Doing Things Simultaneously
When describing an environment like a busy office, you often need to talk about doing multiple things at the same time. A simple way to express this is with the adverb istovremeno (simultaneously).
The Present Verbal Adverb (-ći)
When one person performs two actions at the exact same time, English often uses "while doing" or just "-ing" (for example, "While typing, he drank coffee"). In Croatian, we use the present verbal adverb (glagolski prilog sadašnji).
You form it by taking the third-person plural present tense of an imperfective verb (the "they" form) and adding the suffix -ći.
- oni tipkaju (they type) + -ći = tipkajući (while typing)
- oni telefoniraju (they talk on the phone) + -ći = telefonirajući (while talking on the phone)
A strict rule for this form is that both actions must be performed by the same subject. The main verb sets the tense (past, present, or future), while the verbal adverb ending in -ći provides the background action.
Flexible Placement
Because the present verbal adverb acts as an adverb rather than an adjective, it never changes its ending to match case, gender, or number. It can sit comfortably at the beginning of the sentence or after the main verb, depending on what you want to emphasize.
Multitasking in the Office
You will frequently encounter the present verbal adverb when describing tasks, managing documents, and having conversations that overlap in the workplace.