Cijelu večer gledamo seriju na televiziji.

We are watching a series on television the whole evening.

Breakdown of Cijelu večer gledamo seriju na televiziji.

• gledati: to watch
• na: on
• večer: evening
• serija: series

Questions & Answers about Cijelu večer gledamo seriju na televiziji.

Why is it cijelu večer and not cijela večer?

Cijelu is the feminine singular accusative form of the adjective cijeli (whole, entire).

• The noun večer (evening) is feminine.
• In the sentence, cijelu večer means “(for) the whole evening” – a duration of time.
• Durations of time in Croatian are often expressed using the accusative case without a preposition.

So:

• Nominative (subject): cijela večer = the whole evening (as a thing)
• Accusative (duration): cijelu večer = (for) the whole evening

Because here we’re talking about how long we are doing something, we need the accusative: cijelu večer.

What case is večer, and why does it look the same as in the dictionary?

In cijelu večer, the noun večer is in the accusative singular, but it looks the same as the nominative (dictionary form).

For the noun večer:

• Nominative singular: večer
• Accusative singular: večer

They are identical in form, which is normal for many feminine nouns.
We know it is accusative here because:

1. It follows the adjective cijelu, which is clearly in the feminine accusative (cijelu not cijela), and
2. It expresses a time duration (“for the whole evening”), which uses the accusative.