Learn Hardcore Croatian: Večeras gledamo intervju na televiziji. - Tonight we are watching an interview on television.

Croatian often uses the simple present to talk about near‑future, planned events, especially when there is a time expression like večeras (tonight), sutra (tomorrow), uskoro (soon).

So Večeras gledamo intervju literally is present tense (we watch), but it is understood as we’re watching / we’re going to watch an interview tonight.

You can also say Večeras ćemo gledati intervju, which uses the future tense and is a bit more explicitly “future,” but both are natural.

Why is there no word for we (like mi) in the sentence?

In Croatian, subject pronouns (ja, ti, on, ona, mi, vi, oni, one) are usually left out because the verb ending shows who the subject is.

gledam = I watch
gledaš = you (sg.) watch
gledamo = we watch

Since gledamo already tells you the subject is we, the pronoun mi is optional.

You can say Mi večeras gledamo intervju na televiziji, but it usually sounds like you are emphasizing we (as opposed to someone else).

What form of the verb is gledamo, and how is gledati conjugated?

Gledamo is:

verb: gledati (to watch)
person: 1st person plural (we)
tense: present
ending: -amo, a regular present‑tense ending for many -ati verbs.

Present tense of gledati:

ja gledam – I watch
ti gledaš – you watch
on/ona/ono gleda – he/she/it watches
mi gledamo – we watch
vi gledate – you (pl./formal) watch
oni/one gledaju – they watch

Why is it na televiziji and not something like u televiziji?

The preposition na is used for things that are “on” TV, radio, etc.:

na televiziji – on television
na radiju – on the radio
na internetu – on the internet

U generally means “in / inside,” which doesn’t fit the idiomatic expression for a TV broadcast.

So gledati nešto na televiziji is the standard way to say to watch something on TV.

What case is televiziji, and why does it look like that?

Televiziji is in the locative singular case.

The pattern is:

nominative (dictionary form): televizija
locative singular (after na in the sense of “on” a medium): televiziji

The preposition na can be followed by either locative or accusative, depending on meaning. Here it indicates location (“on TV”), so it takes the locative case: na televiziji.

Why doesn’t intervju change its form? Isn’t this the object?

Yes, intervju is the direct object, so it is in the accusative case.

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

nominative: intervju (an interview)
accusative: intervju (watch an interview)

Compare:

nominative: film – accusative: film
nominative: stol (table) – accusative: stol

So the form doesn’t change, even though the grammatical case does.

Is there any article like “an” or “the” before intervju in Croatian?

Croatian has no articles like English a/an/the. The word intervju on its own can mean:

an interview,
the interview,
depending on context.

Večeras gledamo intervju na televiziji could be translated as:

Tonight we’re watching an interview on TV (unspecified)
Tonight we’re watching the interview on TV (you both know which one)

English has to choose an article; Croatian doesn’t.

Could I say Večeras ćemo gledati intervju na televiziji instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are correct:

Večeras gledamo intervju na televiziji.
Večeras ćemo gledati intervju na televiziji.

Both mean Tonight we’re going to watch an interview on TV.

Nuance:

Present tense (gledamo) with a time word like večeras is common in everyday speech and sounds very natural and slightly more casual.
Future tense (ćemo gledati) is more explicitly future and sometimes a bit more “neutral” or formal, but in everyday conversation both are fine.

Can I move večeras to a different position in the sentence?

Yes. Word order in Croatian is relatively flexible, and večeras (tonight) can move, though the default version is very natural:

Večeras gledamo intervju na televiziji. (neutral, very common)
Gledamo večeras intervju na televiziji. (also OK)
Gledamo intervju večeras na televiziji. (still understandable, slightly different rhythm)

Putting večeras first often highlights the time frame: As for tonight, we’re watching…

The original order is the most typical and natural in everyday speech.

What is the aspect of gledati, and could I use pogledati instead?

Gledati is imperfective (focus on the ongoing nature of the action).
Pogledati is perfective (focus on completion, “to watch all of it / to have watched”).

Večeras gledamo intervju. – Tonight we’re watching an interview. (emphasis on the activity itself)
Večeras ćemo pogledati intervju. – Tonight we’ll watch (and finish) the interview. (emphasis on completion)

In everyday planning, gledati is very common, but pogledati is also possible, especially if you’re thinking of watching the whole thing from start to finish.

How do you pronounce večeras and what does it literally mean?

Večeras is pronounced roughly: veh‑CHEH‑ras.

č = like ch in church
stress is usually on the second syllable: veČEras

Meaning:

veče / večer = evening
večeras = this evening, tonight

So večeras is a time adverb meaning tonight / this evening.

Could I say na TV-u instead of na televiziji?

Yes, in informal speech people often say:

Večeras gledamo intervju na TV-u.

TV is treated as a noun and gets the ending -u in the locative: na TV-u = on TV.

Both are correct:

na televiziji – slightly more formal or neutral
na TV-u – more colloquial / everyday speech

Is the word order gledamo intervju na televiziji večeras acceptable?

It’s grammatically correct and understandable:

Gledamo intervju na televiziji večeras.

However, it sounds a bit less natural than putting the time word večeras at the start or right after the verb. The most idiomatic versions would be:

Večeras gledamo intervju na televiziji.
Večeras ćemo gledati intervju na televiziji.

Placing večeras at the beginning is the most common choice.