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).
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.
Total duration
The entire span of an event.
“Čekao sam cijeli sat.”
“Putovali smo cijeli dan.”
Reference Table
| 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.
|
격식 수준 스펙트럼
Radio sam cijeli dan. (Work)
Radio sam cijeli dan. (Work)
Radio sam cijeli dan. (Work)
Cijeli dan sam šljakao. (Work)
Duration Concept Map
Time Units
- dan day
- sat hour
- godina year
Duration vs. Point in Time
Do I use Accusative?
Is it a duration?
Common Time Words
Time
- • dan
- • sat
- • godina
- • tjedan
수준별 예문
Učio sam jedan sat.
I studied for one hour.
Čekao sam pet minuta.
I waited for five minutes.
Radio sam cijeli dan.
I worked the whole day.
Spavala sam cijelu noć.
I slept the whole night.
Putovali smo cijeli mjesec.
We traveled for the whole month.
Čekala sam cijeli sat.
I waited for a whole hour.
Učio sam cijelu godinu.
I studied for a whole year.
Gledao sam film dva sata.
I watched the movie for two hours.
Čekao sam ga cijelo popodne.
I waited for him the whole afternoon.
Radila je tamo punih pet godina.
She worked there for a full five years.
Sjedili smo tamo cijelu večer.
We sat there the whole evening.
Vozili smo se cijeli dan.
We drove for the whole day.
Provela je cijelo ljeto na moru.
She spent the whole summer at the sea.
Čekali smo odgovor cijeli tjedan.
We waited for an answer for a whole week.
Učio sam cijelu zimu.
I studied the whole winter.
Trajalo je cijelu vječnost.
It lasted an eternity.
Ona je cijelo desetljeće posvetila znanosti.
She dedicated a whole decade to science.
Cijelo jutro sam proveo u uredu.
I spent the whole morning in the office.
Cijeli život sam čekao ovaj trenutak.
I have waited my whole life for this moment.
Cijelu smo godinu planirali putovanje.
We planned the trip for the whole year.
Cijelo stoljeće ova obitelj vlada ovim krajem.
For a whole century, this family has ruled this region.
Cijelu je noć proveo u dubokoj meditaciji.
He spent the whole night in deep meditation.
Cijelu smo jesen proveli u pripremi projekta.
We spent the whole autumn preparing the project.
Cijelo vrijeme sam znao istinu.
I knew the truth the whole time.
혼동하기 쉬운
Both are used for time, but for different purposes.
Learners think 'for' always translates to 'za'.
Masculine inanimate nouns look the same.
자주 하는 실수
za jedan sat
jedan sat
u jedan sat
jedan sat
jedan sata
jedan sat
cijela dan
cijeli dan
za cijelu godinu
cijelu godinu
cijela godinu
cijelu godinu
u cijeli mjesec
cijeli mjesec
za pet godina
pet godina
cijeli tjednu
cijeli tjedan
cijela tjedan
cijeli tjedan
za cijelo stoljeće
cijelo stoljeće
cijeli noć
cijelu noć
cijelo vrijeme
cijelo vrijeme
문장 패턴
Radio sam ___.
Čekao sam te ___.
Putovali smo ___.
Učio sam ___.
Real World Usage
Čekam te cijeli sat!
Radio sam tamo dvije godine.
Putovali smo cijeli dan.
Čekao sam dostavu sat vremena.
Cijeli dan sam na plaži.
Učio sam cijelu noć.
Check the gender
No 'za'
Use 'cijeli'
Be precise
Smart Tips
Stop yourself from saying 'za'. Just say the time in Accusative.
Remember to change the ending to -u.
Use 'cijeli' or 'punih'.
Ensure the verb is in the past tense.
발음
Accusative endings
Ensure the '-u' ending on feminine nouns is clear.
Statement
Radio sam cijeli dan. ↘
Falling intonation for a simple statement.
암기하기
기억법
Accusative is the 'Duration Case'—just like a clock, it keeps going.
시각적 연상
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).
Word Web
챌린지
Write down 5 things you did today and how long you did them for using the Accusative case.
문화 노트
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.
대화 시작하기
Koliko dugo si učio?
Koliko dugo radiš ovdje?
Koliko dugo si čekao na autobus?
Koliko dugo planiraš ostati u Hrvatskoj?
일기 주제
자주 하는 실수
Test Yourself
Radio sam cijeli ___ (dan).
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Nisam radio za cijeli dan.
Radim godinu. (Change to 'whole year')
Can you use 'za' for duration?
A: Koliko si čekao? B: Čekao sam ___.
cijeli / radio / dan / sam
Which is Accusative?
Score: /8
연습 문제
8 exercisesRadio sam cijeli ___ (dan).
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Nisam radio za cijeli dan.
Radim godinu. (Change to 'whole year')
Can you use 'za' for duration?
A: Koliko si čekao? B: Čekao sam ___.
cijeli / radio / dan / sam
Which is Accusative?
Score: /8
자주 묻는 질문 (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
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Por + time
Croatian uses the case system instead of a preposition.
Pendant + time
French relies on prepositions, Croatian on case endings.
Accusative case
The usage is very similar, but Croatian has more complex gender endings.
Time + kan
Japanese is agglutinative, Croatian is inflectional.
Accusative (Mansoub)
Arabic case system is different in structure.
Verb + duration
Chinese has no case system.
