Breakdown of Plaćam redovito rate kako bih na vrijeme otplatio kredit.
kako
how
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
na vrijeme
on time
plaćati
to pay (imperfective)
redovito
regularly
kredit
loan
rata
installment
otplatiti
to pay off (a debt, loan)
Questions & Answers about Plaćam redovito rate kako bih na vrijeme otplatio kredit.
How does the purpose clause kako bih na vrijeme otplatio work in this sentence?
To express purpose (meaning 'so that' or 'in order to'), Croatian uses kako followed by the conditional mood. Here, the conditional is formed with the helper verb bih (because the subject is 'I') and the l-participle of the main verb, otplatio.
Why does the speaker use plaćam in the first part, but otplatio in the second?
This is a great example of verbal aspect. Plaćam is imperfective because paying the installments is an ongoing, repeated action. Otplatio, however, is perfective because it refers to the final, completed goal of paying off the loan entirely.
Why is bih placed immediately after kako?
Bih is an enclitic, which is a grammatically 'weak' word that needs to take the second position in its clause. In a purpose clause starting with kako, the enclitic naturally latches right onto it to form kako bih.
What case are rate and kredit in?
They are both in the accusative case because they are the direct objects receiving the action of the verbs. Rate is the accusative plural of the feminine noun rata, and kredit is the accusative singular of a masculine inanimate noun, which means it looks exactly the same as its nominative dictionary form.
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