On radi puno.

He works a lot.

Breakdown of On radi puno.

• on: he
• raditi: to work
• puno: much

Questions & Answers about On radi puno.

What does on mean, and why is it used here?

On is the Croatian subject pronoun he (3rd person singular, masculine).

• It’s used when:
  • You want to make clear you’re talking about a specific male person.
  • You want to contrast him with someone else (e.g. On radi puno, ali ona ne radi. – He works a lot, but she doesn’t.)

Other subject pronouns for comparison:

• ja – I
• ti – you (singular, informal)
• on – he
• ona – she
• ono – it (for neuter nouns)
• mi – we
• vi – you (plural or formal)
• oni – they (masc. or mixed group)
• one – they (feminine group)
• ona – they (neuter plural)

Note: Croatian often drops the pronoun when it’s clear from context, so On radi puno. can also be just Radi puno.

Why is the verb radi and not raditi?

Raditi is the infinitive form: to work.
Radi is the present tense, 3rd person singular: he works / she works / it works.

Infinitive (raditi) is used in dictionaries and some constructions (e.g. Želim raditi. – I want to work).
In a normal present-tense sentence with he as the subject, you must conjugate it: on radi.

How do you conjugate raditi in the present tense?

Present tense of raditi (to work):

• ja radim – I work
• ti radiš – you work (sg., informal)
• on/ona/ono radi – he/she/it works
• mi radimo – we work
• vi radite – you work (pl. or formal)
• oni/one/ona rade – they work

So in On radi puno., radi matches on (he).

What does puno mean exactly? Is it the same as “a lot”?

Puno usually translates as a lot, much, or many, depending on context.
In On radi puno., it means a lot: He works a lot.

Typical uses:

• With verbs: Radi puno. – He works a lot.
• With uncountable nouns: Imam puno posla. – I have a lot of work.
• With countable nouns: Puno ljudi. – Many people.

It’s fairly colloquial and very common in everyday speech.

Can I say puno radi instead of radi puno? Is there a difference?

Yes, both orders are possible:

• On radi puno. – neutral: He works a lot.
• On puno radi. – slightly more emphasis on puno: He really works a lot.

Croatian word order is relatively flexible. Moving puno earlier can make how much he works feel more prominent, but both are grammatically correct and natural. In everyday speech, both orders are used.

Do I have to say on, or can I just say Radi puno?

You can absolutely say Radi puno.

Croatian is a pro-drop language, which means subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending shows who the subject is. So:

• On radi puno. – He works a lot. (pronoun present, maybe for clarity or emphasis)
• Radi puno. – Works a lot / He works a lot. (subject understood from context)

You normally include on when:

• There could be confusion about who is meant.
• You want to contrast: On radi, a ona odmara. – He works, and she rests.

Is radi only present tense, or can it mean something else?

Radi here is only present tense (3rd person singular) of raditi.

So On radi puno. can mean:

• He works a lot. (generally / habitually)
• He is working a lot (these days). (ongoing situation)

It does not mean:

• He worked a lot. – that would be On je puno radio.
• He will work a lot. – that would be On će puno raditi.

What’s the difference between raditi and verbs like napraviti or uraditi?

• Raditi – to work / to be working (imperfective, focuses on the process or habit)

  • On radi puno. – He works a lot.

• Napraviti / uraditi – to do / to make (perfective, focuses on completing something)

  • On je puno napravio/uradio. – He did a lot / He accomplished a lot.

So On radi puno. describes how much he is working, not how much he has achieved or finished.

Can on here refer to an object, like “it works a lot”?

Grammatically, on is he, used for masculine-gender nouns.

In Croatian, objects and devices have grammatical gender. For example:

• računalo (computer, neuter) → ono (it)
• kompjutor (computer, masculine slang/loan) → on (he/it)

So On radi puno. could, in context, refer to a masculine noun like kompjutor (computer) or motor (engine). In English you’d say it works a lot, but in Croatian the pronoun agrees with grammatical gender, not with “thingness.”

Without context, though, learners will usually interpret On radi puno. as He works a lot.

How do you pronounce On radi puno?

Approximate pronunciation (English-friendly):

• On – like on in on top, but a bit shorter.
• radi – RAH-dee (stress on the first syllable)
• puno – POO-no (stress on the first syllable)

So altogether: ON RAH-dee POO-no.
Stress is typically on the first syllable of each word here.

If I want to say “He works hard” (not just “a lot”), is On radi puno okay?

On radi puno. literally means He works a lot (emphasis on quantity of work/time).

To express He works hard (effort, difficulty), more natural options are:

• On naporno radi. – He works hard.
• On teško radi. – He works hard / it’s hard work for him.

In everyday speech, people often still say On puno radi. and mean something like He works a lot/hard, so context matters, but strictly speaking puno = a lot, not hard.

Can I use puno with other verbs the same way?

Yes. Puno is very flexible and commonly used with verbs to mean a lot:

• Puno putuje. – He/She travels a lot.
• Puno pričaš. – You talk a lot.
• Puno jede. – He/She eats a lot.
• Puno uči. – He/She studies a lot.

So On radi puno. fits the same pattern: subject + verb + puno = [subject] does [verb] a lot.

How would I say “He doesn’t work a lot” using the same structure?

You just add ne in front of the verb:

• On ne radi puno. – He doesn’t work a lot.

If context is clear, you can also drop the pronoun:

• Ne radi puno. – He doesn’t work a lot.