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Learn Hardcore Croatian: Imamo četiri minute. - We have four minutes.

Hardcore Croatian
/Lesson 41
/Imamo četiri minute.

Imamo četiri minute.

Word

Imamo četiri minute.

Meaning

We have four minutes.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Croatian

Lesson

Breakdown of Imamo četiri minute.

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Questions & Answers about Imamo četiri minute.

What does Imamo literally mean, and who is we?

Imamo is the 1st person plural present tense of imati (to have), so it literally means we have / we’ve got.
Croatian often drops the subject pronoun, so mi (we) is implied rather than stated. If you want to emphasize we (not someone else), you can say Mi imamo četiri minute.

How do you pronounce Imamo četiri minute (especially č)?

Imamo ≈ EE-mah-moh
četiri starts with č, which is like ch in chess (a “harder” ch sound). So četiri ≈ CHEH-tee-ree.
minute ≈ MEE-noo-teh (final -e is pronounced).
So the whole sentence sounds roughly like: EE-mah-moh CHEH-tee-ree MEE-noo-teh.

Why is it četiri minute and not something like četiri minuta?

Croatian has a special counting pattern:

1 → noun is singular: jedna minuta
2–4 → noun is in a “paucal” form that looks like genitive singular: dvije minute, tri minute, četiri minute
5+ → noun is : ,

genitive plural

pet minuta

deset minuta

So četiri minute is the correct form for 4 minutes. četiri minuta would sound wrong in standard usage.

But isn’t minute just the plural of minuta? What case is it here?

It looks like a normal plural, but after 2–4 it functions as the genitive singular form (the “paucal” construction).
This happens even though imati normally takes the accusative object.

So conceptually:

normal object: Imam minutu. (I have a minute.) → minutu = accusative singular
with 2–4: Imamo četiri minute. → minute = the required counting form after četiri

Could I change the word order, or is it fixed?

Imamo četiri minute. is neutral and most common.
You can change word order for emphasis, for example:

Četiri minute imamo. (emphasis on four minutes)
Imamo minute četiri. is unusual/stylistic and generally not recommended for learners.

How would I say “We only have four minutes” or “We still have four minutes”?

Common options:

Imamo samo četiri minute. = We only have four minutes.
Imamo još četiri minute. = We still have four minutes / We have four minutes left.
Imamo još samo četiri minute. = We’ve only got four minutes left.

Is this sentence used for “time remaining,” or just “we possess four minutes” (which sounds odd in English)?

In Croatian, Imamo četiri minute. naturally works for available time / time remaining in context (meeting, deadline, exam, etc.).
If you want to be extra explicit about “remaining,” još is the most common addition: Imamo još četiri minute.

What if I want to say “I have four minutes” or “You have four minutes”?

Same structure, different verb form:

Imam četiri minute. = I have four minutes.
Imaš četiri minute. = You (singular) have four minutes.
Imate četiri minute. = You (plural/formal) have four minutes.
Imaju četiri minute. = They have four minutes.

How do I say “one minute,” “two minutes,” “three minutes,” “five minutes”?

jedna minuta = one minute
dvije minute = two minutes
tri minute = three minutes
četiri minute = four minutes
pet minuta = five minutes
Notice the switch at 5: minuta (genitive plural) instead of minute.

Can minute mean “minutes (of a meeting)” like meeting minutes?

Usually no. In Croatian, minute here are time units.
“Meeting minutes” are typically zapisnik (or zapisnik sa sastanka).

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