B1 · Intermédiaire Chapitre 42

Time Expressions with Cases: When Did It Happen?

3 Règles totales
1 min
Règles dans ce chapitre Pratique rapide

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Master the art of timing by choosing the correct case for every temporal situation.

  • Explain extended periods using the Genitive case.
  • Describe specific durations using the Accusative case.
  • Pinpoint exact moments in time using the Locative case.
Master your timeline and speak with precision.

Ce que tu vas apprendre

Explore how different cases are used with specific time expressions to indicate duration, frequency, or point in time. This chapter refines your temporal precision.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: describe your daily routine and past experiences accurately using case-appropriate time markers.

Conseils et astuces (3)

💡

Check the Case

Always double-check if your noun is in the Genitive case after 'tijekom'.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Genitive for Duration (e.g., tijekom dana)
💡

Check the gender

Always check if the noun is masculine or feminine to get the right ending.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Accusative for Duration (e.g., cijeli dan)
💡

The 'Month' Rule

If you can't remember the Slavic month name, use the number + 'mjesec' in Locative. 'U prvom mjesecu' is perfectly fine!
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Locative for Point in Time (e.g., u petak)

Vocabulaire clé (6)

tijekom during dan day cijeli whole u in/at petak Friday mjesec month

Real-World Preview

coffee

Scheduling a Meeting

Review Summary

  • tijekom + Genitive
  • Duration (Noun in Accusative)
  • u + Locative

Erreurs courantes

For duration, use the Accusative case (cijeli dan), not Genitive.

Wrong: U petak sam radio cijelog dana.
Correct: U petak sam radio cijeli dan.

Tijekom always requires the Genitive case.

Wrong: U ponedjeljak sam učio tijekom tjedan.
Correct: U ponedjeljak sam učio tijekom tjedna.

The preposition 'u' already sets the Locative requirement; no need for redundant suffixes.

Wrong: Radim u subotu-u.
Correct: Radim u subotu.

Next Steps

You are doing fantastic! Keep practicing these structures and your Croatian will sound more fluent every day.

Keep a 3-day time log in Croatian using these rules.

Continue to: Modal Verbs and Their Croatian Equivalents

Pratique rapide (10)

Correct the sentence: 'Vidimo se u suboti.' (meaning Saturday)

Find and fix the mistake:

Vidimo se u suboti.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Vidimo se u subotu.
Days of the week use the Accusative case (-u for feminine nouns).

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Locative for Point in Time (e.g., u petak)

Choose the correct preposition.

___ dana radim.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Tijekom
For duration, use 'tijekom'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Genitive for Duration (e.g., tijekom dana)

Choose the correct sentence.

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Tijekom tjedna radim.
Genitive singular of 'tjedan' is 'tjedna'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Genitive for Duration (e.g., tijekom dana)

Choose the correct sentence.

Which is correct?

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

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Accusative for Duration (e.g., cijeli dan)

Fill in the correct form.

Tijekom ___ (sastanak) nismo pričali.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sastanka
Genitive singular of 'sastanak' is 'sastanka'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Genitive for Duration (e.g., tijekom dana)

Choose the correct form for: 'In January'.

___ je jako hladno.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: U siječnju
Months with 'u' require the Locative case ending -u.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Locative for Point in Time (e.g., u petak)

Correct the mistake.

Find and fix the mistake:

Nisam radio za cijeli dan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nisam radio cijeli dan.
Remove 'za'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Accusative for Duration (e.g., cijeli dan)

Fill in the correct Genitive form.

Tijekom ___ (dan) radim.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: dana
Genitive singular of 'dan' is 'dana'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Genitive for Duration (e.g., tijekom dana)

Correct the sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

Tijekom godina smo učili.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Tijekom godina smo učili.
Genitive plural of 'godina' is 'godina'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Genitive for Duration (e.g., tijekom dana)

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.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Accusative for Duration (e.g., cijeli dan)

Score: /10

Questions fréquentes (6)

Yes, as long as it refers to a time period.
It is neutral but often used in formal writing.
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').
In Croatian, days of the week are viewed as specific targets (Accusative), while months are viewed as periods you are inside of (Locative).
Yes, it's very common! You can say u prvom mjesecu instead of u siječnju. Just remember to put the number in the Locative form.
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Expressing Purpose and Cause with Conjunctions
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Modal Verbs and Their Croatian Equivalents
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