Expressing quantity in Croatian almost always involves using the genitive case.
Once you have a good sense of how the genitive case works, asking how much or how many ... as well as talking about quantities and amount to answer those questions is straightforward.
To start with, let's think about the simple questions how much and how many in Croatian ...
Koliko šećera stavljaš u taj kolač? – How much sugar do you put in that cake?
šećer – sugar
Koliko vremena je potrebno za ovo? – How much time does this take?
vrijeme – time
Koliko soli stavljaš u juhu?
sol – salt
Koliko jabuka je na stolu? - How many apples are there on the table?
jabuka – apple
Koliko učenika je napisalo domaću zadaću? – How many students wrote their homework?
učenik – student
Koliko Hrvata živi izvan Hrvatske? – How many Croatians live outside of Croatia?
Hrvat – Croat
Generally speaking, almost all words used to express quantity in Croatian require the genitive case. The same rule applies: the genitive singular is used with uncountable and the genitive plural is used with countable nouns.
Here are some of the most common examples:
Imam puno prijatelja. – I have lots of friends.
Volim puno šećera u kavi. – I like a lot of sugar in my coffee.
Imam malo novca. – I have a little bit of money.
Imam malo slobodnog vremena. – I have a little bit of free time.
Trebam više vremena. – I need more time.
Više mlijeka, molim. – More milk, please.
Moraš gledati manje televizije. – You have to watch less TV.
Manje šećera, molim. – Less sugar, please.
To je previše kolača! – That's too much cake!
Pušiš previše cigareta. – You smoke too many cigarettes
Pijem premalo vode. – I drink too little water.
Poznajem premalo ljudi. – I know too few people.
Spavam bez jastuka. – I sleep without a pillow.
Volim kavu bez mlijeka. – I like coffee without milk.
It comes as no surprise that words such as čaša (glass), kilogram (kilogram) or litra (litre) are also paired with the genitive when used in expressions denoting measurement.
Although it might not be immediately intuitive, the expressions nema (there's no) and ima (there is / is there) are also paired with the genitive:
Nema šećera – There’s no sugar (genitive singular)
Nema jabuka – There are no apples (genitive plural)
Ima li šećera? – Is there any sugar?
Ima li jabuka? – Are there any apples?
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