Vikendom bismo trebali biti opušteniji i manje gledati televiziju.

On weekends we should be more relaxed and watch television less.

Breakdown of Vikendom bismo trebali biti opušteniji i manje gledati televiziju.

• biti: to be
• i: and
• gledati: to watch
• manje: less
• vikendom: on weekends
• televizija: television
• trebati: should
• opušteniji: more relaxed

Questions & Answers about Vikendom bismo trebali biti opušteniji i manje gledati televiziju.

What exactly does Vikendom mean, and why is there no preposition like “u vikendu” or “za vikend”?

Vikendom literally comes from the noun vikend (weekend) + the instrumental ending -om.

Grammatically it’s instrumental singular, but in practice it functions like an adverb meaning:

• “on weekends / at weekends / during the weekend (in general)”

In Croatian, times that are understood as a repeated, habitual period are often expressed with this -om form without a preposition:

• Vikendom radim. = I work on weekends.
• Subotom izlazimo. = We go out on Saturdays.

You can also say:

• Za vikend – usually this/that specific weekend, more concrete.
• Preko vikenda – “over the weekend,” also often one specific period.

So:

• Vikendom → generally, habitually, “on weekends as a rule”.
• No preposition is needed; the form itself already carries the “during that time” meaning.

Why is it bismo trebali and not just trebamo? Don’t both mean “we should/we need to”?

Both are from the verb trebati (“to need / should”), but the nuance is different:

• trebamo = present tense
  
  • More direct obligation: “we need to / we have to / we must”
• bismo trebali = conditional
  
  • Softer, more hypothetical or polite: “we should / we ought to”

In this sentence:

• Vikendom trebamo biti opušteniji…
  = On weekends we have to be more relaxed… (sounds stronger, more like a rule or duty).

• Vikendom bismo trebali biti opušteniji…
  = On weekends we should be more relaxed… (sounds like advice, suggestion, ideal).

So bismo trebali is chosen because it matches the English “should” tone.

What is bismo exactly, and where can it go in the sentence?

bismo is the conditional auxiliary for “we” (1st person plural). It combines with a past participle (here trebali) to form the conditional:

• bismo + trebali = we would/should

About placement:

• bismo is a clitic – a short unstressed word that usually goes in second position in the sentence (or in its “clause”).

In your sentence:

• Vikendom bismo trebali biti opušteniji… ✅
  
  • Vikendom (first stressed word)
  • bismo (second-position clitic)

You can move other words, but bismo must stay in that clitic cluster:

• Mi bismo vikendom trebali biti opušteniji… ✅
• Trebali bismo vikendom biti opušteniji… ✅ (here trebali is first, bismo is second)

But:

• *Bismo vikendom trebali biti opušteniji… ❌ (clitic cannot start the sentence)

Why is it trebali and not trebao, trebala, or trebalo?

Trebali is the masculine plural form of the past participle of trebati.

In the conditional:

• The auxiliary bismo agrees with the subject in person/number (1st person plural).
• The participle (trebali) agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Implied subject here is mi (“we”):

• If the group is mixed or all male → mi (masc. pl.) → trebali bismo / bismo trebali
• All women → mi (fem. pl.) → trebale bismo / bismo trebale
• Neuter plural (things) → trebala bismo / bismo trebala (rare in real use)

So alternatives:

• Mi bismo trebali biti opušteniji… (group includes at least one male)
• Mi bismo trebale biti opuštenije… (group of women only)

The sentence as given assumes the default/mixed-group masculine plural, hence trebali.

Is bismo trebali biti kind of “double auxiliary”? Can we drop biti and just say bismo trebali opušteniji?

You can’t drop biti here; that would be ungrammatical.

Structure:

• bismo + trebali → conditional of trebati (“we should”)
• Followed by infinitives:
  
  • biti opušteniji = be more relaxed
  • (manje) gledati televiziju = watch (less) TV

So the pattern is:

• (Mi) bismo trebali + infinitive(s)

You can have several infinitives:

• Bismo trebali biti opušteniji i manje gledati televiziju.

But trebali itself is not the main verb of “being relaxed”; biti is. So:

• *Vikendom bismo trebali opušteniji ❌
  → missing the verb biti (“to be”).

Why is opušteniji in that form, and what does it agree with?

Opušteniji is the comparative of the adjective opušten (“relaxed”).

Base forms:

• masc. sg.: opušten
• fem. sg.: opuštena
• neut. sg.: opušteno

Comparative:

• masc. sg./pl. m.: opušteniji
• fem. sg.: opuštenija
• neut. sg. & fem/MASC? pl. (non-masc-personal etc.): opuštenije (form depends on context, but you’ll often hear opuštenije for fem pl.)

In this sentence:

• Subject: (mi) – “we” (default/mixed group → masculine plural)
• Predicate: opušteniji (masculine plural form used as a predicative adjective)

It agrees in:

• Number → plural (because we)
• Gender → masculine (default/mixed)

If it were a group of women only, you’d say:

• Mi bismo trebale biti opuštenije.
  (feminine plural comparative form)

Why is manje before gledati, and could I say gledati manje televizije instead?

Manje is an adverb meaning “less”.

In manje gledati televiziju:

• manje modifies the verb: “to watch less (often / for a shorter time / in a smaller amount) TV”.

You can also say:

• gledati manje televizije

Then:

• manje modifies the noun televizije (genitive), so it sounds more like:
  • “to watch less (of the) television content / a smaller quantity of TV”.

Difference in nuance (often very subtle):

• manje gledati televiziju – focus on the activity of watching being reduced (frequency, duration).
• gledati manje televizije – focus on the amount of TV consumed.

Both are grammatically correct; your sentence chooses the more general “do the activity less” reading.

Why is it gledati televiziju and not gledati televizija?

Gledati (“to watch”) is a transitive verb and takes its object in the accusative case.

• Nominative (dictionary form): televizija
• Accusative (object form): televiziju

So:

• (Što?) gledati televiziju = watch TV (the medium, TV programming)

Using nominative (*gledati televizija) would be ungrammatical because nominative is for subjects, not for direct objects in this kind of sentence.

What’s the difference between gledati televiziju, gledati televizor, and just saying gledati TV?

All are common, but they don’t mean exactly the same thing:

1. gledati televiziju

   • Literally: “to watch television” (the broadcasting, programs).
   • Focus on the content you’re watching.

2. gledati televizor

   • Literally: “to watch the TV set (device)”.
   • Used colloquially, but feels a bit more like you’re staring at the physical appliance. People still say it, though.

3. gledati TV

   • TV is an abbreviation borrowed from English; very common in speech.
   • Meaning is basically the same as gledati televiziju: watch TV (programs).

In a neutral standard sentence like yours, gledati televiziju is the most natural, “textbook” choice.

Why is the verb gledati in the infinitive and not gledamo (we watch)?

Because it depends on trebali bismo (“we should”), and trebati in this construction is followed by an infinitive:

• (Mi) bismo trebali manje gledati televiziju.
  = We should watch TV less.

Pattern:

• bismo trebali + infinitive
  
  • biti opušteniji (be more relaxed)
  • manje gledati televiziju (watch less TV)

If you used a finite verb like gledamo, you’d need a different structure:

• (Mi) bismo trebali da manje gledamo televiziju.
  → possible in some varieties/regions, but the simple trebati + infinitive is more standard and neutral.

Could we say Vikendom trebamo biti opušteniji i manje gledati televiziju instead? How does that change the meaning?

Yes, that sentence is fully grammatical:

• Vikendom trebamo biti opušteniji i manje gledati televiziju.

Meaning difference:

• trebamo – present tense, more direct:

  • “we need to / we must / we are supposed to”

• bismo trebali – conditional, softer:

  • “we should / it would be better if we”

So:

• Vikendom trebamo… – sounds like a clear rule or obligation.
• Vikendom bismo trebali… – sounds more like advice, recommendation, or an ideal (“it would be good if we…”).

Both are correct; the original just has a gentler tone.

Is there any difference between Vikendom bismo trebali… and Za vikend bismo trebali…?

Yes, mainly in how general/specific the time expression is.

• Vikendom

  • Habitual, general: “On weekends (as a general rule) we should…”
  • Suggests a repeated pattern, something true for all or most weekends.

• Za vikend

  • More often a specific upcoming/past weekend, or a more concrete time span:
    • Za ovaj vikend bismo trebali… → For this weekend we should…
  • Can still be used more generally, but the default feeling is more concrete.

So:

• Vikendom bismo trebali biti opušteniji… → As a general lifestyle rule for weekends.
• Za vikend bismo trebali biti opušteniji… → Sounds more like “for the weekend (e.g. this weekend), we should be more relaxed.”

If the group is all female, how would the whole sentence change?

You would adjust the participle trebali and the adjective opušteniji to feminine plural:

• Masculine/mixed group (original):

  • Vikendom bismo trebali biti opušteniji i manje gledati televiziju.

• All-female group:

  • Vikendom bismo trebale biti opuštenije i manje gledati televiziju.

Changes:

• trebali → trebale (feminine plural past participle)
• opušteniji → opuštenije (feminine plural comparative form)

Everything else stays the same.