Breakdown of Dok je princeza spavala, zla vještica je čekala.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
spavati
to sleep
čekati
to wait for
dok
while
Questions & Answers about Dok je princeza spavala, zla vještica je čekala.
Why are both verbs in this sentence imperfective?
The word dok (while) sets up two actions happening at the exact same time in the past. To show that these actions were ongoing and running parallel to each other (sleeping and waiting), both verbs need to be imperfective (spavala and čekala). If one action had interrupted the other, the interrupting verb would be perfective.
Why does the word je come right after dok instead of after the subject princeza?
The verb je is an enclitic (a "weak" word with no stress of its own), which means it must sit in the second position of its clause. In the first clause, the conjunction dok takes the first position, so the enclitic je is forced to come immediately after it, before the subject (princeza).
In the second half of the sentence, why does je come after zla vještica instead of right after zla?
The phrase zla vještica (the evil witch) is a single grammatical unit, or a noun phrase. When applying the second-position rule for enclitics in Croatian, an entire noun phrase often counts as the first block. So, je takes the second position right after the complete subject phrase, rather than splitting the adjective and the noun.
What form is the adjective zla in, and what is its dictionary form?