Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ponekad maštam o putovanju na more. - Sometimes I daydream about a trip to the sea.

Ponekad maštam o putovanju na more. – Most neutral.
Maštam ponekad o putovanju na more. – Also correct; a bit more emphasis on maštam.
Maštam o putovanju na more ponekad. – Possible, but sounds less natural in everyday speech.

In practice, putting ponekad at the very beginning is the most common and natural way to say it here.

What exactly does maštam mean? Is it just "dream"?

Maštam is the 1st person singular present of maštati.

maštati = to daydream, to fantasize, to imagine nice or unreal things
It usually refers to awake dreaming, not literal sleep dreams.

Compare:

Maštam o putovanju na more. – I daydream about a trip to the sea.
Sanjam o putovanju na more. – I dream about a trip to the sea (can be figurative, but sanjati is also used for dreams when you sleep).

So maštam is more like I daydream / I fantasize, not just neutral dream.

Why is it maštam o putovanju, not something like maštam putovanje?

In Croatian, maštati almost always takes the preposition o + locative when you say what you are daydreaming about:

maštati o (čemu?) – to daydream about (what?)
- Maštam o putovanju. – I daydream about a trip.
- Mašta o novom poslu. – He/She daydreams about a new job.

Saying maštam putovanje (without o) is ungrammatical in this meaning.

You can also express it in other ways, but with slightly different structure:

Maštam da putujem na more. – I daydream that I travel to the sea.
Maštam o tome da putujem na more. – I daydream about traveling to the sea.

The pattern maštati + o + noun in locative is the basic one to learn.

Why is it putovanju and not putovanje?

Putovanje (trip, journey) is a neuter noun. Here it appears as putovanju because of:

The preposition o
- o always requires the locative case.
The locative singular form of putovanje:
- Nominative: putovanje (what? – the trip)
- Genitive: putovanja
- Dative: putovanju
- Accusative: putovanje
- Locative: putovanju
- Instrumental: putovanjem

After o, we use locative:

o (čemu?) o putovanju – about a trip

So o putovanju literally means about the trip / about a trip.

Why is it o putovanju and not o putovanje?

Because preposition o must be followed by the locative case, and putovanje in the locative is putovanju.

Think of the pattern:

o gradu (about the city) – from grad
o filmu (about the movie) – from film
o putovanju (about the trip) – from putovanje

Using o putovanje would be wrong because putovanje is nominative/accusative, but o needs the locative form.

What does na more mean exactly, and why is it not na moru?

More = the sea (neuter noun).

The difference is in the case after na:

na + accusative → movement toward a place
- Idem na more. – I’m going to the sea / to the seaside.
- maštam o putovanju na more – I daydream about a trip to the sea.
na + locative → location (being at a place)
- Jesam na moru. – I am at the sea / by the sea.
- Odmara na moru. – He/She is resting at the seaside.

In your sentence, the trip is towards somewhere, so na more (accusative) is correct.

Does na more mean “into the sea” or “to the seaside / to the coast”?

In everyday speech, na more almost always means:

to the seaside / to the coast / on holiday by the sea

It’s usually understood as going to the beach/coast for vacation, not literally swimming into the water.

Context example:

Idemo na more u srpnju. – We’re going to the seaside in July (on holiday).

Could I say Ponekad sanjam o putovanju na more instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Ponekad sanjam o putovanju na more.

Differences:

maštati – to daydream, fantasize while awake
sanjati – to dream (while sleeping), but also metaphorically “to dream of something in life”

Nuance:

Ponekad maštam o putovanju na more. – I sometimes daydream/fantasize about a trip to the sea (imagining it, wishing for it).
Ponekad sanjam o putovanju na more. – I sometimes dream about a trip to the sea (could be real night dreams, or a strong life wish).

Both are correct; maštati sounds more like “fantasizing in your head while awake.”

Can I say Ponekad maštam putovati na more instead of o putovanju na more?

No, Ponekad maštam putovati na more is not natural or grammatical in standard Croatian.

Better options:

Ponekad maštam o putovanju na more. – Most natural.
Ponekad maštam o tome da putujem na more.
Ponekad maštam da putujem na more. (used, but the version with o tome is stylistically clearer)

The pattern maštati o + noun (in locative) is the default:

maštam o putovanju
mašta o ljubavi
maštamo o budućnosti

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” before putovanju or more?

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

So:

o putovanju – can mean about a trip or about the trip, depending on context.
na more – can mean to the sea / to the seaside, without specifying “a/the”.

The definiteness is usually understood from context or added with extra words if necessary:

o tom putovanju – about that trip
na ono more – to that sea

Why is there no ja? Shouldn’t it be Ja ponekad maštam o putovanju na more?

In Croatian, the subject pronoun (ja = I) is usually dropped, because the verb ending tells you who the subject is.

maštam – clearly 1st person singular (I)
maštaš – you (sg.)
mašta – he/she/it

So:

Ponekad maštam o putovanju na more. – normal, natural
Ja ponekad maštam o putovanju na more. – also correct, but ja adds emphasis, like:
- I sometimes daydream about a trip to the sea (maybe others don’t).

What tense/aspect is maštam here? Does it mean “I’m dreaming right now” or “I sometimes dream (in general)”?

Maštam is present tense, imperfective aspect.

With ponekad, it expresses a habitual action:

Ponekad maštam... – Sometimes I daydream... (from time to time, generally)

Context decides whether it is “right now” or “in general.” Here, because of ponekad, it clearly means a repeated, occasional habit, not something happening just at this moment.