Learn Hardcore Croatian: Profesorica cijeni moj trud. - The professor female appreciates my effort.

The ending -ica is a common feminine ending in Croatian for professions and some other nouns (e.g. učitelj → učiteljica / teacher, glumac → glumica / actor).

So Profesorica here tells you explicitly that the teacher is female.

Why is there no word for the in Profesorica cijeni moj trud?

Croatian does not use articles (a, an, the) at all.

Whether English would use a or the is understood in Croatian from context, not from a separate word. So:

Profesorica cijeni moj trud.
can mean:
- The teacher appreciates my effort. (most natural)
- A teacher appreciates my effort. (if context allows)

You don’t need (and can’t add) a separate word for the or a in Croatian.

What person and tense is the verb cijeni? What is the infinitive?

Infinitive: cijeniti = to value, to appreciate
Form in the sentence: cijeni

Cijeni is:

3rd person singular
present tense
indicative mood

So (ona) cijeni = she appreciates / she values.

Subject–verb agreement:

(Ona) cijeni. – She appreciates.
Profesorica cijeni. – The (female) teacher appreciates.

The subject profesorica is 3rd person singular feminine, so the verb is also 3rd person singular (cijeni).

What case is moj trud, and why does it look like the basic (dictionary) form?

In Profesorica cijeni moj trud:

trud is the direct object → accusative case
moj agrees with trud, so it is also accusative

However, for masculine inanimate singular nouns, the nominative and accusative often look the same:

Nominative: trud (effort) → used as subject
Accusative: trud (effort) → used as direct object

So:

Trud pomaže. – Effort helps. (nominative = subject)
Cijenim trud. – I value effort. (accusative = object)

They look identical, but the function in the sentence (subject vs. object) tells you which case it is.

Why is it moj trud and not moja trud or moje trud?

The possessive adjective moj must agree with the noun in:

gender
number
case

The noun trud (effort) is:

masculine
singular
accusative (but same form as nominative)

So you use the masculine singular form of moj:

masculine: moj trud (my effort)
feminine: moja knjiga (my book)
neuter: moje dijete (my child)

That’s why it is moj trud, not moja trud or moje trud.

Can I change the word order, or must it always be Profesorica cijeni moj trud?

Croatian word order is more flexible than English. Profesorica cijeni moj trud is neutral, basic S–V–O:

Profesorica (subject)
cijeni (verb)
moj trud (object)

But you can move parts around for emphasis, while the meaning stays roughly the same:

Moj trud profesorica cijeni. – Emphasizes my effort.
Moj trud cijeni profesorica. – Also focuses on my effort, with a slight nuance.
Profesorica moj trud cijeni. – Emphasizes that the teacher indeed values my effort.

The safest and most natural option for learners is the original order: Profesorica cijeni moj trud.

How do you pronounce cijeni? What sound is cij?

Approximate pronunciation (in IPA): [tsijɛni]

Breakdown:

c = /ts/ (like ts in cats)
i = /i/ (like ee in see)
j = /j/ (like y in *yes*)
e = /ɛ/ (like e in bed)
ni = /ni/

So cij sounds like tsy: cijeni ≈ TSYEH-nee (with a single, not heavy, stress on the first syllable in standard Croatian).

Is cijeniti imperfective or perfective? Does that matter here?

Cijeniti is generally treated as an imperfective verb in Croatian.

Imperfective aspect is used for:

ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions
general statements

So Profesorica cijeni moj trud describes a general, ongoing attitude:

The teacher appreciates my effort (in general / as a rule).

If you wanted to talk about one specific act of showing appreciation in the past, you might use a perfective verb in a different context, but in sentences like this, cijeniti in the present is the standard way to express ongoing appreciation.

How would I make this sentence negative?

To negate a verb in the present tense, you usually add ne in front of it:

Profesorica ne cijeni moj trud.
= The (female) teacher does not appreciate my effort.

Word-by-word:

Profesorica – the female teacher
ne – not
cijeni – appreciates
moj trud – my effort

Could I use učiteljica instead of profesorica? What’s the difference?

Yes, you could say:

Učiteljica cijeni moj trud.

Difference in usage:

učiteljica – usually a (female) primary/elementary school teacher, sometimes lower grades
profesorica – (female) high school teacher or university professor, and also commonly used at many secondary schools

Both are female forms (ending in -ica), but they refer to slightly different teaching roles or levels, similar to teacher vs professor in English, though the boundaries don’t match perfectly.

Why don’t we use se here (like a reflexive verb), as in some other Slavic languages?

In Croatian, cijeniti can be:

non-reflexive: cijeniti nekoga / nešto – to value someone/something
- Profesorica cijeni moj trud. – The teacher values my effort.
reflexive: cijeniti se – to value oneself / to be valued (in some contexts)

Here, the teacher is valuing someone else’s effort, so the non-reflexive form is correct. Using se would change the meaning:

Profesorica se cijeni. – She values herself / She holds herself in high regard.

So in this sentence, no se is needed or correct.