On se tušira navečer.

he

Breakdown of On se tušira navečer.

• navečer: in the evening
• tuširati se: to take a shower

Questions & Answers about On se tušira navečer.

Why do we need se in this sentence? Why not just say On tušira navečer?

In Croatian, tuširati se is a reflexive verb and it literally means “to shower oneself”.

• On se tušira navečer. = He showers (himself) in the evening.
• If you drop se and say On tušira navečer, it sounds like “He showers (someone/something) in the evening”, but the object is missing, so the sentence is incomplete or wrong.

So se is necessary here to show that the subject is doing the action to himself.

Where exactly does se go in the sentence? Could I say On tušira se navečer?

No, On tušira se navečer is incorrect.

se is a clitic (an unstressed short word) and Croatian tries to place clitics in “second position” in the clause, right after the first stressed word.

Correct and natural orders include:

• On se tušira navečer.
• On se navečer tušira.
• Navečer se tušira.

But:

• On tušira se navečer. – unnatural / incorrect.

So in this sentence, se must come right after On, or after Navečer if you start with that word.

Can we leave out On and just say Se tušira navečer?