Breakdown of Oni redovito uče hrvatski u parku.
Questions & Answers about Oni redovito uče hrvatski u parku.
In Croatian, the subject pronoun is usually optional because the verb ending already shows the person and number.
- Oni redovito uče hrvatski u parku.
- Redovito uče hrvatski u parku. (without oni)
Both are correct and mean the same.
You normally include oni when you:
- want to emphasize they (as opposed to someone else), or
- are introducing a new subject in the conversation.
In neutral, ongoing context, speakers would very often just say Redovito uče hrvatski u parku.
Uče is:
- present tense
- 3rd person plural (they)
of the verb učiti (to learn, to study).
Basic present tense forms of učiti:
- ja učim – I learn
- ti učiš – you (sg.) learn
- on / ona / ono uči – he / she / it learns
- mi učimo – we learn
- vi učite – you (pl./formal) learn
- oni / one / ona uče – they learn
Both relate to studying/learning, but they are used differently:
učiti
- more general: to learn, to study (for a test, to learn a language, etc.)
- used for any level of learning
- učiti hrvatski, učiti matematiku, učiti za ispit (study for an exam)
studirati
- mainly used for university-level studies or formal fields of study
- often implies being enrolled in that field
- studirati pravo (study law at university), studirati medicinu
In your sentence, Oni redovito uče hrvatski u parku, učiti is the natural verb: they are learning the Croatian language, not formally enrolled in Croatian Studies at a university.
Hrvatski here is in the accusative singular masculine case, used for the direct object.
For inanimate masculine nouns and adjectives, nominative and accusative have the same form:
- nominative: hrvatski (Croatian)
- accusative: hrvatski (Croatian – as a thing being learned)
They učе što? – hrvatski (what do they learn? Croatian) → direct object in the accusative.
You would see hrvatskog in other cases, e.g.:
- genitive: Nema hrvatskog udžbenika. – There is no Croatian textbook.
- accusative with animate masculine nouns: Vidim hrvatskog učitelja. – I see the Croatian teacher.
Grammatically, hrvatski is an adjective, but here it is used on its own in place of a full phrase, so it functions like a noun.
The full phrase would be:
- hrvatski jezik – Croatian language
Croatians very often shorten učiti hrvatski jezik to simply učiti hrvatski, just like in English you say learn Croatian instead of learn the Croatian language.
This is common with languages:
- Učim engleski. – I am learning English.
- Govoriš li njemački? – Do you speak German?
U parku is:
- u = in
- parku = park in the locative singular case
For location inside something, u takes the locative:
- u školi – in (the) school
- u gradu – in (the) city
- u parku – in (the) park
U park (accusative) would mean into the park (movement towards):
- Idem u park. – I am going to the park.
Na parku is almost never used. For a park we naturally imagine being in it, not on it, so u parku is correct.
Parku is:
- masculine noun park
- locative singular
- ending -u
Many masculine nouns in the locative singular take -u:
- u gradu – in the city (grad → gradu)
- u selu – in the village (selо → selu)
- u parku – in the park (park → parku)
Locative is almost always used with prepositions such as u, na, o when talking about location or topic.
Yes, Croatian word order is quite flexible. All of these are possible and correct:
- Oni redovito uče hrvatski u parku.
- Oni u parku redovito uče hrvatski.
- Oni u parku uče hrvatski redovito.
- Redovito uče hrvatski u parku.
- U parku oni redovito uče hrvatski.
The basic meaning stays the same. Word order is often used for emphasis:
Putting u parku at the beginning emphasizes the place:
U parku oni redovito uče hrvatski. – It’s in the park that they regularly study Croatian.Keeping adverbs like redovito near the verb (redovito uče) is very natural and neutral.
Redovito is an adverb (regularly). The most neutral position for adverbs of frequency in Croatian is before the verb:
- Oni redovito uče hrvatski u parku.
Other positions are possible, with slight changes in emphasis:
- Oni u parku redovito uče hrvatski. (emphasis a bit more on u parku)
- Oni u parku uče hrvatski redovito. (emphasis a bit more on redovito)
All are correct; redovito uče is just the most straightforward, natural pairing.
You would change the subject and the verb ending:
- On redovito uči hrvatski u parku. – He regularly studies Croatian in the park.
- Ona redovito uči hrvatski u parku. – She regularly studies Croatian in the park.
Verb change:
- plural: oni uče
- singular: on / ona uči
Add ne right before the verb:
- Oni ne uče hrvatski u parku. – They do not study Croatian in the park.
- Oni redovito ne uče hrvatski u parku. – They regularly do not study Croatian in the park (sounds odd; you would probably say something else).
More natural versions to express related ideas:
- Oni ne uče redovito hrvatski u parku. – They do not study Croatian regularly in the park.
- Oni ne uče hrvatski redovito u parku.
The rule: ne + verb, and the adverbs/phrases move around for emphasis, but ne stays directly before the verb.
Both exist and are understood:
- redovito – more standard / typical in neutral speech and writing
- redovno – also used; in some regions and styles it may sound a bit more colloquial
In this sentence, both are acceptable:
- Oni redovito uče hrvatski u parku.
- Oni redovno uče hrvatski u parku.
If you are learning standard Croatian, redovito is the safer default.
Approximate guidance for an English speaker:
uče
- u like oo in food
- č like ch in church
- e like e in pet
- so roughly: OO-cheh
hrvatski
- h like a strong h in house
- r is rolled or tapped (like in Spanish)
- v like v in very
- a like a in father
- ts sound in tski (t + s)
- overall: HR-vats-ki, with a short clear a and i.
Croatian pronunciation is very regular: each letter has a consistent sound, and every letter is pronounced.