The dative case might seem tricky because the rules on when to use it are not very straightforward. Fortunately, the noun endings for the dative case are identical to those used in the locative so you only have to learn them once!
The dative is most commonly used without prepositions as an indirect object, mostly describing to whom something is given or for whom something is done:
Marko je dao čokoladu mami → Marko gave a chocolate to his mom
Luka je kupio igračku sinu → Luka bought a toy for his son
Maja je poslala pismo prijateljima → Maja sent a letter to her friends
|
Muški rod
(musculine)
| Ženski rod (feminine) | Srednji rod (neuter) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jednina (singular) |
Nominative | - krevet (bed) susjed (neighbour) |
-a stolica (chair) mačka (cat) |
-o/e stablo (tree) more (sea) |
| Dative | -u krevetu susjedu |
-i stolici mački |
-u stablu moru |
|
| Množina (plural) |
Nominative | -i kreveti susjedi |
-e stolice mačke |
-a stabla mora |
| Dative | -ima krevetima susjedima |
-ama stolicama mačkama |
-ima stablima morima |
|
With a few prepositions:
Sibilarizacija (assibilation) is a sound change in Croatian whereby the consonants -k, -g and -h when placed before the vowel -i change into -c, -z and -s. This change can be seen in the singular form of feminine nouns and in the plural form of masculine nouns in the dative case.
In feminine nouns in the singular form:
knjiga (book) → knjizi
ruka (hand) → ruci
noga (leg) → nozi
In masculine nouns in the plural form:
radnik (worker) → radnici (nominative plural) → radnicima (dative plural)
junak (hero) → junaci → junacima
orah (walnut) → orasi → orasima
Hypocoristics (affectionate names) in the feminine gender:
baka (granny) → baki
seka (little sister) → seki
Nouns that end in -cka, -čka, -tka, -ga:
kocka (cube) → kocki
mačka (cat) → mački
patka (duck) → patki
Declination of the first names
Zrinka → Zrinki
Dubravka → Dubravki
I'm writing a letter to my friend. Answer Pišem pismo prijatelju.
Ana bought a chocolate for Maja. Answer Ana je Maji kupila čokoladu.
I gave a book to my colleague. Answer Dao sam knjigu svojem kolegi.
Across from the school is the playground. Answer Nasuprot školi je igralište.
I promised my son we would travel together. Answer Obećao sam sinu da ćemo zajedno putovati.
Marko is helping the firefighters. Answer Marko pomaže vatrogascima.
The company is hoping for new workers. Answer Tvrtka se nada novim radnicima.
We went to the beach despite the rain. Answer Otišli smo na plažu unatoč kiši.
I am looking forward to my birthday. Answer Veselim se rođendanu.
My Dad bought me a gift. Answer Tata mi je kupio poklon.
This blog is about Croatian language, culture, history and literature.
