Questions & Answers about U subotu idemo u centar grada.
For specific days of the week in the sense of “on Saturday”, Croatian normally uses:
- u + accusative: u subotu, u nedjelju, u petak
You do not use na for days of the week in this meaning, and just saying subotu alone (without a preposition) would be incomplete here.
So:
- U subotu idemo… = On Saturday we are going…
- Na subotu is generally wrong in this meaning.
The base form is:
- subota – nominative singular (dictionary form)
In u subotu, subotu is:
- accusative singular, feminine
u + accusative is used here to mark a specific point in time (on Saturday). You will see this pattern for other days too:
- u ponedjeljak (Monday)
- u srijedu (Wednesday)
There is also a locative form (o suboti) but it is not used with u to mean on Saturday in normal speech.
Idemo is the present tense, 1st person plural of ići (to go).
Depending on context and intonation, it can correspond to:
- we go / we are going (neutral statement):
- U subotu idemo u centar grada. = We are going to the city center on Saturday.
- let’s go (when said on its own, often with a motivating tone):
- Idemo! = Let’s go!
In your sentence, it is a neutral statement about a plan: we are going.
Croatian often uses the present tense to talk about the near future when the time is clearly stated:
- U subotu idemo u centar grada.
Context tells you this is future, just like English We’re going on Saturday.
You could also use a future form:
- U subotu ćemo ići u centar grada.
The difference:
- idemo – natural, everyday, sounds like a planned, arranged activity.
- ćemo ići – a bit more formal or neutral, often used in writing or when you just decided something.
Both are correct here.
The preposition u changes meaning depending on the case:
- u + accusative → movement into a place
- u centar = to the center, into the center
- u + locative → location in a place
- u centru = in the center
Compare:
- Idemo u centar grada. = We are going to the city center. (movement)
- Smo u centru grada. (full: Mi smo u centru grada.) = We are in the city center. (location)
Grad (city) in the base form is:
- grad – nominative singular
In centar grada:
- grada is genitive singular of grad.
Genitive often expresses possession or a part–whole relationship:
- centar grada = the center of the city
So the pattern is:
- head noun + genitive: centar grada, stan prijatelja (friend’s flat), vrh planine (top of the mountain)
Centar grad is ungrammatical.
Yes, you can, but there is a slight stylistic difference:
- centar grada – literally center of the city, very common, slightly more neutral/specific.
- gradski centar – city center, uses an adjective (gradski) instead of genitive; also correct and natural.
In everyday speech, centar grada is extremely common when talking about downtown / the city center of your own city. Both versions are acceptable.
Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible. These are all grammatically correct:
- U subotu idemo u centar grada.
- Idemo u centar grada u subotu.
- U centar grada idemo u subotu.
Differences are mainly in focus and what sounds most natural:
- Time expressions like u subotu very often come first in neutral sentences.
- Putting u subotu at the end can slightly emphasize the day.
All your versions would be understood the same in normal conversation.
Same preposition, but slightly different functions:
- u subotu – u + accusative for a specific time point (on Saturday)
- u centar – u + accusative for movement into a place (to the center)
In general:
- u + accusative → into / to (direction) or on (specific day/time)
- u + locative → in / inside (location)
So u does not always take the same case; it alternates between accusative and locative depending on meaning. In your sentence both are accusative.
Yes, absolutely:
- U subotu idemo u centar.
This is very common and normally means to the (city) center / downtown of the place both speakers know (usually your own city).
Differences:
- u centar – more general, but usually understood as city center from context.
- u centar grada – explicitly to the center of the city, slightly more specific or explicit.
For a habitual action, Croatian usually changes the expression for time:
- Subotom idemo u centar (grada). = On Saturdays we go to the city center.
Here:
subotom is instrumental singular of subota and means on Saturdays (in general).
You can also say:Svake subote idemo u centar grada. = Every Saturday we go to the city center.
Croatian has no articles like a / an / the.
Definiteness (whether it is a or the) is understood from:
- context (we know which city)
- the type of noun (there is usually just one main city center)
- what is typical to talk about
So:
u centar grada is naturally understood as to the city center, because we assume one specific center of the city you are talking about.
If you need to be very explicit, you can add a demonstrative:u taj centar grada – to that city center
You can change the day:
- U nedjelju idemo u centar grada. – On Sunday we are going…
- U petak idemo u centar grada. – On Friday we are going…
And change the subject by changing the form of ići:
Present tense of ići:
- ja idem – I go / am going
- ti ideš – you (sg.) go
- on/ona/ono ide – he/she/it goes
- mi idemo – we go
- vi idete – you (pl./formal) go
- oni/one/ona idu – they go
Examples:
- U subotu idem u centar grada. – On Saturday I am going…
- U subotu ideš u centar grada. – On Saturday you are going…
- U subotu idu u centar grada. – On Saturday they are going…