Breakdown of Hoćeš li izdržati dok ne dođe pomoć?
li
question particle
ne
no, not
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
doći
to come, to arrive
pomoć
help (f)
dok
until
izdržati
to endure
Questions & Answers about Hoćeš li izdržati dok ne dođe pomoć?
Why is there a ne in the sentence when the English translation isn't negative?
Why use the present tense dođe instead of a future tense for "arrives"?
In Croatian, after words like dok ne (until) or ako (if), you use the present tense of a perfective (completed action) verb to talk about the future. Dođe is the present tense of the perfective verb doći (to arrive), so it describes a future completed event here.
Why is the subject pomoć (help) at the very end of the sentence?
Croatian word order is flexible. With verbs of arriving, appearing, or happening, it is very common and natural to put the subject at the end of the clause. You could absolutely say dok pomoć ne dođe, but dok ne dođe pomoć flows beautifully and puts a slight emphasis on the word "help".
Why does the question start with Hoćeš li?
To form a yes/no question in the future tense, you pull the long form of the helper verb to the front. The helper verb for the future tense is htjeti (will/want). For "you", the long form is hoćeš, followed by the question word li, and then the main verb in its infinitive form, izdržati.
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