Learn Hardcore Croatian: Poslije napornog dana na poslu ne volim imati goste u dnevnom boravku. - After a tiring day at work I don’t like to have guests in the living room.

Poslije napornog dana na poslu ne volim imati goste u dnevnom boravku.

After a tiring day at work I don’t like to have guests in the living room.

Breakdown of Poslije napornog dana na poslu ne volim imati goste u dnevnom boravku.

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Questions & Answers about Poslije napornog dana na poslu ne volim imati goste u dnevnom boravku.

Why is it poslije napornog dana, and not poslije naporan dan? Which case is used here?

The preposition poslije (after) in standard Croatian is followed by the genitive case.

naporan dan = nominative (basic dictionary form)
napornog dana = genitive singular masculine

So:

poslije + genitive → poslije napornog dana = after a tiring day

You must change both the adjective and the noun to genitive:

naporan → napornog
dan → dana

What is the difference between poslije and nakon? Could I say Nakon napornog dana na poslu…?

poslije and nakon both mean after and both take the genitive case:

poslije napornog dana
nakon napornog dana

In this sentence, you can absolutely say:

Nakon napornog dana na poslu ne volim imati goste u dnevnom boravku.

Nuances:

poslije is slightly more everyday / neutral.
nakon can sound a bit more formal or written, but is also common in speech.

Grammatically, both are correct here.

Why is it na poslu and not u poslu? What is the difference?

Both na and u can mean in/at, but they are used with different types of locations and activities.

na poslu = at work (at your job) → this is the standard phrase
u poslu literally = in work / inside some work / in the middle of some task, and is used much less often in this sense

Compare:

Bila je cijeli dan na poslu. – She was at work all day.
U poslu sam, nazvat ću te kasnije. – I’m busy / in the middle of work, I’ll call you later.

In your sentence, na poslu is the normal, idiomatic choice for “at work (the workplace)”.

What form is poslu? How does it come from posao?

posao (work, job) is a masculine noun with a stem change.

Cases (singular):

Nominative: posao
Genitive: posla
Dative: poslu
Accusative: posao
Locative: poslu
Instrumental: poslom

After na with the meaning of being at a place (no movement), you use the locative:

na + locative → na poslu (at work)

Here poslu is locative singular of posao.

Why do we say ne volim imati and not something like ne volim da imam?

Both exist, but they’re not used in the same way.

voljeti + infinitive is the normal, very common structure to express liking/disliking doing something:
- Volim čitati. – I like to read / I like reading.
- Ne volim imati goste. – I don’t like having guests.
voljeti da + present tense is used much more rarely and usually expresses a wish, preference, or attitude, not a general habit:
- Volim da je sve uredno. – I like (it when) everything is tidy.
- Ne volim da ljudi kasne. – I don’t like it when people are late.

In your sentence, you’re talking about a general habit / preference, so ne volim imati is the natural choice.
Ne volim da imam goste is grammatically possible, but sounds less natural and more like “I don’t like it that I have guests” rather than “I don’t like having guests”.

Why is imati in the infinitive? Could I say ne volim da imam goste instead?

ne volim imati goste = standard, natural way to say I don’t like having guests.
ne volim da imam goste = possible, but less idiomatic and with a slightly different feel.

Structure:

voljeti + infinitive → ne volim imati (I don’t like to have / having)
voljeti da + verb → more like I like / don’t like it when… / I like it that…

So you should keep the infinitive here: ne volim imati goste.

What does imati goste literally mean? Is it like “own guests”?

Literally, imati = to have and gosti = guests, so literally to have guests.
But in Croatian, imati goste is a fixed expression meaning:

to have guests over / to have people visiting your home.

It does not imply ownership, just like English “have guests” doesn’t imply you own them. It’s simply the natural way to say that people are visiting you.

Why is it goste and not gosti?

gost (guest) is a masculine noun. Its forms (singular vs plural, nominative vs accusative) are important:

Singular:

Nominative: gost (subject)
Accusative: gosta (object – animate)

Plural:

Nominative: gosti (subject)
Accusative: goste (object – animate)

In the sentence:

imati koga? što? → imati goste

Here goste is accusative plural, because gosti are the direct object of the verb imati.

Compare:

Gosti su u dnevnom boravku. – Guests are in the living room. (subject → nominative plural)
Imam goste u dnevnom boravku. – I have guests in the living room. (object → accusative plural)

Why is it u dnevnom boravku and not u dnevni boravak?

In Croatian, prepositions u and na work like this:

u / na + accusative → movement into / onto something
u / na + locative → being in / on something (no movement)

Here, the sentence describes a state, not movement:

You don’t like having guests (being) in the living room.
No one is going into the living room in this sentence.

So you use locative:

u + locative → u dnevnom boravku = in the living room

If you talked about movement, you’d use accusative:

Idem u dnevni boravak. – I’m going to the living room.
Ulaze u dnevni boravak. – They are entering the living room.

So:

u dnevnom boravku – location (where?)
u dnevni boravak – direction (where to?)

What is the grammatical form of dnevnom boravku?

The phrase dnevni boravak is:

dnevni – adjective (daily/daytime/living‑room, here: living room)
boravak – masculine noun (stay, residence, but in this phrase = living room)

Its basic (dictionary) form is:

Nominative singular: dnevni boravak

In the sentence, we have:

u → requires locative for a static place
Locative singular masculine:
- dnevni → dnevnom
- boravak → boravku

So:

u dnevnom boravku = in the living room (locative masculine singular).

Could I say dnevna soba instead of dnevni boravak?

Yes, both are used and understood:

dnevni boravak – very common, perhaps slightly more neutral or modern.
dnevna soba – also common, literally day room / living room.

You can say:

…ne volim imati goste u dnevnoj sobi.

Here, dnevna soba is feminine, so in the locative:

u dnevnoj sobi (not u dnevnom sobi).

Is the word order fixed? Could I move poslije napornog dana na poslu to the end?

Croatian word order is relatively flexible. You can move parts to change emphasis or style.

Your original sentence:

Poslije napornog dana na poslu ne volim imati goste u dnevnom boravku.

Other acceptable orders:

Ne volim imati goste u dnevnom boravku poslije napornog dana na poslu.
Ne volim poslije napornog dana na poslu imati goste u dnevnom boravku.

All are grammatically correct. Differences are mainly in rhythm and emphasis:

Starting with Poslije napornog dana na poslu… strongly sets the time frame first.
Putting it later shifts focus more on ne volim imati goste u dnevnom boravku and then adds when that applies.

For a learner, the original word order is natural and clear.

Why is the negation on volim (ne volim) and not on imati (volim ne imati goste)?

In Croatian, to express “I don’t like doing X”, you typically negate voljeti, not the infinitive:

Volim imati goste. – I like having guests.
Ne volim imati goste. – I don’t like having guests.

Volim ne imati goste sounds very unnatural and would mean something like I like not having guests (a very strange, marked idea, and still awkward).

Rule of thumb:
To say you like or dislike an activity generally:

(Ne) volim + infinitive

So:

Ne volim imati goste is the proper form.