Questions & Answers about On želi raditi u inozemstvu.
Yes. Croatian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person.
- On želi raditi u inozemstvu. = He wants to work abroad.
- Želi raditi u inozemstvu. = He/She wants to work abroad (gender is only from context).
You use "On" only if you want to:
- emphasize he (as opposed to someone else), or
- make it very clear who you are talking about in a longer text.
"Želi" means "wants" (literally: he/she wants).
The infinitive is "željeti" = to want, to wish.
Present tense (singular):
- ja želim – I want
- ti želiš – you (sg.) want
- on/ona/ono želi – he/she/it wants
So in the sentence:
- On želi = He wants
In Croatian, after verbs of wanting, needing, being able, etc., you use the bare infinitive, without any extra particle:
- želim raditi – I want to work
- moram učiti – I have to study
- mogu pomoći – I can help
English needs “to”, but Croatian does not add anything.
So "želi raditi" literally is wants work in structure, but it means wants to work.
Both "željeti" and "htjeti" can translate as to want, but they differ in nuance and usage:
željeti (želi)
- slightly more neutral/polite, often used for wishes and desires
- common in both spoken and written Croatian
htjeti (hoće)
- can sound stronger, more determined, or even a bit blunt depending on tone
- very common, especially in colloquial speech
- has a lot of contractions: ću, ćeš, će... when used as the future auxiliary
"On hoće raditi u inozemstvu" is grammatically correct and understandable.
Depending on tone/context, it might sound a bit more like He is determined / insists on working abroad rather than just neutrally He wants to work abroad.
These are two different cases and slightly different meanings:
u inozemstvu – locative case, “in/abroad” as a location
- Focus: where he wants to work
- On želi raditi u inozemstvu. – He wants to work in a foreign country / abroad.
u inozemstvo – accusative, usually meaning movement towards
- Focus: to where he is going
- On želi ići u inozemstvo. – He wants to go abroad.
In your sentence the idea is working somewhere abroad, so locative: u inozemstvu is used.
The base (dictionary) form is "inozemstvo" (neuter noun) = foreign country/abroad.
In the sentence, "inozemstvu" is:
- singular,
- locative case (used after "u" when talking about location).
Rough case pattern (singular, standard style):
- Nominative (base): inozemstvo – abroad
- Genitive: inozemstva – of abroad
- Dative/Locative: inozemstvu – to/in abroad
- Accusative: inozemstvo – abroad (motion towards)
- Instrumental: inozemstvom – with/by abroad (rare in real use, but grammatically there)
You must use "u" here; "na inozemstvu" is incorrect.
Basic rule:
- u = in, into (inside some space or area)
- na = on, onto, at (surfaces, events, some institutions, some islands, etc.)
Inozemstvo is treated like a general area/space (foreign countries), so you say:
- u inozemstvu – abroad (literally: in the foreign country/abroad)
You cannot use na with inozemstvo.
"Raditi" has two main meanings in Croatian, similar to English work and do:
to work (have a job, perform work)
- On želi raditi u inozemstvu. – He wants to work abroad.
- Radim u banci. – I work in a bank.
to do / to be doing something
- Što radiš? – What are you doing?
- Ne radim ništa. – I’m not doing anything.
In your sentence, from context, it clearly means to work (have a job).
Croatian word order is flexible, but changes in order usually change emphasis.
All three are grammatically correct:
On želi raditi u inozemstvu.
- Neutral, most common: He wants to work abroad.
On u inozemstvu želi raditi.
- Emphasizes u inozemstvu (abroad) as the place of work.
- Subtext: As for working abroad, that’s what he wants.
U inozemstvu on želi raditi.
- Strongly emphasizes abroad, often in contrast:
- Subtext: It’s abroad that he wants to work (not here / not elsewhere).
For a learner, stick with the neutral word order: On želi raditi u inozemstvu.
You only change the pronoun; the verb forms stay the same:
- On želi raditi u inozemstvu. – He wants to work abroad.
- Ona želi raditi u inozemstvu. – She wants to work abroad.
In the present tense, "želi" is the same for he and she.
In Croatian, the present tense often expresses:
- current states and wishes that are naturally future-oriented.
So:
- On želi raditi u inozemstvu.
literally: He wants (now) to work abroad
understood: He wants (now) to work abroad in the future.
You don’t usually need a special future form ("će željeti") to talk about a general wish/intention.
Yes, it’s grammatically correct, but the nuance is slightly different:
On želi raditi u inozemstvu.
neutral flow; focus on wanting to work, then specifying where.On želi u inozemstvu raditi.
gives a bit more focus to "u inozemstvu" (abroad) as the place of work.
It can sound a bit more marked or stylistic, but it’s fine.
For learners, the first version is more standard and natural.
Yes. Some alternatives:
On želi raditi vani.
- literally: He wants to work outside, often used colloquially to mean abroad.
- less formal and a bit vague; depending on context, it might just mean outside.
On želi raditi u stranoj zemlji.
- He wants to work in a foreign country.
- more literal, emphasizes foreign country rather than the abstract idea of abroad.
But the most standard and clear for abroad is still:
- On želi raditi u inozemstvu.