Breakdown of Na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša naša udruga volontira u parku.
Questions & Answers about Na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša naša udruga volontira u parku.
The preposition na can take either accusative or locative, depending on the meaning:
na + accusative → direction, goal, or occasion / time
- Na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša = on World Environment Day (on that occasion, that specific date)
na + locative → static location
- na stolu = on the table
- na koncertu = at the concert (place)
Here Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša is treated as an occasion / date, so you use na + accusative → Na Svjetski dan….
Na Svjetskom danu would sound like you’re talking about being located on/at some “World Day” as a place, which is not what’s meant here.
Formally it could be either nominative or accusative, because for masculine inanimate nouns the two forms are identical:
- nominative sg: svjetski dan
- accusative sg: svjetski dan
In this sentence, however, it must be accusative, because it is the object of the preposition na used in its time/occasion meaning (na + accusative).
You know it’s accusative not by form (they look the same), but by function in the sentence and by how na works with time expressions.
In standard Croatian, for names of holidays and official days:
- Only the first word of the name is capitalized,
- Subsequent words are written in lower case, unless they themselves are proper names.
So the official name is:
- Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša
In the sentence, Na is capitalized only because it’s the first word of the sentence, not because of the holiday name itself:
- Na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša…
Literally:
- zaštita = protection
- zaštite = of protection (genitive singular)
- okoliš = environment
- okoliša = of the environment (genitive singular)
The structure is:
- dan (čega?) zaštite (čega?) okoliša
→ day (of what?) of protection (of what?) of the environment
So zaštite okoliša is a genitive–genitive chain meaning “of environmental protection” / “of protection of the environment”.
In Croatian it’s very common to express this kind of “of X of Y” relationship with a sequence of genitives.
Grammatically, udruga is:
- gender: feminine
- number: singular
- case here: nominative (subject)
So the verb must agree with the noun udruga, not with the number of people in it. Therefore:
- Naša udruga volontira… = Our association volunteers…
(3rd person singular, because udruga is a single entity)
English does the same thing with many collective nouns:
- The team *wins the match. (not *win)
- The association *organizes events.*
So even though many people participate, the subject is one organization, so you use volontira (3rd sg).
Udruga is a fairly general term for a non-profit association or organization, usually membership‑based. Typical translations:
- association
- non-governmental organization (NGO)
- sometimes: society, club, group
Which English word you choose depends on context:
- sports or hobby group → club / association
- environmental or human‑rights group → often NGO / association
In your sentence, naša udruga is best thought of as our (non-profit) association / NGO.
The preposition u works like this:
u + locative → location: in, inside
- u parku = in the park (you are there)
u + accusative → direction/motion: into
- ići u park = to go to the park / into the park
In the sentence, the association is already in the park while volunteering (a static location), so you use:
- u parku (locative) rather than u park (accusative).
parku is locative singular of park.
park is a regular masculine noun. Its singular forms (most important for beginners):
- nominative: park – the park
- genitive: parka – of the park
- dative: parku – to/for the park
- accusative: park – (to) the park
- locative: parku – in the park / about the park
- instrumental: parkom – with/by the park
With u meaning “in”, you use locative:
- u parku = in the park
Croatian splits what English calls “on/in/at” among different prepositions:
na is widely used for:
- surfaces: na stolu (on the table)
- many events/activities: na koncertu (at a concert), na filmu (at the movie)
- and with many named days/occasions: na Božić, na Uskrs, na Dan žena
u is used mainly for:
- being inside something: u kući (in the house), u parku (in the park)
- some time expressions: u ponedjeljak (on Monday)
So:
- Na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša → na
- accusative, because it’s an occasion/day
- u parku → u
- locative, because it’s a physical place you’re in
Yes. Croatian word order is quite flexible, and several versions are correct:
Na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša naša udruga volontira u parku.
– neutral, with time at the beginning (very common: time → subject → verb → place)Naša udruga volontira u parku na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša.
– also natural; puts the subject first, and the time phrase at the end.Naša udruga na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša volontira u parku.
– possible; slightly heavier in the middle, but still acceptable.
The meaning doesn’t change; only the focus / rhythm of the sentence shifts. For learners, a safe default pattern is:
[Time] [Subject] [Verb] [Place]
Na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša naša udruga volontira u parku.
volontiramo = we volunteer (1st person plural)
volontira = he/she/it volunteers (3rd person singular)
Since the subject is naša udruga (our association), which is 3rd person singular, the correct form is:
- Naša udruga volontira u parku.
If you changed the subject to we:
- Mi volontiramo u parku na Svjetski dan zaštite okoliša.
(We volunteer in the park on World Environment Day.)
So you choose volontira or volontiramo depending on who is the subject, not on how many people are actually involved inside the association.