Learn Hardcore Croatian: U susjedstvu poznajem skoro sve susjede, jer često zajedno pijemo kavu ispred zgrade. - In the neighborhood I know almost all the neighbors, because we often drink coffee together in front of the building.

The preposition u (in) can take either locative (static location) or accusative (movement into).
Here, it’s about being in the neighbourhood (no movement), so we use u + locative:
- u susjedstvu = in the neighbourhood (locative)
- u susjedstvo = into the neighbourhood (accusative, movement toward)

So: U susjedstvu = In the neighbourhood (where? → locative: susjedstvu).

Why is it skoro sve susjede and not skoro svi susjedi?

Skoro sve susjede is in the accusative plural, because it is the direct object of the verb poznajem (I know).

koga / što poznajem? (whom/what do I know?) → skoro sve susjede
Masculine animate nouns like susjed (neighbour) have -e in the accusative plural:
- Nominative plural: susjedi (subject)
- Accusative plural: susjede (direct object)

If you said skoro svi susjedi, that would be nominative plural and would normally be the subject, e.g.

Skoro svi susjedi me poznaju. – Almost all the neighbours know me.

What is the difference between poznajem and znam? Could I say Znam skoro sve susjede?

Both poznajem and znam can translate as to know, but they aren’t used in exactly the same way.

poznajem = to know (be acquainted with) people, places, things personally / from experience
- Poznajem skoro sve susjede. – I am personally acquainted with almost all the neighbours.
znam = to know facts, information, how to do something, or to know of someone’s existence
- Znam tko su moji susjedi. – I know who my neighbours are.
- Znam voziti. – I know how to drive.

You can say Znam skoro sve susjede, and it’s understandable, but native speakers will more naturally use poznajem in this context because it’s about personal acquaintance.

Why is it pijemo kavu, not something like pijemo kava or pijemo kave?

Kavu is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of pijemo (we drink).

što pijemo? (what do we drink?) → kavu
kava is a feminine noun:
- Nominative singular: kava
- Accusative singular: kavu

So pijemo kavu = we drink coffee. There are no articles in Croatian (a/the), so you just say kavu.

Kava (nom.) would be correct if it were the subject (e.g. Kava je vruća. – The coffee is hot).
Kave would be genitive singular or nominative plural, neither of which is needed here.

Why is zgrade used after ispred, and which case is that?

Zgrade is in the genitive singular, required by the preposition ispred (in front of).

Many prepositions in Croatian always take a specific case.
ispred always takes the genitive:
- ispred kuće – in front of the house
- ispred škole – in front of the school
- ispred zgrade – in front of the building

So zgrade is genitive singular of zgrada (building).

Can the word order be different? For example, can I say Skoro sve susjede poznajem u susjedstvu?

Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible because of the case endings.

You can say, for example:

U susjedstvu poznajem skoro sve susjede.
Skoro sve susjede poznajem u susjedstvu.
Skoro sve susjede u susjedstvu poznajem.

All are grammatically correct and have the same core meaning. The differences are about emphasis and style:

Starting with U susjedstvu emphasizes the location.
Starting with Skoro sve susjede emphasizes how many neighbours you know.

The original sentence is very natural and neutral.

Why are both često and zajedno used? Where do these adverbs usually go?

Često = often, zajedno = together. They are both adverbs modifying the verb pijemo (we drink).

Typical positions:

često (frequency) usually comes before the verb:
- često pijemo kavu – we often drink coffee
zajedno (manner) is often close to the verb or after a frequency adverb:
- često zajedno pijemo kavu – we often drink coffee together

You can move them somewhat:

Zajedno često pijemo kavu. (also possible)
But Često zajedno pijemo kavu is the most natural rhythm here.

Why is jer used here and not zato što? Are they the same?

Both jer and zato što can mean because, but they differ slightly:

jer is a simple conjunction, very common and neutral:
- … poznajem skoro sve susjede, jer često zajedno pijemo kavu…
zato što is a two-part structure zato (for that reason) + što (that), giving a slightly stronger or more explicit for that reason, because… feel.

You could also say:

… poznajem skoro sve susjede zato što često zajedno pijemo kavu…

In this sentence, jer is completely natural and slightly shorter and lighter.

Why is it pijemo and not something like pijemo se or popijemo?

pijemo = present tense, 1st person plural, imperfective aspect of piti (to drink). It describes a repeated / habitual action:
- često pijemo kavu – we often drink coffee (regularly).
popijemo would be the perfective form (to drink up, to finish drinking), and it would sound more like we (completely) drink (it) up, focusing on finishing the action rather than the habit. That doesn’t fit as well with često in this context.
Adding se (pijemo se) would be wrong here. Piti se can mean to drink alcohol a lot / get drunk, which is a different meaning.

Why isn’t there any subject pronoun like mi in pijemo kavu?

In Croatian, the verb ending usually shows the subject, so subject pronouns (ja, ti, on, mi, vi, oni) are often omitted unless you want to emphasize them.

pijemo ends in -emo, which clearly shows mi (we).
You can say Mi često pijemo kavu, but that stresses we (as opposed to someone else).

In neutral statements like this, omitting mi is more natural.

Could I say U susjedstvu znam skoro sve susjede instead? How does that sound?

Yes, U susjedstvu znam skoro sve susjede is grammatically correct and understandable.

However, poznajem sounds more natural here because it highlights personal acquaintance with the neighbours. Znam would lean slightly more toward I know who they are / I’m aware of them, while poznajem suggests I actually know them personally (we greet each other, talk, etc.).

So the original poznajem is the better, more idiomatic choice in this sentence.