Breakdown of Porod će početi za dva dana, a mi smo nestrpljivi.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
a
and / but
mi
we
dan
day
dva
two
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
početi
to begin
za
in (after a period of time)
porod
delivery (childbirth)
nestrpljiv
impatient
Questions & Answers about Porod će početi za dva dana, a mi smo nestrpljivi.
The lesson is about za + accusative, but dana looks like it's in the genitive case. How does za dva dana work here?
You are right! The preposition za (meaning "in" for future elapsed time) requires the accusative case. Here, the number dva is actually in the accusative form, which looks identical to its nominative form. However, numbers 2, 3, and 4 force the noun following them into the genitive singular. So, dva satisfies the preposition's need for accusative, and dana simply follows the number rule.
The translation says "and we are impatient," but the Croatian uses a instead of i. Why?
While both can mean "and," Croatian uses a to switch focus to a new subject or to introduce a mild contrast. Because the first clause is about the delivery (porod) and the second clause shifts the topic entirely to "we" (mi), a is the most natural choice here.
Who does nestrpljivi refer to, and why does it end in -i?
Why do we use the perfective verb početi here instead of its imperfective pair počinjati?
Početi describes an action as a single, completed event (the exact moment of starting). Počinjati describes a continuous or repeated process. Since the delivery starting is a specific, one-time event that will happen in two days, the perfective future tense će početi is exactly what you need.
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