U knjižnici posuđujemo romane i vraćamo ih sljedeći tjedan.

At the library we borrow novels and return them next week.

Breakdown of U knjižnici posuđujemo romane i vraćamo ih sljedeći tjedan.

• mi: we
• i: and
• sljedeći: next
• tjedan: week
• knjižnica: library
• ih: them
• roman: novel
• u: in/at
• posuđivati: to borrow
• vraćati: to return

Questions & Answers about U knjižnici posuđujemo romane i vraćamo ih sljedeći tjedan.

Why is it u knjižnici and not u knjižnicu?

Because u changes meaning depending on the case:

• u + locative = being in a place (location): u knjižnici = in the library.
• u + accusative = going into a place (direction): u knjižnicu = into the library.

So this sentence describes where the action happens (location), not movement into the building.

What case is knjižnici, and how do I recognize it?

Knjižnici is locative singular of knjižnica (library). You recognize it because:

• It follows the preposition u in a “where?” meaning.
• Many feminine nouns ending in -a change to -i in the locative singular: knjižnica → knjižnici.

Why do we say posuđujemo romane (accusative) and not nominative?

Because romani are the direct object of the verb posuđujemo (we borrow), and direct objects are typically in the accusative case.

• Nominative (subject): romani (the novels as the subject)
• Accusative (object): romane (the novels as what you borrow)

How do I know that romane is plural, and what is its dictionary form?

The dictionary form is roman (masculine, a novel).

• Singular accusative: roman
• Plural accusative: romane

Many masculine nouns form accusative plural in -e (especially “inanimate” ones like books, tables, etc.).

What does ih refer to, and why is it used?

Ih is a 3rd person plural object pronoun meaning them. It refers back to romane (novels). It’s used to avoid repeating the noun:

• vraćamo romane = we return the novels
• vraćamo ih = we return them

What case is ih—and why that case?

Ih is the accusative (and also genitive) plural form of the pronoun they/them. Here it’s accusative because it’s the direct object of vraćamo (we return).

Where does ih go in the sentence—can I move it?

Croatian object pronouns like ih are clitics and usually appear in an “early” position (often the second position in the clause), but in simple sentences you’ll commonly see them right after the verb or after the first major element. These are natural options:

• U knjižnici posuđujemo romane i vraćamo ih sljedeći tjedan.
• U knjižnici posuđujemo romane i sljedeći tjedan ih vraćamo.

What’s usually avoided is placing ih too “late” or in a position that sounds heavy/unnatural.

Why are both verbs posuđujemo and vraćamo in the same form?

They’re both 1st person plural present tense: we borrow / we return.

• posuđujemo = we borrow (imperfective)
• vraćamo = we return (imperfective)

Croatian often keeps the same subject implicit across coordinated verbs (joined by i = and), so you don’t need to repeat mi (we).

Do these present tense forms really mean present, or can they mean future?

Here they can express a planned or scheduled future, especially with a time expression:

• vraćamo ih sljedeći tjedan literally uses present, but means we’re returning them next week.

This “present for near/fixed future” is common in Croatian (similar to English We return them next week / We’re returning them next week).

Why is it sljedeći tjedan and not something like u sljedećem tjednu?

Sljedeći tjedan is a very common, natural way to say next week. It’s accusative of time (duration/when). You can also say idući tjedan (same meaning, also common).

U sljedećem tjednu is possible but usually sounds more like during the following week (more specific/structured, less like the everyday phrase “next week”).

What gender/case is sljedeći here, and why does it look like that?

Sljedeći is a masculine singular accusative form agreeing with tjedan (masculine noun).

• tjedan is masculine
• The phrase functions like “(on) next week,” and Croatian uses accusative for many time expressions → sljedeći tjedan

Is there a difference between posuđivati and posuditi, and between vraćati and vratiti?

Yes—this is the aspect system:

• posuđivati / posuđovati (imperfective) = to borrow (process/habit/repeated)
• posuditi (perfective) = to borrow (completed, one-time result)

And:

• vraćati (imperfective) = to return (ongoing/habitual)
• vratiti (perfective) = to return (completed)

In your sentence, the imperfectives posuđujemo and vraćamo fit well because it can describe a typical routine or a planned action without emphasizing completion. If you wanted to emphasize completion (“we will return them”), Croatian might use a perfective form depending on context: vratit ćemo ih sljedeći tjedan or vratimo ih sljedeći tjedan (the latter can sound like a plan/arrangement).