Learn Hardcore Croatian: Navečer prvo upalim svjetlo i klima-uređaj u dnevnom boravku. - In the evening I first turn on the light and the air conditioner in the living room.

Navečer is an adverb meaning “in the evening / in the evenings (generally)”. It usually refers to the period after late afternoon but before night.

večer = evening (noun)
- ove večeri – this evening
- svaku večer – every evening
navečer = in the evening (as a time when something happens)
- Navečer čitam. – I read in the evening.
noću = at night / during the night
- Noću spavam. – I sleep at night.

So in your sentence Navečer prvo upalim…, we are talking about a habitual action that happens in the evening.

Why does the sentence start with Navečer? Could it also be Prvo navečer upalim…?

Croatian word order is flexible, especially with adverbs.

All of these are possible and grammatical:

Navečer prvo upalim svjetlo…
Prvo navečer upalim svjetlo…
Svjetlo prvo upalim navečer…

However, the most natural is usually:

Navečer prvo upalim… (time → then order → verb)

Putting Navečer at the beginning sets the time frame first: In the evening, the first thing I do is…. Changing the order can slightly change emphasis but not the basic meaning.

What is the infinitive of upalim, and why is it upalim and not palim here?

The infinitive is upaliti (“to switch on, turn on, light (up)”).

upaliti is perfective
paliti is imperfective

In upalim, we have:

person: 1st person
number: singular
tense: present
aspect: perfective

upalim = I switch on (as a single, completed action).

For a general repeated habit, you could also hear:

Navečer prvo palim svjetlo… – I (usually) turn the light on in the evenings.

Using upalim draws attention to each individual act of switching on (each evening as one event). Using palim focuses more on the ongoing habit.

Both are acceptable; upalim feels a bit more like “I flick it on (as a step in a routine).”

Why is the verb upalim in the present tense if the English translation might be “In the evening I first turn on…” or “I first switch on…”?

Croatian usually uses the present tense to describe:

regular habits,
routines,
general truths.

So Navečer prvo upalim svjetlo… means:

In the evening, I (normally) first turn on the light…

There’s no need for a separate “simple present” vs. “present continuous” distinction like in English. The context (especially navečer) already shows it’s talking about a routine.

Why are svjetlo and klima-uređaj in that form? Is that a special case?

They are direct objects of the verb upalim, so they are in the accusative singular:

upalim (što?) svjetlo – I turn on what? the light
upalim (što?) klima-uređaj – I turn on what? the air conditioner

For many masculine and neuter nouns, the accusative singular form looks the same as the nominative (especially for inanimate objects):

to je klima-uređaj (nom.)
upalim klima-uređaj (acc.)
to je svjetlo (nom.)
upalim svjetlo (acc.)

So nothing special is happening; it’s just regular accusative as objects of the verb.

What’s the difference between svjetlo and svijetlo? I’ve seen both.

They are different words:

svjetlo (with one i) – noun, light (as in a lamp, illumination)
- upaliti svjetlo – to turn on the light
svijetlo (with ije) – usually adjective, light (in color, not dark)
- svijetla boja – a light color
- svijetla kosa – light-colored hair

In your sentence it must be svjetlo, because it’s “turn on the light (the lamp)”.

Why is klima-uređaj written with a hyphen? Can you just say klima?

klima-uređaj literally means “climate device”, i.e. air conditioner. The hyphen shows it’s a compound noun.

In everyday speech, people very often shorten it to:

klima – air conditioner

So all of these are heard:

upalim klima-uređaj – I turn on the air conditioner
upalim klimu – (more colloquial) I turn on the AC

The hyphen is standard in more formal writing; in casual texts, you may see klima uređaj without a hyphen as well, but klima-uređaj is safest in standard language.

Why is it u dnevnom boravku and not u dnevni boravak?

This is about case and meaning:

u + locative → in, inside (location)
u + accusative → into (movement towards)

u dnevnom boravku (locative)
→ in the living room (static location)

u dnevni boravak (accusative)
→ into the living room (movement into the room)

Your sentence talks about where the light and AC are turned on (a fixed location):

…u dnevnom boravku. – in the living room.

So dnevnom boravku is locative singular.

What are the base forms and genders of dnevnom and boravku?

boravku is the locative singular of boravak (masculine noun).
- boravak – stay, residence; in this phrase, living room (as part of dnevni boravak).
dnevnom is the locative singular masculine form of the adjective dnevni (daily, daytime).
It has to agree in gender, number, and case with boravku.

So:

nominative: dnevni boravak – living room
locative: u dnevnom boravku – in the living room

Why is there no word for “the” in u dnevnom boravku? Why isn’t it “in the living room”?

Croatian has no articles (no “a/an” or “the”). Definite or indefinite meaning comes from:

context,
word order,
sometimes pronouns or other expressions.

So u dnevnom boravku can mean:

in the living room (most natural interpretation here)
or, in a very general description, simply in a living room.

English must choose “a” or “the”; Croatian doesn’t mark that grammatically.

Could we put prvo somewhere else, like Navečer upalim prvo svjetlo…? Is there a rule?

Yes, you can move prvo around; it’s an adverb meaning “first, firstly”, and it’s quite mobile:

Navečer prvo upalim svjetlo i klima-uređaj.
Navečer upalim prvo svjetlo i klima-uređaj.
Prvo navečer upalim svjetlo… (a bit less usual, but possible)

Common and very natural is:

Navečer prvo upalim…

Moving prvo slightly changes which part feels emphasized, but all options are understandable and correct.

Is navečer one word or two (na večer)?

In standard Croatian, the correct form in this meaning is one word: navečer.

navečer – adverb: in the evening
na večer as two words is possible only in different, more literal contexts (like na večer predstave – on the evening of the show), but that’s another construction.

For your sentence (time adverbial: in the evening), always use navečer.

How would I say “In the evening I first turn on the light and then the air conditioner in the living room”? Where would onda go?

A natural way:

Navečer prvo upalim svjetlo, a onda klima-uređaj u dnevnom boravku.

You can also say:

Navečer prvo upalim svjetlo, pa onda klima-uređaj u dnevnom boravku.

Here a onda / pa onda = “and then”.
Note that the second verb upalim is often omitted because it’s understood:

literally: In the evening I first turn on the light, and then the air conditioner in the living room.

Is there a difference between Navečer prvo upalim svjetlo… and Navečer ću prvo upaliti svjetlo…?

Yes, in aspect and focus:

Navečer prvo upalim svjetlo…
- present tense (perfective), but used for a usual routine.
- In the evening I first turn on the light… (habit).
Navečer ću prvo upaliti svjetlo…
- future tense (ću + infinitive).
- In the evening I will first turn on the light… – refers more to a specific future evening (often today or a particular planned time).

So #1 = general routine; #2 = a more concrete future plan.