Learn Hardcore Croatian: Novinar piše članak o bogatim i siromašnim obiteljima u gradu. - A journalist is writing an article about rich and poor families in the city.

Base forms:
- bogat – rich
- siromašan – poor
- obitelj – family (singular)
Locative plural (feminine noun obitelj):
- bogatim (rich – locative plural)
- siromašnim (poor – locative plural)
- obiteljima (families – locative plural)

So o bogatim i siromašnim obiteljima literally means about (the) rich and poor families, with all three words in locative plural to match o.

Why do the adjectives end in -im (bogatim, siromašnim) while obiteljima ends in -ima?

They are all in the same case and number (locative plural), but adjectives and nouns often have different endings.

Adjective endings (locative plural, all genders): -im
- bogat → bogatim
- siromašan → siromašnim
Noun ending (locative plural, feminine noun obitelj): -ima
- obitelj → obiteljima

So the pattern is:

adjectives: -im
this noun type: -ima

They still fully agree in gender (feminine), number (plural), and case (locative), despite different exact endings.

Why is it o bogatim i siromašnim obiteljima and not something like o bogate i siromašne obitelji?

Two things are going on:

The preposition “o” requires the locative case, not accusative:
- Accusative plural would be bogate i siromašne obitelji.
- Locative plural is bogatim i siromašnim obiteljima. Because of o, locative is required.
You need plural to match the meaning “families”:
- Singular: o bogatoj i siromašnoj obitelji – about a rich and poor family (grammatically strange; mixing rich and poor for one family)
- Plural: o bogatim i siromašnim obiteljima – about rich and poor families

So accusative plural bogate i siromašne obitelji is grammatically possible but wrong after o. After o, you must use locative: bogatim i siromašnim obiteljima.

What case is članak, and why does it look the same as the base form?

Članak here is in the accusative singular, as the direct object of the verb piše (writes/is writing).

For many masculine nouns ending in a consonant, the accusative singular of an inanimate object is identical to the nominative singular:

Nominative singular: članak – an article (subject form)
Accusative singular: članak – an article (object form)

So in this sentence:

Novinar – subject (nominative)
piše – verb
članak – direct object (accusative, same form as nominative)

What case is u gradu, and what’s the difference between u gradu and u grad?

U gradu is locative singular.

Preposition u can take locative or accusative:

u + locative = in, inside (location, no movement)
- u gradu – in the city
u + accusative = into (movement toward)
- u grad – into the city

In the sentence, u gradu simply tells you where the families are (in the city), not movement into the city, so locative is used.

What tense is piše, and does it mean “writes” or “is writing”?

Piše is present tense, 3rd person singular of the verb pisati (to write).

Croatian present tense covers both English simple present and present continuous:

Novinar piše članak can mean:
- The journalist writes an article (general/habitual)
- The journalist is writing an article (right now)

Context decides which English form is best. Croatian doesn’t have a separate grammatical form like English is writing; it uses the same present tense.

What’s the difference between pisati and napisati?

Croatian verbs come in aspects:

pisati – imperfective aspect
- Focus on the process, repeated action, or ongoing action
- Novinar piše članak. – The journalist is writing/writes an article.
napisati – perfective aspect
- Focus on completion or result
- Novinar je napisao članak. – The journalist wrote/has written the article (finished it).

In your sentence, piše emphasizes the activity of writing, not that the article is finished.

Why are there no words for “the” or “a” (articles) in Croatian?

Croatian does not have articles like English a/an or the.

Novinar can mean a journalist or the journalist.
članak can mean an article or the article.
obiteljima can mean (the) families or (some) families.

Definiteness (whether it’s “a” or “the”) is usually understood from context, sometimes from word order or additional words (like demonstratives taj, ovaj, etc.: that/this journalist).

What are the genders of novinar, članak, obitelj, and grad, and how can I tell?

novinar – masculine
- Typically masculine because it ends in a consonant.
članak – masculine
- Ends in a consonant; pattern: many masculine nouns.
obitelj – feminine
- Ends in -elj but behaves grammatically as feminine (you see feminine adjective endings: bogatim, siromašnim).
grad – masculine
- Ends in a consonant.

General rules of thumb:

Nouns ending in a consonant are usually masculine.
Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine.
Nouns ending in -o, -e are usually neuter.
Some exceptions (like obitelj) must just be learned, but the adjectives around them help you see the gender.

Do adjectives always have to come before the noun like bogatim obiteljima, or can they come after?

The normal, neutral position in Croatian is adjective before the noun:

bogate obitelji – rich families
siromašne obitelji – poor families

Adjectives can come after the noun, but that is:

Less common in everyday speech
Often stylistic, poetic, or emphatic

For example:

obitelji bogate i siromašne – families, rich and poor (more literary/poetic, or with a specific stylistic effect)

So in ordinary sentences, you should usually put adjectives before the noun, as in bogatim i siromašnim obiteljima.

Why are both adjectives inflected: bogatim i siromašnim obiteljima, and not just bogatim i siromašnim obitelji or something shorter?

Croatian requires full agreement of adjectives with the noun in gender, number, and case, and each adjective must be correctly inflected:

Case and number are determined by obiteljima: locative plural feminine.
Each adjective must match that:
- bogatim (locative plural)
- siromašnim (locative plural)
- obiteljima (locative plural)

You cannot keep the noun in one case and leave the adjectives in another; they must all change together. You also cannot drop the plural or case endings on the adjectives.

How is č, š, and lj pronounced in words like članak and obiteljima?

Approximate pronunciations for English speakers:

č – like ch in church
- članak ≈ chlanak
š – like sh in shoe
- piše ≈ peeshe
lj – a palatalized l, similar to the lli in million
- obiteljima ≈ obite-lyi-ma (say l with your tongue higher, almost merging with y)

Croatian spelling is very phonetic: once you learn each letter’s sound, you can usually read words as they are written.