Learn Hardcore Croatian: Književnost nas uči kako ljudi razmišljaju u različitim vremenima. - Literature teaches us how people think in different times.

mi = we (subject, nominative)
- Mi učimo. = We are learning.
nas = us (direct object, accusative OR genitive)
- Književnost nas uči. = Literature teaches us.
nama = to us / for us (indirect object, dative)
- Književnost nam pomaže. = Literature helps us.

In Književnost nas uči, književnost (literature) is the subject, and we are the thing being taught (the direct object), so Croatian uses the accusative form nas.

Why does nas come before uči instead of after it? Could I say Književnost uči nas?

Pronouns like se, me, te, ga, joj, im, nas, vas are clitics in Croatian. Clitics very strongly prefer to stand in the second position in the clause.

The basic rule:

The first real word of the sentence is Književnost,
so the clitic nas must come right after it:
- Književnost nas uči…

You will very rarely (almost never) hear Književnost uči nas in standard Croatian; it sounds wrong to native speakers. So:

✔ Književnost nas uči… – natural, correct
✖ Književnost uči nas… – feels ungrammatical or very odd

Learning this “second position” rule for clitics is a big part of Croatian word order.

What is the exact tense and aspect of uči here, and why not nauči?

Uči is:

present tense
of the imperfective verb učiti (to teach / to be teaching).

Imperfective describes ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions.

So Književnost nas uči… means:

Literature teaches us / Literature (in general) teaches us…
– a general truth, something that is always or typically the case.

Naučiti is perfective – it focuses on completed results.

Književnost nas je naučila… = Literature has taught us… (it completed that teaching).

Here we’re talking about what literature does in general, not one finished event, so učiti (uči) is the natural choice.

Why is it kako ljudi razmišljaju and not da ljudi razmišljaju? What is the difference?

Both kako and da can introduce clauses, but they don’t feel the same here.

kako = how, introducing a clause of manner / way
- uči nas kako ljudi razmišljaju = teaches us *how people think*
da = that, introducing a fact / statement
- uči nas da ljudi razmišljaju ≈ teaches us *that people think*

With kako, the focus is on the way, patterns, style, and processes of people’s thinking.
With da, the sentence would sound like literature is teaching us the simple fact that people think (which is a bit odd or trivial).

So kako is correct and natural because we mean:

Literature teaches us *how people think (what their mindset was, their way of seeing the world), not just that they think.*

What’s the nuance between razmišljati and misliti? Could I say kako ljudi misle instead?

Both verbs relate to “thinking,” but they’re not identical:

razmišljati – to think in the sense of reflecting, pondering, considering, engaging in a process of thought
misliti – to think / have an opinion / believe something

In this sentence:

kako ljudi razmišljaju = how people think, how they reason, how their thought process works

You technically could say kako ljudi misle, and it would be understood, but:

razmišljaju sounds more like intellectual / reflective thinking, which fits literature better.
misliti is more about specific opinions:
- Što oni misle o tome? = What do they think about that? (what is their opinion?)

So razmišljaju is the more natural, nuanced choice here.

Why is it u različitim vremenima? What case is this, and why plural vremenima?

U različitim vremenima is in the locative plural:

Preposition u
- locative (when it means “in/at” a place or time).
vrijeme (time) → plural vremena → locative plural vremenima
različitim is the adjective različit (different), also in locative plural to agree with vremenima.

So:

u
- različitim (locative plural masc./neut.) + vremenima (locative plural neut.)
Literally: in different times

Plural is used because we mean various periods / eras, not a single moment.
You could translate the idea more naturally as:

in different periods / in different eras / in different times in history.

How can I tell that različitim is locative plural and not instrumental plural? They look the same.

You’re right: for many adjectives, the locative plural and instrumental plural endings look the same (-im):

različitim can be:
- dative plural
- locative plural
- instrumental plural

So you have to use the preposition and the noun to know the case:

The preposition u when it means in (place or time) takes locative:
- u gradu (in the city), u školi (at school), u različitim vremenima (in different times).
The noun form vremenima is the locative/instrumental plural of vrijeme.
Combined with u in a time/space sense, it’s interpreted as locative.

So the structure u + različitim vremenima must be locative plural, not instrumental. Context and preposition decide.

Why is Književnost capitalized, and what gender is it? How does it decline?

In the example it’s capitalized just because it’s at the beginning of the sentence. In general, književnost is not a proper noun; it’s written with a lowercase k in the middle of sentences.

Grammatically:

književnost (literature)
gender: feminine
ending: -ost, very common for abstract feminine nouns.

Its declension (singular):

Nominative: književnost – Književnost je važna.
Genitive: književnosti – Ljubitelj književnosti.
Dative: književnosti – Posvetio se književnosti.
Accusative: književnost – Volim književnost.
Locative: o književnosti – Govori o književnosti.
Instrumental: književnošću – Bavi se književnošću.

In our sentence, Književnost is in the nominative as the subject.

The clause kako ljudi razmišljaju u različitim vremenima describes the past. Why are the verbs in the present tense?

Croatian (like English) often uses the present tense to express general truths and patterns that hold across time, including past eras:

Ljudi vole priče. = People like stories.
Ptice lete. = Birds fly.

In kako ljudi razmišljaju u različitim vremenima, razmišljaju is present, but it has a timeless/generic meaning:

how people think (in general) in different time periods

We’re not focusing on one specific historical moment, but on how people tend to think, what their constants and differences are across eras.

So the present tense is used for:

generalizations
descriptions of typical or characteristic behavior

even if the times being talked about are in the past.

Could we leave out ljudi and just say Književnost nas uči kako razmišljaju u različitim vremenima?

Yes, you can omit ljudi here, and it would still be understandable:

Književnost nas uči kako razmišljaju u različitim vremenima.

In Croatian, if it’s clear from context who is doing the action, the subject can be dropped. Here, it would still mean:

Literature teaches us how (people) think in different times.

However:

kako ljudi razmišljaju is a bit clearer and more explicit, especially for learners.
Without ljudi, the sentence sounds a little more abstract and relies on context to supply “people”.

Both versions are grammatically fine and would be used by native speakers.