B1 Time Expressions 1 min read آسان

Accusative for Duration (e.g., cijeli dan)

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Use the Accusative case to describe how long an action lasts, such as 'cijeli dan' (the whole day).

  • Use Accusative for duration: 'Čekao sam cijeli dan' (I waited the whole day).
  • No preposition is needed for duration: 'Radio sam sat vremena' (I worked for an hour).
  • Masculine inanimate nouns stay the same in Accusative: 'Cijeli mjesec' (The whole month).
Duration + Accusative Case + Verb

Accusative of Duration Examples

Noun Gender Nominative Accusative (Duration)
Day
Masculine
dan
dan
Month
Masculine
mjesec
mjesec
Year
Feminine
godina
godinu
Hour
Masculine
sat
sat
Week
Masculine
tjedan
tjedan
Night
Feminine
noć
noć

Meanings

The Accusative of duration expresses the length of time an action or state continues.

1

Total duration

The entire span of an event.

“Čekao sam cijeli sat.”

“Putovali smo cijeli dan.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Accusative for Duration (e.g., cijeli dan)
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Subject + Verb + Accusative
Radio sam cijeli dan.
Negative
Subject + Ne + Verb + Accusative
Nisam radio cijeli dan.
Question
Verb + Subject + Accusative?
Jesi li radio cijeli dan?
Short Answer
Accusative
Cijeli dan.
Future
Subject + Future Verb + Accusative
Radit ću cijeli dan.
Past
Subject + Past Verb + Accusative
Radio sam cijeli dan.

طیف رسمیت

رسمی
Radio sam cijeli dan.

Radio sam cijeli dan. (Work)

خنثی
Radio sam cijeli dan.

Radio sam cijeli dan. (Work)

غیر رسمی
Radio sam cijeli dan.

Radio sam cijeli dan. (Work)

عامیانه
Cijeli dan sam šljakao.

Cijeli dan sam šljakao. (Work)

Duration Concept Map

Accusative Duration

Time Units

  • dan day
  • sat hour
  • godina year

Duration vs. Point in Time

Duration (Accusative)
cijeli dan all day
Point (Genitive/Locative)
u ponedjeljak on Monday

Do I use Accusative?

1

Is it a duration?

YES
Use Accusative
NO
Check other cases

Common Time Words

⏰

Time

  • • dan
  • • sat
  • • godina
  • • tjedan
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مثال‌ها بر اساس سطح

1

Učio sam jedan sat.

I studied for one hour.

2

Čekao sam pet minuta.

I waited for five minutes.

3

Radio sam cijeli dan.

I worked the whole day.

4

Spavala sam cijelu noć.

I slept the whole night.

1

Putovali smo cijeli mjesec.

We traveled for the whole month.

2

Čekala sam cijeli sat.

I waited for a whole hour.

3

Učio sam cijelu godinu.

I studied for a whole year.

4

Gledao sam film dva sata.

I watched the movie for two hours.

1

Čekao sam ga cijelo popodne.

I waited for him the whole afternoon.

2

Radila je tamo punih pet godina.

She worked there for a full five years.

3

Sjedili smo tamo cijelu večer.

We sat there the whole evening.

4

Vozili smo se cijeli dan.

We drove for the whole day.

1

Provela je cijelo ljeto na moru.

She spent the whole summer at the sea.

2

Čekali smo odgovor cijeli tjedan.

We waited for an answer for a whole week.

3

Učio sam cijelu zimu.

I studied the whole winter.

4

Trajalo je cijelu vječnost.

It lasted an eternity.

1

Ona je cijelo desetljeće posvetila znanosti.

She dedicated a whole decade to science.

2

Cijelo jutro sam proveo u uredu.

I spent the whole morning in the office.

3

Cijeli život sam čekao ovaj trenutak.

I have waited my whole life for this moment.

4

Cijelu smo godinu planirali putovanje.

We planned the trip for the whole year.

1

Cijelo stoljeće ova obitelj vlada ovim krajem.

For a whole century, this family has ruled this region.

2

Cijelu je noć proveo u dubokoj meditaciji.

He spent the whole night in deep meditation.

3

Cijelu smo jesen proveli u pripremi projekta.

We spent the whole autumn preparing the project.

4

Cijelo vrijeme sam znao istinu.

I knew the truth the whole time.

به‌راحتی اشتباه گرفته می‌شود

Accusative for Duration (e.g., cijeli dan) در مقابل Accusative vs. Genitive

Both are used for time, but for different purposes.

Accusative for Duration (e.g., cijeli dan) در مقابل Accusative vs. 'Za'

Learners think 'for' always translates to 'za'.

Accusative for Duration (e.g., cijeli dan) در مقابل Accusative vs. Nominative

Masculine inanimate nouns look the same.

اشتباهات رایج

✗

za jedan sat

✓

jedan sat

Don't use 'za' for duration.
✗

u jedan sat

✓

jedan sat

Don't use 'u' for duration.
✗

jedan sata

✓

jedan sat

Wrong case ending.
✗

cijela dan

✓

cijeli dan

Wrong gender agreement.
✗

za cijelu godinu

✓

cijelu godinu

Again, no 'za'.
✗

cijela godinu

✓

cijelu godinu

Accusative feminine ending is -u.
✗

u cijeli mjesec

✓

cijeli mjesec

No preposition needed.
✗

za pet godina

✓

pet godina

This implies 'in five years', not 'for five years'.
✗

cijeli tjednu

✓

cijeli tjedan

Masculine inanimate doesn't change.
✗

cijela tjedan

✓

cijeli tjedan

Agreement error.
✗

za cijelo stoljeće

✓

cijelo stoljeće

Again, 'za' is for deadlines.
✗

cijeli noć

✓

cijelu noć

Noć is feminine.
✗

cijelo vrijeme

✓

cijelo vrijeme

Correct, but ensure verb aspect matches.

الگوهای جمله‌سازی

Radio sam ___.

Čekao sam te ___.

Putovali smo ___.

Učio sam ___.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Čekam te cijeli sat!

Job Interview common

Radio sam tamo dvije godine.

Travel common

Putovali smo cijeli dan.

Food Delivery occasional

Čekao sam dostavu sat vremena.

Social Media common

Cijeli dan sam na plaži.

Academic common

Učio sam cijelu noć.

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💡

Check the gender

Always check if the noun is masculine or feminine to get the right ending.
⚠️

No 'za'

Avoid using 'za' for duration. It's the most common mistake.
🎯

Use 'cijeli'

Adding 'cijeli' (whole) makes your duration sound very natural.
💬

Be precise

Croatians appreciate knowing exactly how long something takes.

Smart Tips

Stop yourself from saying 'za'. Just say the time in Accusative.

Radio sam za dva sata. → Radio sam dva sata.

Remember to change the ending to -u.

Čekao sam cijela godina. → Čekao sam cijelu godinu.

Use 'cijeli' or 'punih'.

Radio sam sat. → Radio sam punih sat vremena.

Ensure the verb is in the past tense.

Radim cijeli dan. → Radio sam cijeli dan.

تلفظ

cijela -> cijelu

Accusative endings

Ensure the '-u' ending on feminine nouns is clear.

Statement

Radio sam cijeli dan. ↘

Falling intonation for a simple statement.

حفظ کنید

روش یادسپاری

Accusative is the 'Duration Case'—just like a clock, it keeps going.

تداعی تصویری

Imagine a long, golden ribbon stretching across a calendar. That ribbon is the Accusative case holding the time together.

Rhyme

For how long you stay, use Accusative all the way.

Story

Marko waited for his bus. He waited for one hour (jedan sat). He waited for the whole day (cijeli dan). He was so tired because he waited for the whole night (cijela noć).

شبکه واژگان

dansatgodinatjedannoćmjesec

چالش

Write down 5 things you did today and how long you did them for using the Accusative case.

نکات فرهنگی

Croatians value precision in time, so using the correct duration is important.

In coastal regions, people might use 'po ure' for half an hour.

More traditional phrasing is common.

The Accusative of duration is a common feature in Slavic languages, derived from Proto-Slavic.

شروع‌کننده‌های مکالمه

“

Koliko dugo si učio?

“

Koliko dugo radiš ovdje?

“

Koliko dugo si čekao na autobus?

“

Koliko dugo planiraš ostati u Hrvatskoj?

موضوعات نگارش

Describe your typical day.
Write about a long trip you took.
Reflect on a project you worked on for a long time.
Discuss the importance of time in your life.

اشتباهات رایج

Incorrect

صحیح

Incorrect

صحیح

Incorrect

صحیح

Incorrect

صحیح

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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank with the correct form.

Radio sam cijeli ___ (dan).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: dan
Masculine inanimate Accusative is the same as Nominative.
Choose the correct sentence. چند گزینه‌ای

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Učio sam sat.
Duration uses Accusative without a preposition.
Correct the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Nisam radio za cijeli dan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nisam radio cijeli dan.
Remove 'za'.
Change to duration. Sentence Transformation

Radim godinu. (Change to 'whole year')

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Radim cijelu godinu.
Feminine Accusative is -u.
Is this true? True False Rule

Can you use 'za' for duration?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: False
'Za' is for deadlines.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Koliko si čekao? B: Čekao sam ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: cijeli sat
Accusative duration.
Build the sentence. Sentence Building

cijeli / radio / dan / sam

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Radio sam cijeli dan.
Standard word order.
Sort by case. Grammar Sorting

Which is Accusative?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: cijeli dan
Accusative of duration.

Score: /8

تمرین‌های عملی

8 exercises
Fill in the blank with the correct form.

Radio sam cijeli ___ (dan).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: dan
Masculine inanimate Accusative is the same as Nominative.
Choose the correct sentence. چند گزینه‌ای

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Učio sam sat.
Duration uses Accusative without a preposition.
Correct the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Nisam radio za cijeli dan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nisam radio cijeli dan.
Remove 'za'.
Change to duration. Sentence Transformation

Radim godinu. (Change to 'whole year')

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Radim cijelu godinu.
Feminine Accusative is -u.
Is this true? True False Rule

Can you use 'za' for duration?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: False
'Za' is for deadlines.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Koliko si čekao? B: Čekao sam ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: cijeli sat
Accusative duration.
Build the sentence. Sentence Building

cijeli / radio / dan / sam

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Radio sam cijeli dan.
Standard word order.
Sort by case. Grammar Sorting

Which is Accusative?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: cijeli dan
Accusative of duration.

Score: /8

سوالات متداول (8)

In Croatian, 'za' implies a deadline or purpose. For duration, the Accusative case does the job alone.

Feminine nouns change their ending to '-u' in the Accusative case (e.g., 'godina' -> 'godinu').

Yes, it is standard in all registers.

The rule remains the same; use the Accusative plural form.

Yes, as long as the verb describes an action that has a duration.

Yes, Genitive is for points in time, Accusative is for duration.

Adding 'za' before the time expression.

Use 'cijeli' (whole) to emphasize the duration.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish partial

Por + time

Croatian uses the case system instead of a preposition.

French partial

Pendant + time

French relies on prepositions, Croatian on case endings.

German high

Accusative case

The usage is very similar, but Croatian has more complex gender endings.

Japanese low

Time + kan

Japanese is agglutinative, Croatian is inflectional.

Arabic moderate

Accusative (Mansoub)

Arabic case system is different in structure.

Chinese low

Verb + duration

Chinese has no case system.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Genitive for Duration (e.g., tijekom dana)
Next
Locative for Point in Time (e.g., u petak)

Related Grammar Rules

B1

Prepositions for Time and Duration (tijekom, za vrijeme, nakon)
B1

Instrumental for Time (e.g., ljeti, noću)
A0

Basic Time Expressions (Sada, Danas)
A1

Telling Time (Koliko je sati?)
A1

Prepositions for Time (prije, poslije)
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