Ona dnevno uči hrvatski.

She studies Croatian daily.

Breakdown of Ona dnevno uči hrvatski.

• ona: she
• hrvatski: Croatian
• učiti: to study
• dnevno: per day

Questions & Answers about Ona dnevno uči hrvatski.

Can you break down the meaning of each word in Ona dnevno uči hrvatski?

Word by word:

• Ona – she (3rd person singular feminine subject pronoun)
• dnevno – daily / per day / every day (adverb of frequency/time, from dan = day)
• uči – (she) learns / studies (3rd person singular present of učiti)
• hrvatski – Croatian (language) (literally “Croatian”, underlyingly hrvatski jezik = Croatian language)

So the whole sentence means “She studies/learns Croatian every day / on a daily basis.”

Do I have to say ona, or can I drop the subject pronoun?

You can drop it. Croatian is a pro‑drop language: the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Ona dnevno uči hrvatski. – She studies Croatian daily.
• Dnevno uči hrvatski. – (She) studies Croatian daily.

Both are correct. Using ona adds a bit of emphasis or clarity, for example when you’re contrasting people:

• Ona dnevno uči hrvatski, a on uči samo vikendom.
  She studies Croatian daily, and he studies only on weekends.

Where can dnevno go in the sentence? Is the word order fixed?

The word order is fairly flexible, but some options sound more natural than others.

Most natural positions for dnevno here:

• Ona dnevno uči hrvatski.
• Dnevno uči hrvatski.
• Dnevno ona uči hrvatski. (emphasis on daily)

You will more often see adverbs of time/frequency:

• at the beginning: Dnevno uči hrvatski.
• right before the verb: Ona dnevno uči hrvatski.

Putting dnevno at the very end:

• Ona uči hrvatski dnevno.

is unusual in this meaning; it sounds more natural to say instead:

• Ona uči hrvatski svaki dan.
• Ona uči hrvatski svakodnevno.

So: the order isn’t grammatically fixed, but some positions are much more idiomatic.

What is the difference between dnevno, svaki dan, and svakodnevno?

All three can express the idea of “every day”, but with slightly different flavors:

• dnevno

  • Adverb meaning daily / per day.
  • Common in both time and quantity expressions:
    
    • Ona dnevno uči hrvatski. – She studies Croatian daily.
    • Popijem dvije kave dnevno. – I drink two coffees per day.

• svaki dan

  • Literally “every day”. Very common, neutral, conversational:
    
    • Ona svaki dan uči hrvatski.

• svakodnevno

  • Adverb meaning “everyday / on a daily basis”, a bit more formal or “bookish”:
    
    • Ona svakodnevno uči hrvatski.

In everyday speech, svaki dan is probably the most common; dnevno and svakodnevno sound a bit more like “per day / on a daily basis” rather than simply “every day”.

Why is hrvatski used on its own, without a separate word for “language”?

In Croatian, language names are often expressed by adjectives used as nouns.

• Full phrase: hrvatski jezik – Croatian language
• Common short form: hrvatski – Croatian (as a language)

This happens with many languages:

• engleski (jezik) – English
• njemački (jezik) – German
• talijanski (jezik) – Italian

So Ona dnevno uči hrvatski. literally is “She daily learns Croatian-(language)”, with jezik understood but not said. There is no article like a/the in Croatian.

What case is hrvatski here, and why does it look like the basic form?

Hrvatski is the direct object of the verb uči (“learns”), so it is in the accusative case.

However:

• hrvatski is a masculine inanimate form of an adjective.
• For masculine inanimate adjectives, accusative = nominative in form.

So:

• Nominative singular masculine: hrvatski jezik
• Accusative singular masculine inanimate: (uči) hrvatski (jezik)

Because the form doesn’t change between nominative and accusative for masculine inanimate adjectives, hrvatski looks the same in both roles.

Why is it uči, and how does the verb učiti conjugate?

Uči is the 3rd person singular present tense of učiti (“to learn / to study”).

Present tense of učiti:

• ja učim – I learn / study
• ti učiš – you learn / study (singular, informal)
• on / ona / ono uči – he / she / it learns / studies
• mi učimo – we learn / study
• vi učite – you learn / study (plural or formal)
• oni / one / ona uče – they learn / study

So ona uči = she learns / she studies.

What’s the difference between učiti and naučiti?

This is about aspect (imperfective vs. perfective):

• učiti – imperfective

  • Focus on the process of learning or repeated/habitual learning.
  • Ona dnevno uči hrvatski.
    She studies Croatian daily. (ongoing/regular activity)

• naučiti – perfective

  • Focus on the result, “to learn (successfully, to completion)”.
  • Ona je naučila hrvatski.
    She has learned Croatian / She learned Croatian (and now knows it).

So you use učiti with dnevno / svaki dan for habits, and naučiti when talking about finally mastering/learning something.

Why is the present tense (uči) used for a habitual action like “every day”?

In Croatian, the present tense of an imperfective verb (like učiti) naturally covers:

• actions happening right now
• regular / habitual actions

So:

• Sada uči hrvatski. – She is studying Croatian now.
• Ona dnevno uči hrvatski. – She studies Croatian every day.

This is similar to the English present simple (“She studies Croatian every day”) rather than the present continuous.

Why is hrvatski not capitalized like Croatian in English?

Croatian capitalization rules are different from English:

• National adjectives and language names are written with a lowercase letter:
  
  • hrvatski jezik – Croatian language
  • engleski – English
  • njemački – German

Country names and proper nouns are capitalized:

• Hrvatska – Croatia
• Engleska – England
• Njemačka – Germany

So hrvatski in Ona dnevno uči hrvatski. is correctly written with a lowercase h.

Can ona mean “they” here, or only “she”?

Ona can mean:

• “she” – 3rd person singular feminine pronoun
• “they” – 3rd person plural neuter pronoun

The meaning is disambiguated by the verb ending:

• Ona uči hrvatski.
  
  • uči = 3rd person singular → she learns Croatian.
• Ona uče hrvatski.
  
  • uče = 3rd person plural → they (neuter) learn Croatian.

In your sentence, uči is singular, so ona = she.

How do you pronounce Ona dnevno uči hrvatski?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English syllables):

• Ona – “OH-nah”
• dnevno – “DNEHV-no” (the dn is pronounced together: d
  • n, no vowel in between)
• uči – “OO-chee” (č like ch in church)
• hrvatski – roughly “HR-vat-skee”
  
  • Initial hr cluster: quick h then r
  • c = ts (as in cats)

All vowels are short and clear; stress is typically on the first syllable of each word: Òna dnȅvno ȗči hr̀vatski.