu za nju, a meso za njega.
  – Fairly neutral, close to English order.

All are acceptable; nuance comes from which element you put early in the sentence.

Could we say Pripremam joj ribu, a njemu meso instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, that is also correct:

• Pripremam joj ribu, a njemu meso.

Here you are using dative clitic pronouns:

• joj = to/for her
• njemu = to/for him

Differences:

1. With za + accusative (original):

   • Za nju pripremam ribu, a za njega meso.
     Slightly more explicit for her / for him.

2. With dative clitics:

   • Pripremam joj ribu, a njemu meso.
     More compact, very common in speech; sounds a bit more fluid and natural in many contexts.

Meaning is essentially the same: you are preparing fish for her and meat for him; only the grammar structure changes.