Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu.

On weekends I like coffee with cake.

Breakdown of Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu.

• kava: coffee
• voljeti: to like
• vikendom: on weekends
• torta: cake
• uz: with

Questions & Answers about Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu.

What does Vikendom literally mean, and what form is it in?

Vikendom is the instrumental singular of vikend (weekend).

Literally, it’s “(during) the weekend”, but in practice it functions adverbially and means “on weekends / at weekends, as a general habit.”

Croatian often uses the instrumental without a preposition for time expressions, for example:

• danju – during the day
• noću – at night
• zimi – in (the) winter

So Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu ≈ On weekends I like (having) coffee with cake.

Could I also say Za vikend or Vikendima? Are they the same as Vikendom?

You’ll hear all three, but there are slight nuances:

• Vikendom – most common, neutral “on weekends (in general, habitually)”.
• Za vikend – often “this/that weekend / at the weekend”, can sound a bit more specific or conversational:
  
  • Za vikend idem na more. – I’m going to the seaside this weekend.
• Vikendima – instrumental plural, also “on weekends”, emphasizing repeated weekends. In many contexts it overlaps with vikendom:
  
  • Vikendima radim. – I work on weekends.

In your sentence, Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu is the most natural and common way to express a general habit.

Why is there no word for “I” in the sentence? Where is the subject?

Croatian usually omits subject pronouns (ja, ti, on, ona…) because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

• volim is 1st person singular (I) form of voljeti (to like/love).
  So volim by itself means “I like / I love”.

If you want to emphasize I, you can say:

• Ja vikendom volim kavu uz tortu. – I (as opposed to someone else) like coffee with cake on weekends.

But in neutral speech, Ja is left out: Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu.

Does volim mean “I like” or “I love” here?

Volim can cover both “I like” and “I love”, depending on context and tone.

• With food, drinks, activities, it usually means “I like / I enjoy” as a general preference:
  
  • Volim kavu. – I like coffee.
• With people or very strong feelings, it can be “I love”:
  
  • Volim te. – I love you.

In Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu, the natural English translation is “I like (to have) coffee with cake on weekends.” It describes a habitual preference, not necessarily strong romantic-style love.

Why is it kavu and not kava?

Kavu is in the accusative singular, because kava is the direct object of the verb volim.

Declension of kava (feminine, -a noun):

• Nominative (subject): kava – Kava je vruća. (The coffee is hot.)
• Accusative (direct object): kavu – Volim kavu. (I like coffee.)

So in Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu, kavu is the thing you like → it must be accusative.

Why is there no word for “to drink”? How can “I like coffee” mean “I like to drink coffee”?

Croatian often omits a verb like “to drink” or “to eat” when it’s obvious from context.

• Volim kavu. – literally “I like coffee”, but naturally understood as “I like to drink coffee.”
• Ne volim meso. – I don’t like meat (to eat).

You can make it explicit:

• Vikendom volim piti kavu uz tortu. – On weekends I like to drink coffee with cake.

Both are correct; the shorter volim kavu is very common and sounds natural.

Does Croatian have words like “a” or “the” (articles) before kavu and tortu?

Standard Croatian does not use articles like English a/an or the.

So kavu could mean:

• a coffee, some coffee, or the coffee
• likewise tortu could be a cake, some cake, or the cake

The exact English article you choose depends on context, not on anything in the Croatian sentence.

Here, Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu is best translated as:

• On weekends I like (to have) coffee with cake.

What does the preposition uz mean here, and which case does it take?

Uz is a preposition that always takes the accusative case.

Its core meanings are:

1. Next to / along (spatial)
   
   • Šetamo uz rijeku. – We walk along the river.
2. Together with / in combination with (often with food, activities, etc.)
   
   • kava uz tortu – coffee with cake / coffee alongside cake
   • glazba uz večeru – music with dinner

In Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu, uz expresses that coffee and cake go together – you like coffee along with cake, as a combination.

Why is it tortu and not torta?

Tortu is the accusative singular of torta (cake).

The preposition uz requires the accusative, so:

• Nominative: torta – Torta je ukusna. (The cake is tasty.)
• Accusative after uz: uz tortu – kava uz tortu (coffee with cake)

Both kavu and tortu are in the accusative:

• volim (koga? što?) kavu – direct object of volim
• uz (koga? što?) tortu – object governed by uz

Could I say Vikendom volim tortu uz kavu instead? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can say:

• Vikendom volim tortu uz kavu.

Grammatically it’s fine, but the focus shifts slightly:

• Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu. – coffee is the main thing you say you like, and you like it with cake.
• Vikendom volim tortu uz kavu. – now cake is the main thing you like, and you like it with coffee.

Both combinations are natural; the word order and which noun is the object of volim slightly change what you’re emphasizing.

Can I change the word order, for example Volim kavu uz tortu vikendom?

Yes. Croatian word order is flexible, and all of these are possible:

• Vikendom volim kavu uz tortu. – neutral; time at the beginning.
• Volim kavu uz tortu vikendom. – similar meaning; weekend information moved to the end.
• Ja vikendom volim kavu uz tortu. – emphasizes ja (I).

The basic information doesn’t change. Putting vikendom at the beginning often sounds a bit more natural when you’re setting the time frame first.

Why is vikend in the singular (vikendom) if we mean “on weekends” (many weekends)?

This is just how Croatian expresses habitual time with some time nouns: it uses the instrumental singular to mean “(generally) on X / in X-time”.

So:

• vikendom – on weekends (in general, habitually)
• jutrom – in the morning(s)
• večerom – in the evening(s)

Even though in English we often use a plural (weekends, mornings), Croatian uses the singular instrumental.

You can use the plural vikendima, but vikendom is more common and fully natural here.