Learn Hardcore Croatian: Molim te, podcrtaj ovu riječ u bilježnici. - Please underline this word in the notebook.

So “Molim te, podcrtaj ovu riječ u bilježnici.” is literally:
“I ask you, underline this word in (the) notebook.”
but is best understood as: “Please underline this word in the notebook.”

You can also put molim te at the end:

Podcrtaj ovu riječ u bilježnici, molim te. – “Underline this word in the notebook, please.”

What’s the difference between “Molim te”, “Molim”, and “Molim Vas”?

They’re all related to “please,” but differ in formality and who you’re talking to:

Molim te – informal “please (you)” to one person you address as ti (friend, child, close colleague).
Molim Vas – polite/formal “please (you)” to:
- one person you address as Vi (polite “you”), or
- more than one person (plural “you”).
Molim (alone) – can work as “please” too, often in short exchanges or answers:
- As “You’re welcome” (when someone thanks you):
  - – Hvala! – Molim.
- As “Pardon?” / “Sorry?” when you didn’t hear:
  - – Molim?
- As a short, slightly formal “please”:
  - – Uđite. – Molim. (“Please, come in.”)

In your sentence, because it’s clearly addressed to “te” (you, informal), “Molim te” is the natural form.

Why is the verb “podcrtaj” used here, and what form is it?

“Podcrtaj” is the 2nd person singular imperative of the verb podcrtati = “to underline.”

infinitive: podcrtati
1st person singular present: ja podcrtam (I underline)
2nd person singular imperative: podcrtaj (underline!)

So “podcrtaj” means “underline!” addressed to one person (ti).

Structure of the verb:

crtati = to draw
pod- = a prefix meaning roughly “under/beneath”
→ pod-crt-a-ti: literally “to put a line under,” i.e. “to underline.”

If you were talking to more than one person (or using polite Vi), you’d say:

Podcrtajte ovu riječ u bilježnici. – “Underline this word in the notebook.” (plural / formal)

Are there other common Croatian verbs for “to underline” besides “podcrtati”?

Yes, several verbs are used with the same meaning:

podcrtati / podcrtavati – very common, neutral:
- podcrtati = perfective (one-time, completed underlining)
- podcrtavati = imperfective (repeated / ongoing underlining)
podvući (crtu) – literally “to draw a line underneath”:
- Podvući ovu riječ. – also “Underline this word.”
podvući often appears as podvući crtu = “to draw a line under (something)” literally and metaphorically.

In school contexts, teachers will very often say exactly what you have:

Podcrtaj ovu riječ. – “Underline this word.”

So your sentence uses the most straightforward common school-style verb.

What does “ovu riječ” show about gender and case, and why is it in that form?

“Ovu riječ” is feminine singular, accusative case.

riječ = word (feminine noun)
demonstrative ovaj/ova/ovo (“this”) must agree with the noun:
- nominative: ova riječ = this word
- accusative (object): ovu riječ = this word (as a direct object)

In your sentence,

the verb podcrtaj takes a direct object: underline what?
answer: ovu riječ → so it must be in the accusative.

Paradigm for the demonstrative “this” (singular):

masculine: ovaj (nom.), ovog/a (acc.)
feminine: ova (nom.), ovu (acc.)
neuter: ovo (nom. & acc.)

So the change ova → ovu clearly signals the object role of “this word” in the sentence.

How does the noun “riječ” decline, and why isn’t it changed in the accusative here?

“Riječ” is a feminine noun that belongs to a group where the nominative and accusative singular have the same form.

Singular of riječ:

Nominative: (ta) riječ – the word
Genitive: riječi
Dative: riječi
Accusative: riječ (same as nominative)
Locative: riječi
Instrumental: riječju / riječi (variation)

So in ovu riječ:

ovu changes (ova → ovu) to show the accusative,
riječ stays the same as its nominative form, which is normal for many feminine nouns in Croatian (especially those ending in a consonant like -č).

Why is it “u bilježnici” and not “u bilježnicu”? What case is this?

After u, Croatian uses two different cases depending on meaning:

Accusative – direction, movement into something:
- Idem u školu. – I’m going to (into) school.
- Stavi bilježnicu u torbu. – Put the notebook into the bag.
Locative – location, being in/inside something (no movement):
- Učim u školi. – I’m studying at school / in school.
- Pišem u bilježnici. – I’m writing in the notebook.

In your sentence:

the word is already inside the notebook, and you are underlining it in that location, not moving anything into the notebook.
So you use locative: u bilježnici (“in the notebook”).

bilježnica (notebook) – singular:

Nominative: bilježnica
Genitive: bilježnice
Dative: bilježnici
Locative: bilježnici
Accusative: bilježnicu

Hence u bilježnici (in the notebook, locative).

What exactly does “bilježnica” mean, and are there related words I should know?

“Bilježnica” is the standard word for a notebook (especially a school notebook).

Related forms and words:

bilježnica – notebook (singular)
bilježnice – notebooks (plural nominative) / of the notebook (genitive sing.)
bilješka – a note (short written note)
bilježiti – to note down, to record (imperfective)
zabilježiti – to record, to note down (perfective)

In classroom or homework contexts, bilježnica is what a teacher would typically say when referring to a student’s exercise book or notebook.

Could the word order be different, like “Podcrtaj ovu riječ u bilježnici, molim te”? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can definitely change the word order without changing the basic meaning:

Molim te, podcrtaj ovu riječ u bilježnici.
Podcrtaj ovu riječ u bilježnici, molim te.
Podcrtaj, molim te, ovu riječ u bilježnici.

All mean essentially “Please underline this word in the notebook.”

Differences are only in slight emphasis and rhythm:

Starting with Molim te sounds like a polite intro: “Please, (could you) underline...”
Ending with molim te mirrors English “..., please” and can sound a bit softer.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and here none of the variants would sound strange.

What is the role of “te” in “Molim te”? Could you say “Molim ti” instead?

“te” is the unstressed object pronoun for “you” (informal singular) in the accusative (and also dative in many contexts):

te = you (as a direct or indirect object, clitic form)

You cannot say “Molim ti”; ti is the subject form (“you” as subject) and doesn’t work here.

Pronoun forms (informal ti – you, sg.):

Nominative (subject): ti – you
Accusative (object): tebe / te – you
Dative: tebi / ti – to you (but ti is a clitic used in limited positions)

In Molim te, we’re using:

Molim
- te (accusative object) → “I ask you,” idiomatically “please.”

So only Molim te is correct in this expression.

How do you pronounce “riječ” and “bilježnici”, and where is the stress?

riječ:

phonetic: roughly [riječ], one syllable with a long vowel/diphthong-like “ije” sound.
stress: on the only syllable, the riječ part – effectively the whole word.
“r” is rolled or tapped.
“č” is like English “ch” in “church”, but shorter and crisper.

bilježnici:

syllables: bi-lje-ž-ni-ci
standard stress: bí-ljež-ni-ci – stress on the first syllable bi.
“lj” is a palatal sound, similar to “lli” in British “million.”
“ž” is like the “s” in “measure” or “vision.”
“c” is ts as in “cats.”

So you get something like: BÍ-lyez-ni-tsi (approximate English-friendly rendering).

Is “Molim te, podcrtaj ovu riječ u bilježnici” formal or informal? How would I say it politely to a stranger or an adult I don’t know well?

The sentence is clearly informal, because of te and the singular imperative podcrtaj (for ti).

To make it polite/formal (using Vi), change:

te → Vas,
podcrtaj → podcrtajte.

Polite version:

Molim Vas, podcrtajte ovu riječ u bilježnici.
= “Please underline this word in the notebook.” (to one adult politely, or to several people)

Everything else in the sentence stays the same.