Nakon tuširanja brišem lice i ruke suhim ručnikom.

After showering I dry my face and hands with a dry towel.

Breakdown of Nakon tuširanja brišem lice i ruke suhim ručnikom.

• i: and
• nakon: after
• ruka: hand
• lice: face
• ručnik: towel
• tuširanje: showering
• brisati: to dry
• suh: dry

Questions & Answers about Nakon tuširanja brišem lice i ruke suhim ručnikom.

Why is it nakon tuširanja and not nakon tuširanje?

Because nakon (“after”) always takes the genitive case.

• The noun is tuširanje (“showering” as a noun).
• Its genitive singular form is tuširanja.

So:

• nominative: tuširanje – showering
• genitive: tuširanja – of showering / after showering

The preposition nakon answers the question nakon čega? (“after what?”), which requires genitive, so you must say nakon tuširanja.

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Is tuširanja here like the English “showering” (a verb) or is it a noun?

In this sentence, tuširanja is a noun, not a verb. It’s a verbal noun formed from the verb tuširati se (“to shower”).

• Verb: tuširati se – to shower
• Verbal noun (nominative): tuširanje – showering, a shower (the act)
• Genitive: tuširanja – of showering

So nakon tuširanja literally means “after (the) showering” / “after (having) a shower”. It functions grammatically as a noun phrase.

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If the verb is tuširati se, why isn’t there a se in nakon tuširanja?

Because se is part of the verb phrase, not part of the noun.

• As a verb: Tuširam se. – I shower.
• As a noun: Tuširanje je brzo. – The showering is quick.

When you turn tuširati se into a noun (tuširanje), the reflexive se disappears. You cannot attach se to a noun:

• ❌ nakon tuširanja se (ungrammatical as a noun phrase)
• ✅ nakon tuširanja
• ✅ kad se istuširam – when I shower (here it’s a full clause with the verb)

So nakon tuširanja is “after showering,” using the noun form.

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Why is there no I in brišem lice i ruke? Shouldn’t it be Ja brišem?

Croatian usually omits subject pronouns (ja, ti, on, etc.) when the subject is clear from the verb ending.

• brišem is 1st person singular (“I wipe/dry”), so it already tells you that the subject is I.
• Ja brišem lice i ruke is grammatically correct but sounds emphatic, like “I dry my face and hands (not someone else).”

Normal, neutral sentence:

• Brišem lice i ruke. – I dry/wipe my face and hands.

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How do we know lice i ruke is the object here, and what case is it in?

Lice i ruke is the direct object of the verb brišem (“I wipe/dry”). In Croatian, direct objects are in the accusative case.

The forms look like this:

• lice – neuter singular

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

• ruka – feminine singular; plural ruke

  • nominative plural: ruke
  • accusative plural: ruke (same form)

Because lice and ruke have the same form in nominative and accusative, you have to rely on word order and meaning to see that they are objects here:

• (Ja) brišem lice i ruke.
  Verb + what? → lice i ruke are what you wipe → accusative objects.

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Why is it suhim ručnikom and not suh ručnik or suhog ručnika?

Because suhim ručnikom is in the instrumental case, which is used to express “with what / by means of what” you do something.

Pattern with this verb:

• brišem (što?) lice i ruke (čime?) suhim ručnikom
  
  • what? → face and hands (accusative)
  • with what? → with a dry towel (instrumental)

The noun ručnik (masc. sg.) in instrumental is:

• nominative: ručnik
• instrumental: ručnikom

The adjective suh (“dry”) must agree in case, number, and gender:

• instrumental masculine singular: suhim (ručnikom)

So suhim ručnikom means “with a dry towel.”

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Why does the adjective end in -im (suhim), not -om (suhom)?

For masculine and neuter singular in the instrumental case, standard Croatian allows two endings for adjectives:

• -im (suhim)
• -om (suhom)

So you can say:

• suhim ručnikom – standard and very common
• suhom ručnikom – also correct

Both mean “with a dry towel”. In many style guides, -im is presented as the preferred ending in the standard language, but you will hear both forms regionally and colloquially.

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Why isn’t there a word for “my” in brišem lice i ruke? In English we say “my face and (my) hands.”

Croatian often omits possessive adjectives (moj, tvoj, njegov…) with body parts and clothes when it’s obvious who they belong to.

Because the subject is “I,” it’s automatically understood that the face and hands are my face and hands:

• Brišem lice i ruke. – naturally understood as I dry my face and (my) hands.

You would only add svoje or moje for emphasis or to contrast:

• Brišem svoje lice, ne tvoje. – I’m drying my own face, not yours.

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Could I say brišem se suhim ručnikom instead of brišem lice i ruke suhim ručnikom?

Yes, but the meaning is slightly different.

• Brišem lice i ruke suhim ručnikom.
  – You specify which parts you dry: face and hands.

• Brišem se suhim ručnikom.
  – Literally: I am wiping/drying myself with a dry towel.
  – This is more general; it doesn’t specify body parts.

Both are correct. Which one you choose depends on whether you want to emphasize specific parts or the whole body / yourself.

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Could I use obrišem instead of brišem? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, but it changes the aspect and nuance.

• brišem – imperfective aspect

  • focuses on the action as ongoing, repeated, or habitual
  • In this sentence, it sounds like a habit: something you usually do after showering.

• obrišem – perfective aspect

  • focuses on the action as a completed whole, often a single event.

So:

• Nakon tuširanja brišem lice i ruke suhim ručnikom.
  – After showering, I (usually) dry my face and hands with a dry towel. (habit)

• Nakon tuširanja obrišem lice i ruke suhim ručnikom.
  – After showering, I (then) dry my face and hands with a dry towel. (one complete step in a sequence)

Both are grammatical; brišem fits better if you’re describing a routine.

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Can I change the word order, for example: Nakon tuširanja suhim ručnikom brišem lice i ruke?

Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible, especially for adverbials and prepositional phrases.

All of these are grammatically correct, with only slight differences in emphasis:

• Nakon tuširanja brišem lice i ruke suhim ručnikom.
• Nakon tuširanja suhim ručnikom brišem lice i ruke.
• Lice i ruke brišem suhim ručnikom nakon tuširanja.

Usually you put the most important or new information near the end of the sentence. The original order is the most neutral and typical.

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What’s the difference between nakon tuširanja, poslije tuširanja and kad se istuširam?

All three can express a similar idea (“after I shower”), but they differ grammatically and stylistically:

1. nakon tuširanja

   • preposition + noun (genitive)
   • a bit more formal/neutral
   • literally: after (the) showering

2. poslije tuširanja

   • preposition + noun (genitive)
   • very common in speech, also neutral
   • literally: after (the) showering (same structure as nakon tuširanja)

3. kad se istuširam

   • full clause with a verb (subordinate clause)
   • literally: when I shower / when I have showered
   • focuses more on the time point of finishing the action.

Examples:

• Nakon tuširanja brišem lice i ruke.
• Poslije tuširanja brišem lice i ruke.
• Kad se istuširam, brišem lice i ruke.

All are natural; the first two use a noun phrase, the third uses a verb clause.

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What tense is brišem here, and does it imply something habitual?

Brišem is the present tense of brisati (1st person singular).

In Croatian, the present tense of an imperfective verb (like brisati) often expresses:

• habitual actions: what you usually do
• general truths, or
• actions happening right now, depending on context.

In this sentence, with nakon tuširanja (“after showering”), it is most naturally understood as a habit:

• After showering, I (always / usually) dry my face and hands with a dry towel.