Learn Hardcore Croatian: On večeras fotografira most i rijeku. - He is photographing the bridge and the river tonight.

Yes. Subject pronouns like on (he), ona (she), oni (they) are usually dropped in Croatian because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

Fotografira clearly shows 3rd person singular (he/she/it).
Večeras fotografira most i rijeku. will normally be understood as He/She is photographing the bridge and the river this evening.

You use On when you want to emphasize he in particular, e.g.:

On večeras fotografira most i rijeku, a ja sutra.
He is photographing the bridge and the river this evening, and I [am doing it] tomorrow.

So On večeras fotografira… has a slight contrastive/emphatic feel: he (not someone else) is doing it.

Why does fotografira translate as is photographing and not photographs?

Croatian has only one present tense form, and it covers both English:

He photographs (simple present)
He is photographing (present continuous)

Context decides how you translate it.

On svake subote fotografira most i rijeku.
He photographs the bridge and the river every Saturday.
(habit → English simple present)
On večeras fotografira most i rijeku.
He is photographing the bridge and the river this evening.
(action happening around this evening → English continuous)

So fotografira itself is just he/she/it photographs / is photographing; English forces you to choose one.

What exact form of the verb is fotografira, and how does fotografirati conjugate?

Fotografirati is the infinitive, to photograph.

Fotografira is:

person: 3rd
number: singular
tense: present

Present tense of fotografirati:

ja fotografiram – I photograph / am photographing
ti fotografiraš – you (sg.) photograph
on/ona/ono fotografira – he/she/it photographs
mi fotografiramo – we photograph
vi fotografirate – you (pl./formal) photograph
oni/one/ona fotografiraju – they photograph

So in On večeras fotografira most i rijeku, the -a ending on fotografira matches on (he).

Why is it rijeku and not rijeka in most i rijeku?

Because rijeka is in the accusative case as a direct object.

Dictionary form: rijeka (nominative, subject form)
In this sentence it’s the object of fotografira, so it changes to rijeku (feminine singular accusative).

Pattern (for many feminine -a nouns):

Nominative (subject): rijeka – the river
Accusative (direct object): rijeku – (photograph) the river

Since he is photographing the river, Croatian marks that role with the accusative ending -u: rijeku.

Why does most stay most, while rijeka changes to rijeku?

Different genders and declension patterns:

most – masculine noun
rijeka – feminine noun

In Croatian:

Many masculine inanimate nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative singular:
- Nominative: most (the bridge – subject)
- Accusative: most (the bridge – object)
Many feminine nouns in -a change -a → -u in the accusative:
- Nominative: rijeka (the river – subject)
- Accusative: rijeku (the river – object)

So in On večeras fotografira most i rijeku:

most is accusative but happens to look the same as nominative.
rijeku shows its accusative with the -u ending.

Why is it most i rijeku, not most i rijeka?

When you connect two objects with i (and), they must be in the same case.

The verb fotografira takes a direct object in the accusative:

one object:
- fotografira most
- fotografira rijeku

With two objects, you repeat the same case on each:

fotografira most i rijeku
– both most and rijeku are accusative

Saying most i rijeka here would incorrectly mix accusative (most) and nominative (rijeka).

There is no the or a in most i rijeku. How do I know if it means “the bridge and the river” or “a bridge and a river”?

Croatian does not have articles like a/an/the. The noun form alone (with case and sometimes context) carries the meaning, and English articles are added in translation based on context.

On večeras fotografira most i rijeku can be translated as:

He is photographing the bridge and the river this evening. (if we know which bridge/river)
He is photographing a bridge and a river this evening. (if they are not specific/known)

Speakers rely on:

prior context (Did we already mention a specific bridge?)
situation (Maybe there is only one important bridge in town.)

So the Croatian sentence itself doesn’t mark definite vs indefinite; English has to choose.

Can I move večeras to another position? For example: Večeras on fotografira most i rijeku or On fotografira most i rijeku večeras?

Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible, though each option can carry a slightly different emphasis.

All of these are grammatically correct:

On večeras fotografira most i rijeku.
Neutral, with a slight emphasis on on (he in particular).
Večeras on fotografira most i rijeku.
Stronger focus on večeras (this evening), then contrastive emphasis on on.
Roughly: As for this evening, he is the one who is photographing...
On fotografira most i rijeku večeras.
Also fine; večeras at the end is somewhat more typical in speech when you add the time after the rest of the information.
Without the pronoun:
- Večeras fotografira most i rijeku.
  Very natural, often the most neutral way to say it.

So yes, you can move večeras, but word order can subtly shift what you’re highlighting.

What exactly does večeras mean, and how is it different from večer or noćas?

večeras – this evening / tonight (in the evening part)
- On večeras fotografira… – He is photographing this evening.
večer – evening as a noun (not “this evening” by itself)
- Večer je hladna. – The evening is cold.
- Večeras is derived from večer
  - -as (this).
noćas – tonight, during the night (more about the night period)
- Noćas spavam kod kuće. – I’m sleeping at home tonight (during the night).

So večeras focuses on the evening period today, while noćas is more about the night.

Could I use another verb, like slika or snima, instead of fotografira?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

fotografirati – to take photographs (using a camera), fairly neutral/standard.
slikati – to paint or to take pictures; in modern speech it often means to take photos (especially with a phone), but it can also mean to paint (with a brush).
snimati – to record (video, audio), to film, to shoot (a movie, video, sometimes photos in some contexts).

Possible variants:

On večeras slika most i rijeku.
He is taking pictures of / photographing the bridge and the river this evening.
(Could sound a bit more informal or potentially ambiguous with painting.)
On večeras snima most i rijeku.
He is filming / recording the bridge and the river this evening.
(Most people will think of video.)

For a clear “taking photographs with a camera,” fotografirati is safest and most precise.

How would I say “He is not photographing the bridge and the river this evening”?

You add ne directly in front of the verb:

On večeras ne fotografira most i rijeku.
He is not photographing the bridge and the river this evening.

If you drop the pronoun:

Večeras ne fotografira most i rijeku.

Word order:

ne normally comes immediately before the verb (ne fotografira).
Placing večeras before or after changes emphasis, but not the basic meaning.

How do I pronounce rijeku and fotografira?

Pronunciation hints (approximate, using English-like hints):

rijeku: [r̩-yeh-koo]
- r – rolled or tapped /r/
- ije – like ye
  - eh blended, close to “yeh”
- ku – like “koo”
So: r-yeh-koo, said smoothly: rje-ku.
fotografira: [fo-to-gra-fee-ra]
- fo – fo as in phone but shorter
- to – like toh
- gra – grah (with a trilled r)
- fi – fee
- ra – rah

All vowels are pure and short (except where spelling indicates a long one, but here they’re all short-ish), and each written vowel is pronounced; stress is usually on the third syllable from the end in fotografira: fo-to-GRA-fi-ra.