Breakdown of Kad je nestalo struje, padala je jaka kiša.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
struja
electricity
kada
when / if (with conditional)
jak
strong
kiša
rain
nestati
to disappear
padati
to fall
Questions & Answers about Kad je nestalo struje, padala je jaka kiša.
Why do we use Kad instead of Dok in this sentence?
We use Kad (when) because the power going out (nestalo) was a sudden, completed event that happened at a specific moment. You would use Dok (while) if you were talking about an ongoing, continuous action, like 'While it was raining...'
Why is the verb neuter (nestalo) and the word for power in the genitive case (struje)?
The verb nestati (to disappear or run out) is very commonly used in an impersonal way. Instead of saying 'the power disappeared', Croatian literally says 'it disappeared of power'. Since 'it' is an undefined subject, the verb takes the default neuter form (nestalo), and the thing that is missing goes into the genitive case (struje).
Why is the helper verb je placed right after Kad and padala?
The helper verb je is an enclitic, which means it must sit in the second position of its clause. In the first clause, it comes immediately after the starting word Kad. In the second clause, after the comma, the counting restarts, so je takes the second spot right after the first word of that clause, padala.
Why does the sentence use jaka for 'heavy' rain?
In English, we say 'heavy rain', but in Croatian, weather events like rain and wind are usually described as 'strong' (jak). Saying 'teška kiša' (literally 'heavy rain' by weight) would sound unnatural to a native speaker.
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