Gorivo je skuplje nego prošle godine, zato sada rjeđe idemo autom u centar.

Fuel is more expensive than last year, so now we go by car to the center less often.

Breakdown of Gorivo je skuplje nego prošle godine, zato sada rjeđe idemo autom u centar.

• biti: to be
• ići: to go
• u: to
• sada: now
• auto: car
• zato: therefore
• nego: than
• prošli: last
• godina: year
• rjeđe: less often
• centar: center
• skuplji: more expensive
• gorivo: fuel

Questions & Answers about Gorivo je skuplje nego prošle godine, zato sada rjeđe idemo autom u centar.

What does gorivo mean here? Is it fuel in general or specifically gas/petrol?

Gorivo literally means fuel. It is a general word, so it can refer to fuel broadly, not just one specific type.

In everyday context, though, a sentence like this often makes people think of car fuel prices, so in English the natural idea may be gas/petrol is more expensive. Croatian also has more specific words like benzin for petrol.

Grammatically, gorivo is a neuter singular noun, and that matters for skuplje later in the sentence.

Why is it skuplje and not skuplji or skupije?

Because gorivo is neuter singular, and the comparative adjective has to agree with it.

The adjective skup means expensive. Its comparative is skuplji / skuplja / skuplje:

• skuplji = masculine
• skuplja = feminine
• skuplje = neuter

So:

• auto je skuplji = the car is more expensive
• kava je skuplja = the coffee is more expensive
• gorivo je skuplje = the fuel is more expensive

Also, skuplje is the normal comparative form here, not skupije.

Why is nego used here? Could I use od instead?

Here nego means than and introduces the second part of the comparison.

So skuplje nego prošle godine means more expensive than last year.

In Croatian, od can also be used in some comparisons, especially before nouns, for example:

• Ivan je viši od Marka = Ivan is taller than Marko

But in this sentence, nego prošle godine sounds natural because the comparison is really shorthand for something like than it was last year. So nego is the better choice here.

Why is it prošle godine? What case is that?

Prošle godine is genitive singular.

The noun is godina = year, and in this time expression it becomes:

• prošla godina = last year
• prošle godine = last year / in the previous year

This is a very common Croatian time expression. Even though it looks like a genitive form, you should often learn it as a fixed pattern meaning last year.

So in the sentence, nego prošle godine means than last year.

Does zato mean because here?

No. Here zato means therefore, so, or for that reason.

That is important because learners often mix up:

• zato = so / therefore / that is why
• zato što = because

So:

• Gorivo je skuplje, zato rjeđe idemo autom. = Fuel is more expensive, so we go by car less often.
• Rjeđe idemo autom zato što je gorivo skuplje. = We go by car less often because fuel is more expensive.

Same idea, but different structure.

What is rjeđe? Why not just use a word meaning less?

Rjeđe means less often or more rarely.

It is the comparative form of the adverb rijetko = rarely. So:

• rijetko = rarely
• rjeđe = more rarely / less often

Croatian often uses a comparative adverb here where English uses less often.

You could also say manje često, which also means less often, but rjeđe is very natural and compact.

Why is idemo in the present tense if the sentence is talking about a general situation?

Because Croatian uses the present tense for habitual or repeated actions, just like English does.

So idemo here does not mean only we are going right now. It means we go or we tend to go as a regular pattern.

In this sentence:

• sada rjeđe idemo = now we go less often / nowadays we go less often

The verb ići is imperfective, so it works naturally for repeated actions like this.

Why is there no word for we? Shouldn't it be mi idemo?

Croatian often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

Here idemo clearly means we go, so mi is not necessary.

You can add mi if you want emphasis or contrast:

• Mi sada rjeđe idemo autom, a oni ne. = We go by car less often now, but they do not.

Without emphasis, leaving out the pronoun is the normal Croatian style.

Why is it autom? What case is that?

Autom is instrumental singular of auto.

After verbs of movement, Croatian often uses the instrumental without a preposition to express the means of transport:

• ići autom = go by car
• ići vlakom = go by train
• ići autobusom = go by bus

So autom means by car.

You may also hear automobilom, which is more formal or full-length, but autom is very common in everyday speech.

Why is it u centar and not u centru?

Because u centar shows movement toward a destination, so it takes the accusative.

Compare:

• Idemo u centar. = We are going to the center / downtown.
• Mi smo u centru. = We are in the center / downtown.

So:

• u + accusative = motion into/to
• u + locative = location in

That is why u centar is correct here: the sentence is about going somewhere.

Does centar here mean a literal center, or does it mean downtown / the city center?

In this sentence, centar most naturally means the city center or downtown.

Croatian often uses ići u centar the same way English says go downtown or go into the city center.

So although centar literally means center, the real-life meaning in this context is probably the town/city center.

Is the word order fixed in this sentence?

Not completely. Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but the given order sounds natural and clear.

This sentence puts the information in a smooth, logical order:

• statement: Gorivo je skuplje nego prošle godine
• result: zato sada rjeđe idemo autom u centar

You could move some parts for emphasis, for example:

• Zato sada autom rjeđe idemo u centar
• Sada zato rjeđe idemo autom u centar

But the original version is very natural and probably the best one for a learner to model.

Why is there a comma before zato?

Because the sentence contains two linked clauses:

• Gorivo je skuplje nego prošle godine
• zato sada rjeđe idemo autom u centar

The comma helps separate the cause/result structure. In English, this is similar to writing:

• Fuel is more expensive than last year, so now we go by car less often into the city center.

So the comma is doing normal clause-separating work here.