Background actions in the past

When telling a story, you often need to set the scene before the main action begins. In Croatian, use imperfective verbs in the past tense to do this.

Imperfective verbs describe ongoing or incomplete actions. In the past tense, they paint a background picture, similar to "was doing" or "used to do" in English.

The princess was ruling the rich country.
Princeza je vladala bogatom zemljom.
An evil witch lived in the dark forest.
Zla vještica je živjela u mračnoj šumi.
The wizard was preparing a dangerous spell.
Čarobnjak je pripremao opasnu čaroliju.

Simultaneous Actions

To describe two background events happening at the same time, use the conjunction dok (while). Because both actions are ongoing, both verbs must be imperfective.

While the princess was sleeping, the evil witch was waiting.
Dok je princeza spavala, zla vještica je čekala.
The dragon was flying while the magical forest was hiding in the fog.
Zmaj je letio dok se čarobna šuma skrivala u magli.
While the fairies were dancing, the magical light was shining.
Dok su vile plesale, čarobno svjetlo je sjalo.

Ongoing Activities

Use these verbs to describe activities that lasted a long time or established the general mood of your story.

The dwarfs were wandering through the forest for hours.
Patuljci su satima lutali kroz šumu.
The dwarfs were singing with the fairies.
Patuljci su pjevali s vilama.
The princess was reading an old book about magic to the dwarfs.
Princeza je patuljcima čitala staru knjigu o čaroliji.
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