Learn Hardcore Croatian: On voli glumiti u kazalištu.

The first verb (voli) is conjugated for person and tense, and the second verb (glumiti) stays in the infinitive form. This is the standard way to say you enjoy doing some activity:

Volim čitati. – I like to read.
Ona voli plesati. – She likes to dance.

Does voli mean “likes” or “loves”? How strong is it?

voljeti can cover both “like” and “love”, depending on context:

With people (partner, family, close friends), it usually means “to love”:
- Volim te. – I love you.
With activities / things, it’s often just “like” or “really like”:
- On voli glumiti. – He likes acting. / He loves acting.
  (Tone and context decide how strong it sounds.)

To make it clearly stronger, Croatians often add an adverb or a different verb:

Jako voli glumiti. – He really likes / loves acting.
Obožava glumiti. – He adores acting.

So in On voli glumiti u kazalištu, you can safely understand voli as “likes (a lot)” unless context tells you he is absolutely passionate about it.

Why is On (he) used at all? Can you just say Voli glumiti u kazalištu?

Yes, you can absolutely say:

Voli glumiti u kazalištu.

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: the personal pronoun (ja, ti, on, ona, mi, vi, oni) is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

You usually include the pronoun (On) when you want:

Emphasis or contrast:
- On voli glumiti u kazalištu, ali ona više voli film.
  He likes acting in the theatre, but she prefers film.
Clarity, if it’s not obvious who you’re talking about from context.

In neutral conversation, if it’s already clear who you mean, a native speaker would more likely say:

Voli glumiti u kazalištu.

Why is it kazalištu and not kazalište here? What case is that?

The basic dictionary form is:

kazalište – theatre (nominative singular)

In the sentence u kazalištu, the noun is in the locative case (singular):

kazalištu = locative singular of kazalište

The preposition u (“in”) uses the locative when it answers “where?” (location):

u kazalištu – in the theatre (location)
u kući – in the house
u školi – at school / in school

So:

On voli glumiti u kazalištu.
→ “He likes acting in the theatre,” a place where he acts.

If we changed it to u kazalište (accusative), it would mean “into the theatre” (movement, direction), not “in the theatre”.

What’s the difference between u kazalištu and u kazalište?

The difference is location vs. movement:

u + locative = where? (position, inside)
- u kazalištu – in the theatre (inside, already there)
- Gledam predstavu u kazalištu. – I’m watching a play in the theatre.
u + accusative = where to? (movement into)
- u kazalište – into the theatre / to the theatre
- Idem u kazalište. – I’m going to the theatre.

In your sentence, we’re talking about the place where he acts, not where he’s going, so u kazalištu (locative) is correct.

What exactly does glumiti mean? Is it only “to act” in a theatre?

glumiti has two main uses:

To act / perform (as an actor) – the relevant meaning here:
- On voli glumiti u kazalištu. – He likes acting in the theatre.
- Glumi Hamleta. – He is playing Hamlet (on stage).
To pretend / to fake something – more figurative:
- Ne glumi da ti je loše. – Don’t pretend you feel bad.
- Glumi da je važan. – He’s acting like he’s important / putting on airs.

In On voli glumiti u kazalištu, the context (u kazalištu) clearly points to the first meaning: theatrical acting.

Could you also say On voli glumu instead of On voli glumiti? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say both, but there is a nuance:

On voli glumiti.
Focus on the activity of acting: he enjoys doing it.
On voli glumu.
gluma = “acting” (as a noun, the art/field of acting)
This can mean he likes acting as an art form, the subject, maybe watching and studying it, not necessarily that he actively performs.

In practice:

voli glumiti – more personal, active: he likes to be on stage, playing roles.
voli glumu – can be broader, e.g., he likes acting as a field of art, may or may not actively perform.

Both are grammatically correct; choice depends on what you want to emphasize.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say U kazalištu on voli glumiti or On u kazalištu voli glumiti?

Croatian word order is quite flexible, but changing it changes emphasis and sometimes sounds more or less natural.

Most neutral/natural options:

On voli glumiti u kazalištu. – neutral, clear.
Voli glumiti u kazalištu. – also very natural, no need for On.
U kazalištu voli glumiti. – “In the theatre, he likes to act.”
- Emphasis on “in the theatre” as the setting.

On u kazalištu voli glumiti. is also possible and can sound like you’re contrasting his preferences across places:

On u kazalištu voli glumiti, ali na filmu ne.
He likes acting in the theatre, but not on film.

Something like U kazalištu on voli glumiti is grammatically OK but sounds more marked / poetic / contrastive; you’d normally use it only with some specific emphasis in speech or writing.

The main point: word order is flexible; the default, everyday version is the original one.

Is kazalište the usual word for “theatre” everywhere in the region? I’ve also seen pozorište and teatar.

Usage depends on the country and variety of the language:

kazalište – standard word in Croatia.
pozorište – standard in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro.
teatar – exists in all varieties, often slightly more formal or used in names (e.g. “Gradski teatar”).

So:

In Croatia: On voli glumiti u kazalištu.
In Serbia/Bosnia/Montenegro: more likely On voli glumiti u pozorištu.

They are near‑synonyms; the basic grammar (case, preposition u) works the same.

Does the present tense voli glumiti mean he likes it generally, or that he is currently enjoying it (these days)?

Croatian present tense (prezent) covers both:

General, habitual truth – like English “He likes…”
- On voli glumiti u kazalištu. – As a rule, he likes theatre acting.
Current or ongoing state – depending on context:
- With context like “ovih dana” (these days), it can mean “He is (currently) into acting in the theatre.”

If you want to clearly say “these days / right now”, you’d add a time expression:

Ovih dana on voli glumiti u kazalištu. – These days he likes acting in the theatre.

But by itself, On voli glumiti u kazalištu is most naturally understood as a habitual preference.

How would you say “He would like to act in the theatre” (as a wish), and how is that different from On voli glumiti u kazalištu?

Your sentence:

On voli glumiti u kazalištu.
= “He likes acting in the theatre.” (He already does it / enjoys it.)

To express a wish / would like to, you use the conditional of voljeti:

On bi volio glumiti u kazalištu. – He would like to act in the theatre.

(For a female subject: Ona bi voljela glumiti u kazalištu.)

Difference:

voli glumiti – describes his current preference or habit.
bi volio glumiti – expresses a wish or desire, something he wants to do (maybe hasn’t done yet).

If the subject is female, do I only change On to Ona, or something else as well?

In this specific sentence, you only need to change the pronoun:

On voli glumiti u kazalištu. – He likes acting in the theatre.
Ona voli glumiti u kazalištu. – She likes acting in the theatre.

The verb voli doesn’t change because Croatian verbs in the present tense do not mark gender, only person and number:

On / ona voli – he / she likes
Oni / one vole – they (masc.) / they (fem.) like

Gender shows up in adjectives and in past tense forms, but not in this present tense form voli.