Breakdown of Nemoj čekati mudrog vođu.
čekati
to wait for
nemoj
do not (sg., pl. nemojte)
vođa
leader
mudar
wise
Questions & Answers about Nemoj čekati mudrog vođu.
Why does the adjective mudrog look masculine but the noun vođu looks feminine?
The noun vođa (leader) is a special type of noun: it refers to a male person but ends in '-a'. Because it ends in '-a', it changes its endings like a feminine noun, so its accusative form is vođu. However, because it refers to a male, any adjectives attached to it must take masculine endings. Since a leader is alive, we use the masculine animate accusative ending -og, making it mudrog.
Why are we using the accusative case (mudrog vođu) here?
In Croatian, the verb čekati (to wait for) requires the object you are waiting for to be in the accusative case. You don't need a preposition like 'for' in Croatian; the case itself does that work for you.
Could I use ne čekaj instead of nemoj čekati?
Yes, ne čekaj is also grammatically correct and means the same thing. However, using nemoj plus the infinitive (čekati) is the most common and natural way to give a negative command in everyday Croatian.
What is the base form (nominative) of mudrog and why did it lose a letter?