Vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj.

On weekends I prepare soup for the family.

Breakdown of Vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj.

• obitelj: family
• za: for
• vikendom: on weekends
• juha: soup
• pripremati: to prepare

Questions & Answers about Vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj.

Why is it vikendom and not za vikend?

Both exist, but they are not identical in meaning.

• vikendom (instrumental) usually means “on weekends / at weekends (as a habit, regularly)”

  • Vikendom pripremam juhu. = I (generally) make soup on weekends.

• za vikend (preposition za

  • accusative) is more like “over the weekend / this weekend / at the weekend”, often referring to a more specific time period (one weekend, or a particular upcoming/previous one).
  • Za vikend pripremam juhu. = I’m making soup over the weekend (this/that weekend).

In your sentence, vikendom fits well because it describes a regular, habitual action.

What case is vikendom, and why does it end in -om?

Vikendom is in the instrumental singular case.

• Nominative: vikend (a weekend)
• Instrumental: vikendom

The instrumental with -om is often used in time expressions to mean “on [that day/period], generally/regularly”:

• ponedjeljkom – on Mondays
• subotom – on Saturdays
• noću – at night
• vikendom – on weekends

So the -om ending here is a standard way to form a time adverbial: “on weekends”.

Why is the verb pripremam in the simple present if the meaning is “I usually prepare / I prepare on weekends”? Is there any special tense for habits?

Croatian uses the ordinary present tense for:

• actions happening right now
• regular, habitual actions
• general truths, etc.

There is no separate “present continuous” tense like English:

• Pripremam juhu.
  – can mean “I am preparing soup (right now)”
  – or “I (usually) prepare soup”, depending on context.

Because you also have vikendom, the sentence clearly describes a habit:

• Vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj.
  = On weekends, I (usually) prepare soup for the family.

What is the difference between pripremam and pripremiti / pripremim?

This is about aspect, very important in Croatian.

• pripremati – imperfective aspect

  • present: pripremam, pripremaš, priprema…
  • used for ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions
  • your sentence uses this: pripremam

• pripremiti – perfective aspect

  • present (form): pripremim, pripremiš, pripremi…
  • usually refers to a single, completed action, often with future-like meaning:
    
    • Ako stignem, pripremim juhu. – If I make it in time, I (will) prepare soup.

For a general habit (on weekends I prepare…), you must use the imperfective:
Vikendom pripremam juhu, not pripremim.

How is pripremam conjugated, and which person is it?

Pripremam is:

• verb: pripremati (to prepare)
• tense: present
• person/number: first person singular (I)

Present conjugation of pripremati:

• ja pripremam – I prepare
• ti pripremaš – you (sg.) prepare
• on/ona/ono priprema – he/she/it prepares
• mi pripremamo – we prepare
• vi pripremate – you (pl./formal) prepare
• oni/one/ona pripremaju – they prepare

Why is it juhu and not juha?

Because juhu is the accusative singular form of juha (soup):

• Nominative: juha – subject
  
  • Juha je vruća. – The soup is hot.
• Accusative: juhu – direct object (what you prepare)
  
  • Pripremam juhu. – I am preparing soup.

In Vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj, juhu is the object of pripremam, so it must be accusative.

What gender is juha, and what are its main case forms?

Juha is a feminine noun.

Singular declension:

• Nominative: juha (subject) – Ova juha je ukusna.
• Genitive: juhe – Taste juhe (the taste of the soup)
• Dative: juhi – Pridaj soli juhi. (Add salt to the soup.)
• Accusative: juhu – Pripremam juhu.
• Vocative: juho – very rare, mostly in jokes
• Locative: juhi – U juhi ima mrkve. (In the soup…)
• Instrumental: juhom – Zadovoljan sam ovom juhom.

Here you only need to notice: juha → juhu as direct object.

What does za obitelj literally mean, and why is it obitelj (not obitelji)?

Za obitelj means “for (the) family”.

• za always takes the accusative case.
• obitelj is a feminine noun whose nominative and accusative singular are the same form: obitelj.

So in the sentence:

• Preposition: za
• Case required: accusative
• Form: obitelj (nominative = accusative)

That’s why you see za obitelj, not za obitelji.
Za obitelji would be a different case (for families – genitive or dative/locative plural, depending on context).

Could I say za svoju obitelj instead of za obitelj? What’s the difference?

Yes:

• za obitelj – for (the) family, usually understood as your own family from context.
• za svoju obitelj – for my own family, with svoju emphasizing that the family is yours.

Svoj / svoja / svoje is a reflexive possessive (my/our own), used when the owner is also the subject:

• Vikendom pripremam juhu za svoju obitelj.
  – On weekends I make soup for my (own) family.

Both versions are correct; za svoju obitelj just makes “my” explicit.

Is the word order fixed? Can I move vikendom or za obitelj to other positions?

Croatian word order is fairly flexible. All of these are grammatically correct, with slight differences in emphasis:

• Vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj. – neutral; focus on time (on weekends).
• Juhu za obitelj pripremam vikendom. – emphasizes the soup for the family.
• Za obitelj vikendom pripremam juhu. – highlights for the family.

The basic information doesn’t change; word order is often used to adjust what is emphasized or what sounds most natural in a particular context.

Why is there no ja in the sentence? Is Ja vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj also correct?

Croatian is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (ja, ti, on…) are usually omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Pripremam clearly means “I prepare”, so ja is not needed.

Both are grammatically correct:

• Vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj. – neutral, normal.
• Ja vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj. – adds emphasis on “I”, as in
  “I (as opposed to someone else) make soup for the family on weekends.”

Use ja when you want to stress the subject.

Could I use kuham instead of pripremam here? Do pripremam juhu and kuham juhu mean the same thing?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different flavors:

• pripremam juhu – prepare soup

  • slightly broader: includes planning, chopping, seasoning, heating, serving – the whole “getting it ready” process.

• kuham juhu – cook soup

  • focuses more on the cooking/boiling action itself.

In everyday speech, people often use kuhati for making food, so you might also hear:

• Vikendom kuham juhu za obitelj.

Your original pripremam juhu is perfectly natural and a bit more general.

How do I pronounce vikendom pripremam juhu za obitelj?

Approximate pronunciation for an English speaker:

• Vikendom – VEE-ken-dom (stress on VEE)
• pripremam – pree-PREH-mam (stress on PRE; rolled or tapped r)
• juhu – YOO-hu (the h is like a harsh ch in German Bach)
• za – zah
• obitelj – oh-BEE-tyel (stress on BEE; final lj is like ly in million)

All words have one main stress, usually near the beginning, and vowels are clear and short (no diphthongs like in English).