Learn Hardcore Croatian: Smeće bacamo u posebnu kantu za papir i u drugu kantu za plastične boce. - We throw the trash into a special bin for paper and into another bin for plastic bottles.

Bacamo smeće u posebnu kantu...
– Neutral word order: verb + object (like “We throw the trash…”).
Smeće bacamo u posebnu kantu...
– The object smeće is moved to the front for emphasis or topic:
“The trash we throw into a special bin for paper and another bin for plastic bottles.”

In Croatian, word order is flexible. Moving a word to the front often emphasizes it or presents it as “what we are talking about.” Here, the focus is on what we are doing with the trash.

What exactly is "smeće"? Is it singular or plural? Can it be pluralized?

Smeće means “trash / garbage / rubbish.”

Grammatically, smeće is:
- neuter
- singular
It’s a mass noun, like English trash or garbage. You normally don’t use a plural (smeća is rare and sounds unusual or very specific).

So:

Smeće je u kanti. – “The trash is in the bin.” (singular verb je)
You usually do not say smeća su in everyday language.

Why is the verb "bacamo" used here, and what is its full form?

Bacamo is the 1st person plural present tense of the verb bacati (to throw, to be throwing).

bacati – imperfective (focus on process, repeated/habitual action)
- bacam, bacaš, baca, bacamo, bacate, bacaju

In this sentence, bacamo expresses a habit or regular action:

“We (usually) throw / We throw (as a rule) the trash into a special bin for paper…”

If you used baciti (perfective):

Bacit ćemo smeće u kantu. – “We will throw the trash into the bin (once, as a completed act).”

So bacamo implies what we do in general, not one single act.

Why is it "u posebnu kantu" and not "u posebna kanta"?

Because Croatian marks grammatical case and gender on both adjectives and nouns.

Preposition u (into) with motion takes the accusative case.
kanta is feminine singular.
The accusative feminine singular of:
- poseban (special) → posebnu
- kanta (bin) → kantu

So you must say:

u posebnu kantu – into a special bin (accusative feminine singular)

"u posebna kanta" uses nominative forms (posebna kanta) and is wrong in this context, because after u (with motion) you need accusative, not nominative.

How do "posebnu" and "kantu" agree with each other?

Croatian adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in:

gender
number
case

Here:

kantu – accusative, feminine, singular (from kanta)
posebnu – accusative, feminine, singular (from poseban)

So:

nominative: posebna kanta (a special bin – subject)
accusative: posebnu kantu (a special bin – object after u)

The endings -a → -u indicate the change from nominative to accusative feminine singular.

What does "za" mean in "za papir" and which case does it take?

In "kantu za papir", za means "for" (intended purpose: a bin for paper).

As a preposition of purpose, za takes the accusative case.

The noun papir is masculine inanimate, and for such nouns:

nominative singular: papir
accusative singular: papir (same form)

So “za papir” is actually accusative, even though it looks like the nominative.

Why is it "u drugu kantu" instead of "u druga kanta" or "u drugoj kanti"?

Again, this is about case agreement and the meaning.

Case
- The preposition u with motion (“into”) needs accusative.
- druga kanta (nominative feminine singular) → u drugu kantu (accusative feminine singular).
Forms:
- nominative: druga kanta – “the second/other bin” (subject)
- accusative: u drugu kantu – “into the second/other bin” (object of motion)
- locative: u drugoj kanti – “in the second/other bin” (static location, no motion)

So:

u drugu kantu = into another / the other bin (correct here)
u drugoj kanti would mean “in the other bin,” with no idea of movement into it.

Does "drugu" here mean "second" or "another/other"? How is "drugi" used?

The adjective drugi in Croatian can mean:

second (in order)
other / another

In this sentence:

u drugu kantu za plastične boce
It is naturally understood as “into another / the other bin”, contrasting it with the bin for paper.

Context decides whether it’s “second” or “other”:

Drugi dan – the second day
Druga osoba – another person / the other person
U jednu kantu za papir, a u drugu za plastiku. – into one bin for paper and into another (the other) for plastic.

Why is it "plastične boce" and not "plastična boca"?

Because we are talking about multiple plastic bottles:

boca – bottle (feminine singular)
boce – bottles (feminine plural)

The adjective plastičan (plastic) agrees in gender, number, and case:

nominative singular: plastična boca
nominative plural: plastične boce
accusative plural (for feminine) is the same form: plastične boce

In "za plastične boce":

za → accusative
feminine plural accusative: plastične boce (same as nominative form)

Why is "u" used instead of "na" in "u posebnu kantu"?

In Croatian:

u = into / in (inside something, an interior)
na = onto / on (on a surface, on top of something)

A kanta (bin) is a container you throw things into, so you use u:

bacamo smeće u kantu – we throw trash into the bin

You would use na for surfaces:

bacamo smeće na pod – we throw trash on the floor
stavili su čašu na stol – they put the glass on the table

Could you say the sentence without repeating "u" and "kantu", like in English: "into a special bin for paper and another for plastic bottles"?

Yes. In more natural, less repetitive Croatian, you could say:

Smeće bacamo u posebnu kantu za papir i drugu za plastične boce.

Here:

The second "kantu" is omitted, but understood from context.
The second "u" can also be omitted because the first "u" logically covers both.

All of these are acceptable:

u posebnu kantu za papir i u drugu kantu za plastične boce (fully explicit)
u posebnu kantu za papir i u drugu za plastične boce (omit second kantu)
u posebnu kantu za papir i drugu kantu za plastične boce (omit second u)
u posebnu kantu za papir i drugu za plastične boce (most concise, natural)

Why doesn’t Croatian use any word like “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Croatian does not have articles like English “a / an / the”.

Definiteness and indefiniteness are usually:

Understood from context
Sometimes clarified by word order or additional words (e.g. jedan = “one / a certain”)

So:

Smeće bacamo u posebnu kantu za papir...
- can mean “We throw the trash into a special bin for paper…”
- or “We throw the trash into the special bin for paper…”

Whether it is “a” or “the” is determined by context, not by a separate word.

Does the present tense "bacamo" mean "we are throwing" right now, or "we (usually) throw"?

In Croatian, the simple present tense often covers both meanings:

current ongoing action
- Sad bacamo smeće u kantu. – We are throwing the trash into the bin now.
habit / general rule
- Smeće bacamo u posebnu kantu za papir... – We throw the trash (as a habit, regularly) into a special bin for paper…

In this sentence, the meaning is clearly habitual or describing a rule about separating trash.

How would you say this sentence in a more formal way, focusing on “sorting” rather than “throwing”?

You could use the verb odvajati or razdvajati (to separate) or razvrstavati (to sort):

Smeće odvajamo u posebnu kantu za papir i drugu kantu za plastične boce.
Smeće razvrstavamo u posebnu kantu za papir i drugu za plastične boce.

These versions focus more on separating / sorting waste (recycling context) rather than just throwing it away.

How are the main nouns in the sentence classified (gender and basic case form)?

Key nouns:

smeće – trash
- gender: neuter
- basic form (nominative sg): smeće
kanta – bin
- gender: feminine
- basic form: kanta
papir – paper
- gender: masculine (inanimate)
- basic form: papir
boca – bottle
- gender: feminine
- basic form: boca

In the sentence you see them mostly in accusative:

u posebnu kantu
u drugu kantu
za papir
za plastične boce (accusative plural feminine)