On često šalje e-mail.

He often sends an email.

Breakdown of On često šalje e-mail.

• on: he
• često: often
• e-mail: email
• slati: to send

Questions & Answers about On često šalje e-mail.

What does On mean here, and do I have to use it?

On means he.

In Croatian, subject pronouns (ja, ti, on, ona, mi, vi, oni…) are usually dropped because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

• On često šalje e-mail. – fully explicit, slight emphasis on he
• Često šalje e-mail. – more natural in everyday speech: He often sends e‑mail.

So you do not have to use On; it is optional unless you want to stress he (and not someone else).

What tense is šalje, and does it mean he sends or he is sending?

Šalje is the present tense, 3rd person singular of the verb slati (to send).

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

• He sends e‑mail.
• He is sending e‑mail.

So On često šalje e-mail. can mean either, depending on context, though with često (often), it usually describes a habit: He often sends e‑mail.

What is the infinitive of šalje, and how is this verb conjugated?

The infinitive is slati (to send). It is a bit irregular: the stem changes to šalj‑ in the present.

Present tense of slati:

• (ja) šaljem – I send
• (ti) šalješ – you send (sg.)
• (on/ona/ono) šalje – he/she/it sends
• (mi) šaljemo – we send
• (vi) šaljete – you send (pl./formal)
• (oni/one/ona) šalju – they send

So šalje is he/she/it sends.

What is the role of često, and where should it go in the sentence?

Često means often. It is an adverb of frequency.

The most natural position is in front of the verb:

• On često šalje e-mail.
• Često šalje e-mail. (without the pronoun)

Other possibilities:

• On šalje e-mail često. – possible but sounds a bit marked / less neutral.
• Često on šalje e-mail. – emphasizes he; stylistic or contrastive.

For a neutral, everyday sentence, keep često before the verb: On često šalje e-mail.

Why is there no article like a or the before e-mail?

Croatian has no articles (no a/an or the). Nouns appear without them:

• On kupuje knjigu. – He buys a book / the book.
• On često šalje e-mail. – He often sends e‑mail / an e‑mail / the e‑mail.

Specificity is expressed in other ways, e.g.:

• On često šalje taj e-mail. – He often sends that e‑mail.
• On često šalje ovaj e-mail. – He often sends this e‑mail.

What case is e-mail in here, and why does it not change form?

E-mail is the direct object of the verb šalje, so it is in the accusative case (answering what does he send?).

In Croatian, many foreign words are treated as indeclinable or only partly declined, especially in the singular. So e-mail often looks the same in nominative and accusative:

• Ovaj e-mail je kratak. – nominative (This e‑mail is short.)
• On šalje e-mail. – accusative (He sends e‑mail.)

In the plural, speakers usually add Croatian endings:

• e-mailovi or imejlovi – e‑mails (nominative plural)
• Šalje e-mailove. – He sends e‑mails. (accusative plural)

Can I use a different word for e-mail in Croatian?

Yes. Common options:

• e-mail – very common, often written as e-mail, email, or imejl.
• mail – also used informally.
• e-pošta – more “proper” Croatian: literally e‑mail (electronic mail).
  
  • On često šalje e-poštu. – He often sends e‑mail.

In everyday speech, e-mail or mail are extremely common; in formal writing, e-pošta is preferred.

What is the difference between slati and poslati (and šalje vs pošalje)?

Slati is imperfective; poslati is perfective.

• slati / šalje – focuses on ongoing or repeated action:
  On često šalje e-mail. – He often sends e‑mail. (habit)
• poslati / pošalje – focuses on a single, completed action:
  On će poslati e-mail. – He will send (and finish sending) the e‑mail.
  On je poslao e-mail. – He sent the e‑mail.

So On često šalje e-mail. is correct for a habitual action. You would not normally say On često pošalje e-mail unless you are describing repeated individual completions in a special stylistic way; the neutral form for “often” is with slati.

How would I say He doesn’t often send e-mail?

Negation is formed with ne before the verb.

Two natural options, with a small nuance:

1. On ne šalje često e-mail.

   • More neutral: He doesn’t often send e‑mail.

2. On često ne šalje e-mail.

   • Slightly different emphasis: He often doesn’t send e‑mail (i.e. in many cases when he could, he does not).

Typical translation of He doesn’t often send e‑mail is On ne šalje često e-mail.

Is the sentence different if I remove On and say just Često šalje e-mail?

Grammatically, it is perfectly correct:

• Često šalje e-mail. – He/She often sends e‑mail.

Because Croatian verbs show person and number, the subject pronoun is usually omitted unless:

• you need to be very clear who you mean in a context with multiple people, or
• you want to stress he in contrast to someone else.

In isolation, Često šalje e-mail. could mean he or she; context tells you which.

How do I pronounce the special letters in često šalje?

Approximate English-like hints:

• č – like ch in church: često ≈ “chesto”
• š – like sh in she: šalje ≈ “shal-ye”
• lj – a palatal sound, similar to lli in million in many accents: šalje ≈ “shahl-ye” or “shal-ye”
• j – like y in yes

So the whole sentence:

• On često šalje e-mail. ≈ “On chesto shal-ye e‑mail.”

Is On često šalje e-mail. formal, informal, or neutral in style?

It is neutral and fine in both spoken and written language.

You only adjust vocabulary for more formal contexts:

• Neutral / everyday: On često šalje e-mail.
• More formal: On često šalje e-poštu. (He often sends e‑mail.)

But structurally, the sentence is neutral and appropriate in almost any context.

How would I say He often sends e-mails (plural)?

Use a plural form of e-mail:

• On često šalje e-mailove. – He often sends e‑mails.
• On često šalje mailove.
• On često šalje e-poruke. – He often sends e‑messages. (more descriptive)

The structure (On često šalje …) stays the same; only the object changes to plural.