Learn Hardcore Croatian: Moja prijateljica ne voli pretjerivati s poslom navečer, jer cijeni miran san. - My friend does not like to overdo it with work in the evening, because she values a calm sleep.

pretjerivati – imperfective (focus on the ongoing or repeated action: to overdo things (in general))
pretjerati – perfective (focus on a single completed act: to overdo it (once, completely))

In this sentence:

ne voli pretjerivati s poslom navečer
= she doesn’t like the habit / the general activity of overdoing it with work in the evenings.

Using pretjerati here would sound more like she doesn’t like to end up having overdone it (one-off result), which is not what is usually meant in this kind of general statement about preferences. So pretjerivati is more natural.

What does pretjerivati s poslom literally mean, and why do we need s?

Literally:

pretjerivati = to exaggerate, to overdo
s poslom = with work

Together, pretjerivati s poslom means “to overdo it with work / to work too much.”

The preposition s (with) here governs the instrumental case:

posao (work, job – nominative singular)
s poslom (with work – instrumental singular)

This is a common pattern: pretjerivati s + instrumental means “to overdo something”:

pretjerivati s hranom – to overdo it with food
pretjerivati s pićem – to overdo it with drink

Why is it s poslom and not s posla?

Because s poslom and s posla mean different things and use different cases:

s poslom – instrumental: “with work”
- used after pretjerivati (s nečim) = to overdo something
s posla – genitive after s in the meaning “from”
- ići s posla = to go from work

In this sentence we need the meaning “overdo it with work”, so s poslom (instrumental) is correct.

What’s the difference between večer and navečer here?

večer = evening (noun)
navečer = in the evening / during the evening (adverbial expression of time)

In the sentence:

… s poslom navečer … = with work in the evening

You wouldn’t usually say s poslom večer. If you wanted to keep večer as a noun, you would need a preposition:

uvečer or u večer = in the evening

But navečer is very common and natural for “in the evening,” so s poslom navečer is the most fluent option here.

Could I say uvečer instead of navečer?

Yes:

navečer and uvečer both mean “in the evening,” and both are used.

So the sentence could also be:

Moja prijateljica ne voli pretjerivati s poslom uvečer, jer cijeni miran san.

The meaning stays the same; navečer may sound slightly more neutral or more common in some regions, but both are correct.

Why is there a comma before jer?

Jer means because and introduces a subordinate clause that gives a reason:

Main clause: Moja prijateljica ne voli pretjerivati s poslom navečer
Subordinate clause: jer cijeni miran san

In standard written Croatian, you normally place a comma before jer:

…, jer …

So the comma separates the main statement from the reason clause.

What does cijeni mean, and what form is it?

cijeni comes from the verb cijeniti (to value, to appreciate).

cijeniti – infinitive
on/ona/ono cijeni – 3rd person singular, present tense

In this sentence:

jer cijeni miran san
= because she values/appreciates peaceful sleep

The subject (moja prijateljica) is not repeated, but grammatically it’s still “she.”

What case is miran san, and why does miran look like that?

cijeniti takes a direct object in the accusative case.

san (dream, sleep) – nominative singular masculine
miran san – “peaceful sleep”

In the accusative singular for an inanimate masculine noun like san:

the noun san does not change form (nominative = accusative: san)
the adjective miran also keeps the same form in nominative and accusative masculine inanimate singular

So:

Nominative: miran san je važan – peaceful sleep is important
Accusative: cijeni miran san – she values peaceful sleep

Formally, miran san here is accusative, even though it looks like nominative.

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” like in English?

Croatian has no articles (a, an, the). The definiteness or indefiniteness is usually understood from context, word order, or additional words if needed.

So:

moja prijateljica can mean my friend or my (female) friend
miran san can be understood as peaceful sleep / a peaceful sleep / the peaceful sleep, depending on context.

You don’t add anything like a or the; you just say miran san.

Can I change the word order, for example jer miran san cijeni?

Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but not every permutation sounds natural.

jer cijeni miran san – normal, neutral word order (verb before object)

You could say:

jer miran san cijeni

This is grammatically possible but sounds marked, like you are emphasizing miran san (peaceful sleep) in a stylistic or poetic way.

For everyday speech and normal writing, jer cijeni miran san is the natural choice.