Već danima dogovaramo vikend u Rijeci, ali se još ne možemo odlučiti za datum.

Već danima means for days already or for several days now.

The form danima is the instrumental plural of dan. In Croatian, the instrumental plural is often used in time expressions to mean something like for days, for weeks, for years, and so on.

So:

• dan = day
• danima = for days / over a period of days

This is a very common pattern:

• tjednima = for weeks
• mjesecima = for months
• godinama = for years

The word već adds the sense of already.

Dogovaramo is the imperfective verb form, from dogovarati (se). It emphasizes an ongoing, repeated, or unfinished process.

Here the idea is that we have been arranging / discussing / trying to organize the weekend over a period of time, so the imperfective is the natural choice.

Compare:

• dogovaramo = we are arranging / we’ve been discussing
• dogovorimo = we agree / we settle it, usually perfective or in subordinate structures depending on context

In this sentence, the process is still continuing, so dogovaramo fits better than a completed-action form.

Yes, many learners notice this. The verb often appears as dogovarati se, especially when people are discussing and agreeing among themselves.

However, in real usage, speakers may sometimes say dogovaramo vikend in a slightly shortened, more conversational way, especially when the object makes the meaning clear.

Still, the fuller version dogovaramo se oko vikenda or dogovaramo vikend can both appear depending on style and nuance.

Roughly:

• dogovarati se = to discuss/agree among ourselves
• dogovarati nešto = to arrange something

So this sentence is natural, even if learners may more often first meet the reflexive pattern.

After u meaning in, Croatian usually uses the locative case when talking about location.

So:

• Rijeka = nominative
• u Rijeci = in Rijeka

This is a regular case change. Many city names behave like this.

Examples:

• u Zagrebu = in Zagreb
• u Splitu = in Split
• u Rijeci = in Rijeka

So vikend u Rijeci means a weekend in Rijeka.

It means a weekend in Rijeka or a weekend trip/stay in Rijeka.

Croatian often leaves certain details unstated if they are obvious from context. So dogovaramo vikend u Rijeci does not necessarily mean only the abstract idea of a weekend; it can mean:

• planning a weekend away in Rijeka
• arranging a visit to Rijeka for the weekend
• organizing a weekend there

English often needs a few more words, while Croatian can be more compact.

This part can feel tricky because several small words cluster together.

Break it down:

• se = reflexive particle
• još = still / yet
• ne možemo = we cannot / we can’t
• odlučiti = decide

So the whole phrase means we still can’t decide.

The word order follows normal Croatian clitic placement rules. Short unstressed words like se often come very early in the clause, usually in second position. That is why se appears before još ne možemo odlučiti.

English learners often want something more like još se ne možemo, but the Croatian order in this sentence is perfectly natural.

Because moći means can / to be able to, and after modal verbs Croatian normally uses the infinitive.

So:

• možemo odlučiti = we can decide
• ne možemo odlučiti = we cannot decide

This works just like:

• mogu doći = I can come
• ne mogu naći = I can’t find
• možemo krenuti = we can leave/start

So odlučiti stays in the infinitive because it depends on možemo.

Yes, there is an important difference.

• odlučiti nešto = to decide something
• odlučiti se za nešto = to decide on something / to opt for something

In this sentence, the meaning is to decide on a date, so Croatian uses the reflexive pattern:

• odlučiti se za datum

The se is part of the verb expression here. It is not optional.

Examples:

• Odlučili smo datum. = We decided the date.
  This is possible, but it sounds more like settling/fixing it directly.
• Odlučili smo se za datum. = We decided on a date.
  This focuses on choosing one option.

The combination odlučiti se za + accusative means to decide on, to choose, or to opt for something.

So:

• za datum = on a date / for a date choice

This pattern is very common:

• odlučiti se za hotel = to decide on a hotel
• odlučiti se za putovanje u lipnju = to decide on a trip in June
• odlučiti se za plavu boju = to choose blue

Here datum is in the accusative, and for masculine inanimate nouns like datum, the accusative looks the same as the nominative.

It can be understood as either, depending on how you translate naturally into English.

In this sentence:

• još ne možemo odlučiti = we still can’t decide
• also naturally: we can’t decide yet

Croatian još often covers both ideas. The exact English wording depends on what sounds best in context.

Yes, in this sentence datum means a calendar date, not a romantic date.

So odlučiti se za datum means to settle on a date.

This is one of those words where context matters. In Croatian, datum is specifically the date on the calendar, while English date can mean more than one thing.

Not very naturally. A word-for-word version would sound awkward in English.

A more literal breakdown is:

• Već danima = already for days
• dogovaramo = we are arranging / discussing
• vikend u Rijeci = a weekend in Rijeka
• ali = but
• se još ne možemo odlučiti = we still cannot decide
• za datum = on a date

Natural English would be something like:

• We’ve been planning a weekend in Rijeka for days, but we still can’t decide on a date.
• For days now, we’ve been trying to arrange a weekend in Rijeka, but we still haven’t settled on a date.

So it is better to translate by meaning, not word by word.

Yes. Croatian often uses the present tense with expressions like već danima to describe something that started earlier and is still going on now.

So dogovaramo is present tense, but the meaning is:

• we have been arranging
• we’ve been discussing
• we’ve been trying to organize

English often uses the present perfect continuous, while Croatian simply uses the present tense plus a time expression.

That is a very common difference between the two languages.