Breakdown of Ako zmajevi dođu, pobjeći ćemo.
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
doći
to come, to arrive
ako
if
pobjeći
to run away
zmaj
dragon
Questions & Answers about Ako zmajevi dođu, pobjeći ćemo.
Why is the plural of zmaj (dragon) zmajevi instead of just zmaji?
Short masculine nouns (usually one syllable) need an extra piece added before the plural ending -i. This piece is either -ov- or -ev-. Because zmaj ends in -j, which is a "soft" sound, it takes -ev-, making it zmajevi.
Why does the sentence use the present tense dođu (they come) instead of the future tense?
After ako (if), Croatian often uses the present tense of a perfective (completed action) verb to talk about a future condition. You generally do not use the future tense right after ako.
What is the infinitive form of dođu?
The infinitive is doći (to come). Verbs ending in -ći often have a present tense stem that looks quite different from their infinitive. Here, the "they" form is dođu.
Why don't pobjeći and ćemo merge into a single word for the future tense?
In the future tense, only verbs ending in -ti drop their final -i and merge with the helping verb. Because pobjeći (to escape) ends in -ći, it never merges and always stays completely separate from ćemo.
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