Breakdown of Kada budemo izgradili letjelicu, putovat ćemo na Mars.
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
putovati
to travel
ću
will (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će)
kada
when / if (with conditional)
izgraditi
to construct
Mars
Mars
budem
will be (Future II auxiliary; budeš, bude, budemo, budete, budu)
letjelica
spacecraft
Questions & Answers about Kada budemo izgradili letjelicu, putovat ćemo na Mars.
Why do we use budemo izgradili here instead of the standard future tense?
This is the Future II (Futur drugi). We use it in subordinate clauses starting with words like kada (when) to show that one future action must be completed before the main future action can happen. We have to finish building the spacecraft before we can travel! It is formed using the auxiliary budemo plus the l-participle izgradili.
Why is the 'i' missing from the end of putovat?
In the standard Future I tense, when the auxiliary verb (like ćemo) comes right after an infinitive that ends in -ti, the final i is dropped. So putovati becomes putovat ćemo. If the word order were reversed, it would keep the i: mi ćemo putovati.
Why does the word for spacecraft end in -u (letjelicu)?
The dictionary form is letjelica, which is a feminine noun. Here, it is the direct object of the verb because it is the thing being built. Therefore, it takes the accusative case, where the feminine -a ending changes to -u.
Since Mars is a place, why isn't na Mars in the locative case?
We use the accusative case after na when talking about motion towards a destination, like traveling to a planet. Because Mars is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary form. If you were already living there (no motion), you would use the locative: na Marsu.
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