U školi djeca danas uče što znači Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša.

At school the children are learning today what World Environment Day means.

Breakdown of U školi djeca danas uče što znači Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša.

• škola: school
• učiti: to learn
• danas: today
• u: at
• dijete: child
• što: what
• značiti: to mean
• Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša: World Environment Day

Questions & Answers about U školi djeca danas uče što znači Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša.

Why does the sentence start with U školi? Could I also say Djeca danas uče u školi?

Yes, you can also say Djeca danas uče u školi. Croatian has relatively free word order compared to English.

• U školi djeca danas uče…
  – Puts more emphasis on the place (at school). It feels a bit like saying: At school, the children are learning today what…

• Djeca danas uče u školi…
  – Neutral, more similar to English order: The children are learning today at school…

All of these are grammatically correct, with slightly different emphasis:

• U školi djeca danas uče…
• Djeca danas uče u školi…
• Djeca uče danas u školi…
• Danas djeca uče u školi…

Croatian uses word order mainly for information structure (what you want to highlight), not for basic grammar like English does.

Why is it u školi and not u školu or u škola?

This is about case and the meaning of the preposition u.

• u školi – locative case, used with u to express location: in/at school (where?)
  
  • škola (dictionary form, nominative) → školi (locative singular)
• u školu – accusative case, used with u to express movement towards: to school (where to?)

So:

• U školi djeca danas uče…
  = At school, the children are learning… (location)

• Djeca idu u školu.
  = The children are going to school. (movement)

U škola is impossible: prepositions require specific cases, and u + location must use locative (školi), not nominative (škola).

There is no word for the or a in u školi djeca. How do I know if it means in the school or in a school, the children or children?

Croatian has no articles like a/an/the, so one form can correspond to several English options.

• u školi can be:

  • in the school
  • in a school
  • in school (general)

• djeca can be:

  • the children
  • children (in general)

The exact English translation depends on context, not on any extra word in Croatian. If the situation is clearly about some particular group of children at some (implied) school, you will usually translate as:

• In school, the children are learning today what…

But grammatically, Croatian doesn’t force a vs the; it stays neutral.

What form is djeca and why does it take uče (plural) instead of a singular verb?

Djeca means children and is grammatically a bit special.

• Singular: dijete (child) – neuter singular
• Plural: djeca (children) – formally neuter plural, but it behaves semantically as plural people, so it takes 3rd person plural verbs:

Examples:

• Djeca uče. – The children learn / are learning.
• Djeca su došla. – The children came.

So djeca danas uče is correct and standard: the subject is djeca (children), and the verb uče is 3rd person plural present.

What tense and aspect is uče? Could I say danas su učili or danas nauče?

Uče is:

• present tense
• imperfective aspect
• 3rd person plural of učiti (to learn / to study / to teach, depending on context)

It describes an action in progress or habitual, here: are learning today.

Other options:

• Danas su učili – past tense (perfect):
  Today they learned / they have learned.
  This means the learning already happened earlier today.

• Danas nauče – naučiti is perfective (to learn, to manage to learn, to have learned).
  In actual, natural use, you’d more often say danas će naučiti (they will learn it today).
  Bare present of a perfective verb (nauče) is usually used in specific patterns (e.g. instructions, conditions), not in a simple statement about today.

So danas uče = they are in the process of learning today; that fits your sentence best.

Why is it uče što znači… and not uče što je… or uče da je…?

All of these can be grammatical, but they are slightly different:

• uče što znači X
  – literally: they learn what X means
  – što znači X is a content clause: what X means.
  This is the most natural for learning the meaning of something.

• uče što je X
  – they learn what X is
  – focuses more on defining/describing X as a thing or concept, not on the meaning of the phrase.

• uče da je X…
  – they learn that X is…
  – introduces a statement they are learning as a fact (that something is true), not a question like what something means.

In your sentence, the focus is on the meaning of Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša, so uče što znači… is the best fit.

What is što here exactly? Is it a question word like what, or a conjunction like that?

In uče što znači Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša, što is:

• originally the interrogative pronoun što (what),
• used here to introduce an embedded question / content clause:
  što znači Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša = what World Environment Day means.

So:

• Direct question:
  Što znači Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša? – What does World Environment Day mean?

• Embedded in a larger sentence:
  Djeca uče što znači Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša. – The children are learning what World Environment Day means.

It is not the same as da. Da would correspond to English that:

• Djeca uče da je danas Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša.
  – The children are learning that today is World Environment Day.

Also, note a common colloquial variant: šta instead of što in many regions, but što is standard.

Can you explain the structure and cases in Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša?

Yes. The whole phrase is in the nominative case because it is the subject of znači (means). Inside the phrase:

• Svjetski – adjective, masculine nominative singular
  – from svjetski (world, global), agreeing with dan

• dan – noun, masculine nominative singular (day)

• zaštite – noun zaštita (protection), genitive singular
  – means of protection

• okoliša – noun okoliš (environment), genitive singular
  – means of the environment

Literally, it is:

• Svjetski dan – World Day
• zaštite okoliša – of the protection of the environment

So, Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša ≈ World Day of the Protection of the Environment → World Environment Day.

The genitive–genitive chain (dan zaštite okoliša) is typical in Croatian for expressions like Day of X, Ministry of Y, Festival of Z, etc.

Why are Svjetski, dan, zaštite, and okoliša capitalized like that? When do you use capital letters for holidays in Croatian?

Croatian capitalization rules for holidays and similar names:

• The first word of the name is capitalized: Svjetski
• All nouns and adjectives that are part of the official name are also capitalized: dan, zaštite, okoliša

So Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša is treated as one proper name, like a holiday or official observance.

Compare:

• Božić – Christmas
• Nova godina – New Year’s Day (first word caps, second also caps because it’s a fixed name)
• Međunarodni dan žena – International Women’s Day
• Dan državnosti – Statehood Day

That’s why you see capital letters on each word in Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša in this context.

Why is it zaštite okoliša and not zaštita okoliš or zaštita okoliša?

This is again about the genitive case, used to show of-relationships.

Dictionary forms (nominative):

• zaštita – protection
• okoliš – environment

In your phrase:

• zaštite – genitive singular of zaštita (of protection)
• okoliša – genitive singular of okoliš (of the environment)

The pattern [noun in nominative] + [noun in genitive] is very common:

• dan zaštite – day of protection
• dan zaštite okoliša – day of protection of the environment

Zaštita okoliš (both in nominative) would be ungrammatical here; the grammar requires genitive after zaštita in this construction: zaštita koga/čega? → okoliša.

Where can I put danas in this sentence? Is djeca danas uče the only correct version?

You can move danas quite freely; Croatian adverbs are flexible. All of these are grammatical:

• U školi djeca danas uče što znači…
• U školi danas djeca uče što znači…
• Danas djeca u školi uče što znači…
• Djeca danas u školi uče što znači…

Differences are only in rhythm and emphasis:

• Danas djeca… – emphasizes today.
• Djeca danas… – neutral, common in speech.
• U školi djeca danas… – puts the location first, then adds timing.

So djeca danas uče is not the only correct version; it’s just one natural option.