Learn Hardcore Croatian: Subotom često ostajem u parku duže. - On Saturdays I often stay longer in the park.

Subotom često ostajem u parku duže.
= I often stay longer in the park on Saturdays (as a habit).
U subotu ću ostati u parku duže.
= I will stay longer in the park on Saturday (this coming one).

The form subotom is the instrumental singular of subota, but in this temporal use it works like an adverb meaning “on Saturdays (regularly)”.

What case is Subotom, and is it singular or plural?

Subotom is:

case: instrumental
number: singular
base noun: subota (Saturday)

Croatian often uses the instrumental singular of days of the week to express a regular, repeated time:

ponedjeljkom – on Mondays
utorokom – on Tuesdays
srijedom – on Wednesdays
četvrtkom – on Thursdays
petkom – on Fridays
subotom – on Saturdays
nedjeljom – on Sundays

So even though the English translation is plural (on Saturdays), the Croatian form is instrumental singular.

Could I put često somewhere else, like Često subotom ostajem u parku duže? Does word order change the meaning?

Yes, you can move često, and the basic meaning stays the same (you often stay longer in the park on Saturdays). Some common orders:

Subotom često ostajem u parku duže.
Neutral, very natural. Mild emphasis on Subotom (when).
Često subotom ostajem u parku duže.
Small emphasis on često (“It’s often that, on Saturdays, I stay…”).
Subotom ostajem često u parku duže.
Possible, but less natural; the adverb često prefers to sit earlier in the clause.
Često ostajem u parku duže subotom.
Possible in speech, but it slightly weakens the “subotom” as a frame at the start.

In short: moving često usually doesn’t change what you’re saying, just what you’re highlighting. The original order is the most typical.

What exactly does često modify here – ostajem, ostajem duže, or the whole sentence?

In this sentence, često primarily modifies the verb phrase ostajem (u parku duže).

So it answers:

“How often does this whole action happen?”
→ Often.

You can think of it as:
Subotom, I often stay in the park longer.

It doesn’t mean “I stay often but not always” in the park; it means the whole situation (staying longer in the park on Saturdays) happens frequently.

Why is it ostajem, not ostanem or a past tense like ostao sam?

Ostajem is:

verb: ostajati (imperfective)
person: 1st person singular
tense: present
→ “I stay / I am staying”

Reason:

You’re describing a habitual action (what you generally do on Saturdays), so Croatian uses the imperfective aspect (ostajati) in the present tense:
- Subotom ostajem… = On Saturdays I (usually) stay…
Ostanem comes from ostati (perfective), and is used for a single, complete event, often with a future/one-off sense:
- U subotu ću ostati u parku duže. = On Saturday I will stay longer in the park.
Ostao sam is past tense (perfect):
- U subotu sam ostao u parku duže. = On Saturday I stayed longer in the park.

So ostajem fits the idea of a repeated, habitual action.

What case is u parku, and why can’t I say u park here?

U parku is:

preposition: u (in)
case: locative
noun: park
form: parku (locative singular)

Use:

u + locative → when something is located inside a place (no movement)
- u parku = in the park
u + accusative → when something is moving into a place
- u park = into the park (motion towards the park)

In Subotom često ostajem u parku duže, you are staying (no movement), so it must be u parku (locative), not u park.

What is duže grammatically, and what is it comparing to if we don’t say “than what”?

Duže is:

the comparative form of the adjective dug (long)
used adverbially here: “longer”

Croatian often uses comparative forms without an explicit “than…” part when it’s obvious from context, for example:

Ostajem duže. = I stay longer (than usual / than before / than others).
Ostajem duže nego inače. = I stay longer than usual.
Ostajem duže nego ti. = I stay longer than you.

In your sentence, duže means “longer (than usual / than on other days)”, and the “than…” part is simply understood.

Is there a difference between duže and dulje?

Both duže and dulje are comparative forms of dug and both can mean “longer”.

duže – common, especially in some regions and styles
dulje – also standard; often feels slightly more “bookish” or regional to some speakers

In this sentence, both are acceptable:

Subotom često ostajem u parku duže.
Subotom često ostajem u parku dulje.

You don’t change the meaning; it’s mostly a matter of preference and dialect.

Why is duže at the end? Could I say Subotom često ostajem duže u parku?

Both positions are possible:

Subotom često ostajem u parku duže.
Slightly emphasizes the place first (“in the park”), then adds how long (“longer”).
Subotom često ostajem duže u parku.
Slightly emphasizes the duration first (“I stay longer”), then specifies where.

Neither is wrong. The difference is subtle and mostly about rhythm and what you want to highlight. Native speakers will use both. The original order is very natural.

Why isn’t there a comma after Subotom?

In Croatian, you usually don’t put a comma between a short adverbial phrase (like Subotom) and the main clause if it’s just a simple modifier of time or place.

So:

Subotom često ostajem u parku duže. – normal, no comma.
A comma would be more likely if Subotom introduced a separate clause or if there was a strong pause/emphasis in speech, which is not the case here.

In standard usage, no comma after Subotom is correct.

Why is there no word for “the” before parku (“the park”)?

Croatian has no articles – there is no separate word for “a” or “the”.

u parku can mean “in a park” or “in the park”, depending on context.
The definiteness (whether it’s a specific park) is understood from the situation, or can be clarified with other words (e.g., u tom parku = in that park).

So the lack of a word like “the” is normal and automatic in Croatian.

Could I add ja and say Subotom ja često ostajem u parku duže? Would that sound natural?

You can add ja, but it changes the feel:

Subotom često ostajem u parku duže.
Neutral: “On Saturdays I often stay longer in the park.”
Subotom ja često ostajem u parku duže.
Emphasis on ja: implies contrast, like “On Saturdays I (as opposed to others) often stay longer in the park.”

In Croatian, the subject pronoun (ja, ti, etc.) is usually dropped because the verb ending already shows the person. You only add ja when you want to stress who is doing the action.