Breakdown of Radnici će dugo graditi ovu zgradu.
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
zgrada
building
radnik
worker
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
dugo
for a long time
graditi
to build
Questions & Answers about Radnici će dugo graditi ovu zgradu.
Why do we use the verb graditi instead of its perfective form izgraditi here?
Because the sentence includes the word dugo (for a long time), emphasizing the duration of the action. Graditi is an imperfective verb, which we use for ongoing or continuous actions. When using the future tense to say you will 'be doing' something for a while rather than just completing it, you must use the imperfective aspect.
Why is the future tense helper će separated from the main verb graditi?
The word će is a clitic, which is a 'weak' word that naturally wants to sit in the second position of a Croatian sentence. Here, it takes the second spot right after the subject radnici. The main verb graditi stays in its infinitive form and can appear later in the sentence, leaving room for the adverb dugo to sit safely between them.
The singular word for worker is radnik. Why does it change to radnici here?
This is a common sound change you will see often with masculine nouns. When a masculine noun ends in the letter k, that k changes to a c before adding the plural ending -i. This makes radnik become radnici.
Why does the sentence use ovu zgradu instead of the dictionary form ova zgrada?
Because the building is the direct object of the sentence—it is the thing being built. This means it must be in the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -a like zgrada, the ending changes to -u in the accusative. The pronoun ova (this) must change to match it, becoming ovu.
Are the verb graditi (to build) and the noun zgradu (building) related?
Yes! They share the exact same root word. You might also recognize this root from the word grad, which means 'city' today but historically referred to a built settlement or fortress. Adding prefixes or suffixes to this root gives us both the action of building and the physical building itself.
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