Breakdown of Večeras ću ponoviti novu riječ naglas u tihoj sobi.
Questions & Answers about Večeras ću ponoviti novu riječ naglas u tihoj sobi.
The sentence uses Future I (the normal future tense in Croatian).
It’s formed with:
- a short future auxiliary (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će)
- the infinitive of the main verb.
So:
- ponoviti = to repeat
- ja ću ponoviti = I will repeat
In your sentence, subject ja is omitted (it’s understood from ću), so you get:
- Večeras ću ponoviti… = Tonight I will repeat…
Both patterns exist, but the form of the infinitive changes:
Auxiliary before the verb (as in your sentence):
- Večeras ću ponoviti novu riječ…
- Infinitive keeps the -ti ending (ponoviti).
Auxiliary after the verb (very common in speech and writing):
- Večeras ću ponoviti novu riječ… (standard, auxiliary second)
- or you can move it and then the infinitive usually loses -i:
- Večeras ću ponoviti novu riječ… (cannot drop here)
- Večeras ću ponoviti is the standard pattern with auxiliary second.
More clearly:
- Ponovit ću novu riječ… – here ponoviti loses the final -i when the auxiliary comes after it: ponovit ću. This is very common and completely correct.
So:
- Večeras ću ponoviti novu riječ…
- Večeras ću ponovit novu riječ… (colloquial, in some dialects)
- Večeras ponovit ću novu riječ… (also heard, but less neutral)
The most neutral written form is the one in your sentence: Večeras ću ponoviti…
Because nova riječ is the subject form (nominative), but here riječ is the direct object of the verb ponoviti, so it must be in the accusative.
- Nominative (subject): nova riječ = a new word (does something)
- Accusative (object): novu riječ = I repeat a new word
Declension of the adjective nov (new), feminine singular:
- Nominative: nova (e.g. Nova riječ je teška. – The new word is hard.)
- Accusative: novu (e.g. Ponovit ću novu riječ. – I’ll repeat the new word.)
So novu riječ is “new word” in the object form.
Riječ is a feminine noun with a consonant ending, and in the singular it has the same form in nominative and accusative:
- Nominative singular: riječ
- Accusative singular: riječ
Compare with a more “regular” feminine noun:
- soba → nominative soba, accusative sobu
But for nouns like riječ:
- Ta riječ je nova. – That word is new. (nominative)
- Ponovit ću tu riječ. – I will repeat that word. (accusative)
You can tell it’s accusative (object) from its role in the sentence and from the adjective:
- nova riječ (nominative)
- novu riječ (accusative)
Both relate to doing something “aloud” or “in a loud way,” but there’s a nuance:
naglas
- literally from na glas = “on voice”
- means out loud / aloud, as opposed to silently or in your head.
- typical with verbs of speaking/reading:
- Čitati naglas – to read aloud
- Ponoviti riječ naglas – to repeat a word out loud
glasno
- adverb from glasni = loud
- means loudly, referring to the volume.
- You can do many things glasno:
- smijati se glasno – to laugh loudly
- govoriti glasno – to speak loudly (high volume)
In your sentence, naglas emphasises “not silently” rather than “at a high volume.”
Because u tihoj sobi uses the locative case, which is required after u when it means “in/inside” a place (static location).
- Base forms: tiha soba (quiet room) – nominative (dictionary form)
- Locative singular (feminine):
- tihoj sobi
So:
- u tihoj sobi = in a quiet room (place where something happens)
The pattern is:
- Preposition u (in) + locative = static location
- u gradu – in the city
- u školi – in (at) school
- u tihoj sobi – in a quiet room
U can use two different cases, depending on the meaning:
Accusative – movement into something (direction):
- Idem u sobu. – I’m going into the room.
- Stavi knjigu u torbu. – Put the book into the bag.
Locative – being in something (location, no movement):
- Sam u sobi. – I’m in the room.
- Kniga je u torbi. – The book is in the bag.
- Ponovit ću riječ u tihoj sobi. – I will repeat the word in a quiet room.
Your sentence describes where the action happens (no movement), so u + locative is used: u tihoj sobi.
Yes, Croatian word order is quite flexible, though certain positions sound more neutral.
Your original:
- Večeras ću ponoviti novu riječ naglas u tihoj sobi.
Other natural variants:
- Večeras ću u tihoj sobi naglas ponoviti novu riječ.
- U tihoj sobi ću večeras naglas ponoviti novu riječ.
- Novu ću riječ večeras ponoviti naglas u tihoj sobi.
Some notes:
- The clitic ću tends to stay early in the sentence, usually in “second position” after the first stressed element (e.g. after večeras, or after u tihoj sobi, etc.).
- Moving večeras, naglas, or u tihoj sobi usually changes emphasis, not the basic meaning:
- Initial Večeras emphasizes when.
- Initial U tihoj sobi emphasizes where.
The given sentence is a neutral and very natural choice.
Croatian verbs come in aspect pairs:
- ponavljati – imperfective: to be repeating, to repeat regularly/continuously
- ponoviti – perfective: to repeat once, to complete the act
In your sentence you are talking about a single, complete action in the future:
- Večeras ću ponoviti novu riječ…
→ Tonight I will (once) repeat the new word (and complete that action).
If you said:
- Večeras ću ponavljati novu riječ…
it would suggest I will be repeating the new word (many times / for some time) — focusing on the ongoing process rather than a single completed repetition.
Key points:
večeras
- Roughly: veh-CHE-ras
- č = like English ch in church
- Stress usually on the second syllable: ve-čè-ras (regional variation exists, but this is common).
riječ
- Roughly: ree-ECH (one syllable with a glide)
- rje is pronounced a bit like “r-ye” merged.
- č again like ch in church.
- Final ć/č is palatal; keep it clearly ch, not ts or sh.
naglas
- Roughly: NAH-glas
- g is always hard (like go), never like English j.
sobi
- Roughly: SOH-bee
- Two syllables, stress usually on so: sò-bi
Main difficulties:
- Rolling or tapping r (Croatian r is tapped/rolled, not English er).
- Keeping č as a clear ch sound.
- Not inserting extra vowels; riječ is one word, not ree-etch with a clear break.