Jako volim miran park poslije posla.

I really love the quiet park after work.

Breakdown of Jako volim miran park poslije posla.

• poslije: after
• posao: work
• park: park
• voljeti: to love
• miran: quiet
• jako: really

Questions & Answers about Jako volim miran park poslije posla.

Why can the sentence start with Jako volim and not Ja jako volim? Where is I?

In Croatian, the subject pronoun (ja = I) is usually dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• volim = I love / I like
• voliš = you (sg.) love / like
• voli = he/she/it loves / likes

So volim by itself already means I love / I like.
Ja jako volim miran park poslije posla is also correct, but ja is only used when you want to emphasize I (as opposed to someone else), like:

• Ja jako volim miran park, ali on ne voli.
  (I really like a quiet park, but he doesn’t.)

Does jako mean very or really? Are there alternatives?

Jako literally means strongly, but in everyday speech it works like:

• very
• really
• a lot

Common near-synonyms:

• vrlo – more neutral/formal very
• stvarno – really, truly
• baš – really, so, totally, often emotional or emphatic

Examples with the same sentence:

• Vrlo volim miran park poslije posla. – Correct, but sounds a bit more formal.
• Stvarno volim miran park poslije posla. – I really do like a quiet park after work.
• Baš volim miran park poslije posla. – I really / so like a quiet park after work. (more colloquial)

All are acceptable; jako is a very common, neutral choice.

Is volim closer to I love or I like in English?

It can be either, depending on context and tone.

• For people and strong feelings, volim usually means I love:

  • Volim te. – I love you.

• For activities, things, and preferences, it often corresponds to I like:

  • Volim kavu. – I like coffee.
  • Jako volim miran park poslije posla. – Most naturally understood as I really like a quiet park after work, not an intense romantic love.

There’s also sviđa mi se (literally it pleases me):

• Sviđa mi se taj park. – I like that park.

Rough guide:

• volim – broader, can be strong (love) or milder (like)
• sviđa mi se – usually just like, more about a specific impression than a deep attachment

Why is it miran park and not mirnog parka?

This is about case and gender.

• park is masculine, singular, inanimate.
• In the sentence it is the direct object of volim, so it’s in the accusative case.

• For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative form is the same as the nominative:

  • nominative: park
  • accusative: park (same form)

The adjective miran must agree with park in:

• gender: masculine
• number: singular
• case: accusative (same form as nominative here)

So:

• miran park – correct for a quiet park as a direct object.

• mirnog parka is genitive, not accusative, so it would be wrong in this sentence.
  You would use mirnog parka after some prepositions or in other structures, e.g.:

  • blizu mirnog parka – near a quiet park
  • nema mirnog parka – there is no quiet park

Why does the adjective miran come before park? Can I say volim park miran?

In Croatian, descriptive adjectives almost always come before the noun:

• miran park, velika kuća, zanimljiv film

Saying volim park miran sounds ungrammatical or at best extremely odd in standard Croatian.
Post‑posed adjectives are only used in special, fixed, or poetic expressions, and even then usually with a different effect.

So for normal, everyday speech: place the adjective before the noun:

• miran park = a quiet park
• lijep park = a beautiful park

Why is it poslije posla and not poslije posao?

This is another case issue.

• poslije is a preposition meaning after.
• In Croatian, poslije always requires the genitive case.

The noun posao (work, job) in genitive singular is:

• nominative: posao
• genitive: posla

So:

• poslije posla – after work (correct)
• poslije posao – wrong case; it should not be nominative here.

What’s the difference between poslije, nakon, and posle?

All three can mean after, but with some differences:

• poslije – standard Croatian, very common:

  • Idem kući poslije posla. – I go home after work.

• nakon – also standard, slightly more formal/literary, but very common in speech too:

  • Idem kući nakon posla. – also I go home after work.

• posle – typical for Serbian and some dialects; in standard Croatian, the form is poslije.

In your sentence, you could say:

• Jako volim miran park poslije posla. – fully natural.
• Jako volim miran park nakon posla. – also fine; maybe sounds a bit more neutral/formal.

Why is there no word for a or the in miran park?

Croatian has no articles (no a/an or the).
The phrase miran park can mean:

• a quiet park
• the quiet park

Which one it is depends on context, word order, and what is already known in the conversation.

Examples:

• First mention (indefinite in English):

  • Jako volim miran park poslije posla.
  • Likely understood as: I really like a quiet park after work. (any such park)

• If you already talked about one specific park:

  • Taj miran park jako volim poslije posla.
  • taj = that, so this is clearly that (the) quiet park.

But grammatically, Croatian doesn’t mark the difference with articles like English does.

What tense is volim? How would I say I loved in the past?

Volim is:

• present tense
• 1st person singular
• of the verb voljeti (to love / to like)

It generally expresses a present state or habit:

• Jako volim miran park poslije posla. – a current, repeated preference.

To express past (simple I loved / I used to love):

• volio sam (for a male speaker)
• voljela sam (for a female speaker)

Example:

• Kao dijete volio sam miran park poslije škole.
  (male speaker) – As a child I loved/used to love a quiet park after school.

Is the word order fixed, or can I move jako or poslije posla?

Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but not completely free. All of these are grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:

1. Jako volim miran park poslije posla.
   – Neutral; strong emphasis on how much you like it.

2. Volim jako miran park poslije posla.
   – Puts some emphasis on miran park (a very quiet park).

3. Volim miran park jako poslije posla.
   – Possible, but sounds unusual or awkward.

4. Miran park jako volim poslije posla.
   – Strong focus on miran park (it’s the quiet park that you like a lot).

For learners, the safest and most natural option is the original:

• Jako volim miran park poslije posla.

How does miran change in other genders and numbers?

Miran is a regular adjective meaning quiet / calm / peaceful.
In the nominative (dictionary form), it looks like this:

• masculine singular: miran – miran park
• feminine singular: mirna – mirna ulica (quiet street)
• neuter singular: mirno – mirno mjesto (quiet place)
• plural masculine: mirni parkovi (quiet parks)
• plural feminine: mirne ulice
• plural neuter: mirna mjesta

In your sentence, miran is masculine singular accusative, which for inanimate nouns looks the same as nominative: miran park.

How is posao declined? I see posao and posla – what are the other forms?

Posao (work, job) is a slightly irregular masculine noun. Singular:

• nominative: posao – Moj posao je zanimljiv.
• genitive: posla – Nakon posla idem kući.
• dative: poslu – Posvećujem se poslu.
• accusative: posao – Volim svoj posao.
• vocative: posao (rarely used)
• locative: na poslu – Sam na poslu.
• instrumental: poslom – Bavi se važnim poslom.

In poslije posla, we use genitive because of the preposition poslije.