Learn Hardcore Croatian: Pokušavam štedjeti novac za ljeto. - I am trying to save money for the summer.

In Croatian, verbs like pokušavati (to try), htjeti (to want), morati (to have to), želj(e)ti (to wish) are typically followed by the infinitive:

Pokušavam štedjeti novac. – I’m trying to save money.
Hoću štedjeti novac. – I want to save money.

Using the present tense after pokušavam (pokušavam štedim) is ungrammatical in standard Croatian.

You might hear pokušavam da štedim in some regions (Serbian/Bosnian usage), but in standard Croatian the correct form is pokušavam štedjeti with the infinitive.

What’s the difference between pokušavam and pokušat ću / pokušao sam?

This is mainly about aspect and tense:

pokušavati is imperfective, used for ongoing or repeated attempts.
- Pokušavam štedjeti novac. – I’m trying / I try (regularly) to save money.
pokušati is perfective, used for a single, complete attempt (often in past or future):
- Pokušat ću štedjeti novac. – I will try to save money (at least once / as a decision).
- Pokušao sam štedjeti novac. – I tried to save money (but maybe I failed).

In your sentence, pokušavam suggests an ongoing effort or a general habit.

What exactly does štedjeti mean here? Can I also say uštedjeti or štediti?

štedjeti means “to save” / “to be economical” (with money, time, electricity, etc.).

Pokušavam štedjeti novac za ljeto.
Focus on the process of saving: I’m trying to be economical with money for the summer.

You may also see:

uštedjeti – perfective: to manage to save up (a certain amount)
- Pokušavam uštedjeti novac za ljeto. – I’m trying to (actually) save up some money for the summer.
  This emphasizes the result (having money saved), not just the ongoing behavior.
štediti – a variant form of štedjeti, also common and accepted:
- Pokušavam štediti novac za ljeto.

Colloquially in some areas, you might also hear šparati (novac), but štedjeti/štediti is more standard.

Why is it novac and not novca? What case is novac in?

Novac (money) here is a direct object of štedjeti, so it’s in the accusative case:

nominative: novac
accusative (inanimate masc. sg.): novac

That’s why you see štedjeti novac.

You will also see genitive forms like novca, but that changes the nuance:

Imam novac. – I have the money (specific sum).
Imam novca. – I have (some) money. (indefinite amount)

Similarly:

Štedim novac. – I’m saving money (in general / the money I have).
Štedim novca. – can sound more like I’m saving some money / an amount of money, but this is less common; with štedjeti, novac is the default form you should learn.

Why is it za ljeto? What does za mean here, and why is ljeto in that form?

The preposition za + accusative is used for purpose / intended time – roughly “for” in English:

za ljeto – for (the) summer
za Božić – for Christmas
za vikend – for the weekend

ljeto (summer) is a neuter noun; its nominative and accusative singular are identical: ljeto. With za, you use the accusative, so:

za ljeto – for summer (purpose, future period)

Contrast with some other options:

ljeti – in (the) summer (adverb of time, not “for the summer”)
preko ljeta – over the summer (period)
u ljeto – in (the) summer (less common, more literal/poetic)

For “I’m trying to save money for the summer (vacation/period)”, za ljeto is exactly right.

Could I drop novac and just say Pokušavam štedjeti za ljeto?

Yes, absolutely:

Pokušavam štedjeti za ljeto.

This is natural and very common. In everyday speech, štedjeti without an object almost always implies money, so the meaning remains clear: I’m trying to save (money) for the summer.

You add novac when you want to be more explicit or formal, as in the original sentence.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Za ljeto pokušavam štedjeti novac or Pokušavam za ljeto štedjeti novac?

Word order in Croatian is relatively flexible, and all these options are grammatical:

Pokušavam štedjeti novac za ljeto. – neutral, most common.
Za ljeto pokušavam štedjeti novac. – emphasizes “for the summer” (that’s the important information).
Pokušavam za ljeto štedjeti novac. – also possible; a bit less neutral, with slight focus on za ljeto.

Meaning does not change drastically; what changes is which part you stress or highlight.

For now, as a learner, it’s best to stick to the neutral order:
Pokušavam štedjeti novac za ljeto.

How would I say this in the past or future in Croatian?

Using the same structure, you just change the form of pokušavati:

Past (I was trying / I tried (ongoing)):
- Pokušavao sam štedjeti novac za ljeto. – (speaker male)
- Pokušavala sam štedjeti novac za ljeto. – (speaker female)
Future (I will be trying / I’m going to try):
- Pokušavat ću štedjeti novac za ljeto.

With the perfective pokušati you get more of a single attempt:

Pokušat ću štedjeti novac za ljeto. – I will (at least once / as a plan) try to save money for the summer.

How is štedjeti pronounced, and what’s going on with the letters dj?

štedjeti is pronounced approximately like:

[sh-TEH-dyeh-tee] in English-friendly transcription.

Details:

š = like English sh in shop
tje / dje combinations are palatalized; dj here sounds close to the Croatian letter đ (a “soft d”)
So štedjeti sounds like š-TEĐ-je-ti in Croatian terms.

You will often see dj in words like djeca (children), nadjačati (to overpower), where it represents this soft /d/ sound. In spelling, Croatian sometimes uses đ, sometimes dj; here the standard spelling is štedjeti with dj.

English distinguishes “I try to save money” and “I’m trying to save money”. Does Croatian also make this distinction?

Croatian does not have a special continuous/progressive form like English “am trying”. The present tense covers both:

Pokušavam štedjeti novac za ljeto.

Depending on context, this can mean:

I’m trying (right now / these days) to save money for the summer.
I try (as a general habit) to save money for the summer.

If you need to be more specific, you add time expressions:

Ovih dana pokušavam štedjeti novac za ljeto. – These days I’m trying to save money for the summer.
Uvijek pokušavam štedjeti novac za ljeto. – I always try to save money for the summer.