Learn Hardcore Croatian: Za našu djecu želimo mirnu budućnost bez velikog stresa. - For our children we want a calm future without big stress.

The preposition za (“for”) normally takes the accusative case.
Djeca (“children”) in the accusative plural is djecu.
The possessive adjective naš (“our”) must match djeca/djecu in gender, number, and case.

In Croatian grammar, djeca is treated as feminine plural, and in the accusative it becomes djecu. The matching form of naš is našu (feminine accusative), so we get za našu djecu.

Using za naša djeca would be wrong because djeca there would be nominative, not accusative, and it doesn’t fit after za.

What case is našu djecu, and why?

Našu djecu is in the accusative case.

The preposition za always requires the accusative when it means for (the benefit of).
So za + našu djecu = for our children in the accusative.

Structure:

za (preposition) + našu (fem. acc. sg. agreeing with “djecu”) + djecu (acc. plural form of “djeca”).

Why is it mirnu budućnost and not mirna budućnost?

Because mirnu budućnost is the object of the verb želimo and must be in the accusative case.

The base form: mirna budućnost (calm/peaceful future) – nominative.
As a direct object, “future” becomes budućnost in the accusative, but this noun looks the same in nominative and accusative.
The adjective miran changes:
- Nominative fem. sg.: mirna
- Accusative fem. sg.: mirnu

So we say želimo mirnu budućnost (we want a calm future), not želimo mirna budućnost.

What case is bez velikog stresa, and why?

Bez velikog stresa is in the genitive case.

The preposition bez (“without”) always takes the genitive.
stres (stress) is masculine:
- Nominative: stres
- Genitive: stresa
The adjective velik (big) must match in case, gender, and number:
- Genitive masc. sg.: velikog

So bez + velikog stresa → “without big stress / without a lot of stress,” with both word forms in the genitive singular because of bez.

Why is stresa singular (genitive singular) and not plural, like stresova?

In this sentence, stres is used as an uncountable, mass noun (like “stress” in English).

English: without big stress / without much stress – we normally don’t say without many stresses in everyday speech.
Croatian does have the plural stresovi, but for the general idea of stress as a condition, Croatian usually uses the singular, even after bez:
- bez velikog stresa = without (a lot of) stress, without major stress (general, non-countable)
- bez velikih stresova = without big kinds of stress / without big stressful events (more concrete, countable)

So the singular stresa is more natural here.

Why does velikog end in -og?

Velikog is the genitive masculine singular form of the adjective velik (“big”).

The typical pattern for a masculine adjective in the genitive singular is:

-og or -oga at the end.

So:

Nominative: velik stres (big stress)
Genitive: velikog stresa (of big stress / without big stress)

This -og ending shows both the case (genitive) and the masculine gender.

Why is the verb želimo and not something like mi želimo?

In Croatian, the personal pronoun (like mi = “we”) is normally omitted unless you want to emphasize it.

želimo already means “we want”:
- ja želim – I want
- ti želiš – you (sg.) want
- on/ona/ono želi – he/she/it wants
- mi želimo – we want
- vi želite – you (pl.) want
- oni/one/ona žele – they want

So želimo mirnu budućnost by itself is complete: “(we) want a peaceful future.” You would say mi želimo only for emphasis, e.g. contrasting “we” with “they.”

Could the word order be Želimo mirnu budućnost za našu djecu bez velikog stresa? Is that still correct?

Yes, that word order is completely correct and natural:

Za našu djecu želimo mirnu budućnost bez velikog stresa.
Želimo mirnu budućnost za našu djecu bez velikog stresa.

Both are fine. Croatian word order is quite flexible. Changing the order mainly affects emphasis:

Original: Za našu djecu is in the focus position at the start → emphasizes for our children.
Alternative: Starting with Želimo sounds more neutral: the focus is more on the wish itself.

The basic grammar (cases, prepositions, verb forms) does not change.

Is there any difference between za našu djecu and našoj djeci?

Yes, they use different cases and can express slightly different nuances.

za našu djecu – accusative with za:
- literally “for our children” → focus on goal / benefit for them
- very standard way to say it in this sentence.
našoj djeci – dative:
- literally “to our children” → could sound more like “to our children we want a peaceful future,” focusing on them as recipients.

In practice:

Za našu djecu želimo mirnu budućnost is the normal, idiomatic version here.
Našoj djeci želimo mirnu budućnost is also grammatically correct and possible, and sounds a bit more like “To our children, we wish a peaceful future.”

How would a very literal, word‑for‑word translation of the sentence look?

One possible word‑for‑word mapping would be:

Za – for
našu – our (fem. acc.)
djecu – children (acc.)
želimo – we‑want
mirnu – peaceful/calm (fem. acc.)
budućnost – future (acc.)
bez – without
velikog – big (gen. masc.)
stresa – stress (gen.)

So:
“For our children we‑want peaceful future without big stress.”

Then you smooth it into natural English:
“For our children, we want a peaceful future without a lot of stress.”

What is the base (dictionary) form of mirnu and of našu?

The base (dictionary) forms are:

mirnu → from miran (calm, peaceful)
- Dictionary form: miran (masc. nominative singular)
našu → from naš (our)
- Dictionary form: naš (masc. nominative singular)

In this sentence:

mirnu is feminine accusative singular, agreeing with budućnost (fem.).
našu is feminine accusative singular, agreeing with djecu (which is grammatically treated as feminine plural).

Why is djecu used instead of just djeca?

Because djecu is the accusative form of djeca.

Case forms of djeca (children) are irregular:

Nominative: djeca (children)
Genitive: djece
Dative/Locative: djeci
Accusative: djecu
Vocative: djeco
Instrumental: djecom

In this sentence, “children” is the object of the preposition za, which takes the accusative, so we must use djecu, not djeca.