Breakdown of On živi s partnerom u Zagrebu.
Questions & Answers about On živi s partnerom u Zagrebu.
Croatian doesn’t have a separate present continuous tense like English (is living).
The simple present živi covers both:
- On živi u Zagrebu. – He lives in Zagreb.
- (context-dependent) He is living in Zagreb (these days).
You normally do not add je here. Je is the 3rd person singular of biti (to be), used in other constructions (e.g. On je učitelj – He is a teacher), but not to form a continuous tense with živi.
You can absolutely drop On:
- On živi s partnerom u Zagrebu.
- Živi s partnerom u Zagrebu.
Both are correct.
In Croatian, subject pronouns (on, ona, oni, etc.) are often omitted, because the verb ending (-i in živi) already tells you it’s he/she/it.
You usually keep On only when you want to emphasize he (as opposed to someone else), or for clarity in longer contexts.
The infinitive is živjeti – to live.
Živi is:
- 3rd person singular
- Present tense
- Indicative mood
So:
- On živi – He lives
- Ona živi – She lives
- To živi – It lives
All use the same form živi; the subject (or context) tells you who you’re talking about.
Because the preposition s (or sa) meaning with requires the instrumental case.
- Nominative (dictionary form): partner
- Instrumental singular (masculine): partnerom
Common pattern for masculine nouns:
-∅ → -om in instrumental singular
(e.g. brat → bratom, prijatelj → prijateljem, partner → partnerom)
So s partnerom literally means with (by/along) partner in the instrumental case.
Both s partnerom and sa partnerom are grammatically correct.
Rules in practice:
- The basic form is s.
- sa is used mainly:
- before words starting with s, z, š, ž to avoid hard-to-pronounce clusters:
- sa sestrom (with (my) sister)
- sa ženom (with (my) wife)
- sometimes for euphony (to sound smoother or more natural in speech).
- before words starting with s, z, š, ž to avoid hard-to-pronounce clusters:
With partnerom, most speakers will say s partnerom, but sa partnerom is also heard and acceptable. It’s largely a matter of style and region.
Partnerom is in the instrumental singular.
We use the instrumental case in several situations; one of the most common is after the preposition s/sa when it means with:
- s partnerom – with (his) partner
- s prijateljima – with (his) friends
- sa sestrom – with (his) sister
So: preposition s/sa + instrumental → with someone/something.
Because after u meaning in (location: where?), Croatian normally uses the locative case.
- Nominative: Zagreb
- Locative: Zagrebu
Pattern for many masculine place names:
-∅ → -u in locative singular.
So:
- u Zagrebu – in Zagreb (location, where?)
Compare: - Idem u Zagreb. – I am going to Zagreb. (kamo? – to where?, uses accusative, not locative)
- Živi u Zagrebu. – He lives in Zagreb. (gdje? – where?, uses locative)
Zagrebu is in the locative singular.
The locative case is used:
- Almost always with prepositions, especially u (in), na (on/at), o (about), when we talk about location or topic.
Examples:
- u Zagrebu – in Zagreb
- u školi – in (at) school
- na stolu – on the table
- na koncertu – at the concert
- o Zagrebu – about Zagreb
So u Zagrebu = in Zagreb (place where he lives).
For cities, countries, and most enclosed places, Croatian uses u = in.
- u Zagrebu – in Zagreb
- u Hrvatskoj – in Croatia
- u Parizu – in Paris
The preposition na (on, at) is used with:
- some events/activities: na koncertu (at the concert), na poslu (at work)
- some geographic types: na otoku (on the island)
- some institutions/areas by convention: na fakultetu (at university), na selu (in the countryside)
So with a city name, u Zagrebu is the normal choice.
Partner in Croatian is also fairly neutral, but in everyday speech it often implies a romantic partner, similar to English.
- partner – male partner
- partnerica – female partner
In this sentence:
- On živi s partnerom u Zagrebu.
you’d normally understand he lives with his (male) partner in Zagreb, unless context suggests a different kind of partnership (business partner, etc.).
If you want to be very clear it’s, say, a business partner, you’d usually add a word:
- On živi s poslovnim partnerom. – He lives with (his) business partner.
Only the subject pronoun and/or the word for partner changes.
Woman with a male partner:
- Ona živi s partnerom u Zagrebu.
She lives with her (male) partner in Zagreb.
- Ona živi s partnerom u Zagrebu.
Woman with a female partner:
- Ona živi s partnericom u Zagrebu.
She lives with her (female) partner in Zagreb.
(partnerica is feminine; instrumental: s partnericom)
- Ona živi s partnericom u Zagrebu.
Man with a female partner:
- On živi s partnericom u Zagrebu. – He lives with his (female) partner in Zagreb.
Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and all of these are possible and natural:
- On živi s partnerom u Zagrebu.
- On živi u Zagrebu s partnerom.
- Živi s partnerom u Zagrebu.
- Živi u Zagrebu s partnerom.
The basic meaning stays the same. Different orders can slightly change emphasis or rhythm, but all are acceptable in everyday speech.
Both verbs can mean to live (reside), but they’re used a bit differently:
živjeti – to live (more general: to be alive, to live one’s life, or to live somewhere)
- On živi u Zagrebu. – He lives in Zagreb.
- Živi s partnerom. – He lives with his partner.
stanovati – to reside, to have one’s dwelling (more about housing address)
- On stanuje u Zagrebu. – He resides in Zagreb / His address is in Zagreb.
In your sentence, On živi s partnerom u Zagrebu. is completely natural and common. You could say On stanuje s partnerom u Zagrebu, but živjeti is broader and more usual in general conversation.