Questions & Answers about Poslije toga sam otišla u ribarnicu, jer mi se večeras jede riba, a ne meso.
Why is there no ja in the sentence?
Croatian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed. The verb form already shows the person:
- sam otišla = I went / I have gone
So ja is usually omitted unless you want emphasis or contrast:
- Ja sam otišla u ribarnicu, a on nije. = I went to the fish shop, but he didn’t.
In a neutral sentence, leaving ja out sounds natural.
Why is it otišla and not otišao?
Because otišla is the feminine singular past participle. It tells you the speaker is female.
Compare:
- otišao = a male speaker went
- otišla = a female speaker went
- otišli = a mixed/male plural group went
- otišle = an all-female plural group went
So:
- sam otišla = I went said by a woman
- sam otišao = I went said by a man
How does sam otišla work grammatically?
This is the normal Croatian past tense formation:
- auxiliary sam = I am (from biti, to be)
- past participle otišla
Together they make the past tense:
- sam otišla = I went
This is very common in Croatian:
- sam došla = I came
- sam vidjela = I saw
- sam kupila = I bought
So the past tense is often built like:
present of biti + past participle
Why is sam after Poslije toga instead of directly before or after otišla?
Because sam is a clitic. Croatian clitics usually go in second position in the clause.
So in:
- Poslije toga sam otišla...
the opening phrase Poslije toga comes first, and the clitic sam goes right after it.
The same thing happens later:
- jer mi se večeras jede riba
Here mi and se are also clitics, so they come near the beginning of that clause, right after jer.
English speakers often notice this because Croatian clitic placement is much stricter than English word order.
Why is it u ribarnicu and not u ribarnici?
Because u can take different cases depending on meaning:
- u + accusative = movement to/into
- u + locative = location in/at
So:
- otišla sam u ribarnicu = I went to the fish shop
- bila sam u ribarnici = I was in/at the fish shop
Here there is movement, so ribarnicu is accusative.
What exactly does ribarnica mean?
Ribarnica means a fish shop or fish market/fish stall, depending on context.
It comes from:
- riba = fish
So u ribarnicu means the speaker went to the place where fish is sold.
What does mi se jede mean? Why not just say želim jesti?
Mi se jede is a very common Croatian way to say:
- I feel like eating
- I’m in the mood to eat
- I want to eat (in a more spontaneous, appetite-based way)
It is an impersonal/reflexive construction:
- mi = to me
- se jede = literally a special impersonal form with jesti
It is less direct and often more natural for cravings or appetite than želim jesti.
Compare:
- Želim jesti. = I want to eat.
- Jede mi se. = I feel like eating.
Similar expressions:
- Spava mi se. = I feel sleepy / I feel like sleeping.
- Pije mi se voda. = I feel like drinking water.
- Pleše mi se. = I feel like dancing.
Why is it riba and not ribu, even though jesti usually takes an object?
That is because this sentence uses the special construction jede mi se.
With normal jesti, the thing eaten is in the accusative:
- Jedem ribu. = I am eating fish.
But with the desire/appetite construction jede mi se, the thing you feel like eating is commonly in the nominative:
- Jede mi se riba. = I feel like eating fish.
- Pije mi se voda. = I feel like drinking water.
So:
- jedem ribu = ordinary verb + direct object
- jede mi se riba = impersonal desire construction
This difference is very important.
What does večeras mean, and why not večer?
Večeras is an adverb, meaning:
- tonight
- this evening
That is why it fits here: it tells you when the speaker feels like eating fish.
By contrast:
- večer = evening (a noun)
So:
- večeras mi se jede riba = Tonight I feel like eating fish
You could think of večeras as answering the question when?
Why is it a ne meso instead of ali ne meso?
In Croatian, a often marks a contrast between two parallel ideas. In this sentence, the contrast is between:
- riba
- meso
So:
- riba, a ne meso = fish, not meat
This sounds very natural.
Compare:
- a = contrast, often mild and balanced
- ali = stronger but
You could often translate both as but, but Croatian uses them differently.
Also compare:
- Ne želim meso nego ribu. = I don’t want meat but rather fish.
Here nego works after a direct negation. But in your sentence, a ne meso is the natural pattern.
Could I say nakon toga instead of poslije toga?
Yes. Both mean after that.
- Poslije toga sam otišla u ribarnicu...
- Nakon toga sam otišla u ribarnicu...
Both are correct. In many situations, poslije toga sounds a bit more everyday and conversational, while nakon toga can sound slightly more formal or neutral, but the difference is not huge.
Could the word order be changed?
Yes, but not every change sounds equally natural.
The neutral version is:
You might also hear:
- Jer mi se večeras jede riba, a ne meso, poslije toga sam otišla u ribarnicu.
But Croatian word order is affected by:
- emphasis
- information structure
- clitic placement
So the words can move more than in English, but clitics like sam, mi, and se still have to follow Croatian placement rules.
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