Word
Bit ćemo u gradu Zagrebu.
Meaning
We will be in the city of Zagreb.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Bit ćemo u gradu Zagrebu.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
grad
city
u
in, into
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
Questions & Answers about Bit ćemo u gradu Zagrebu.
Why are both gradu and Zagrebu in the same case? Doesn't English say 'city of Zagreb'?
In Croatian, when a generic noun (like grad, city) is paired with its specific proper name (like Zagreb), both words usually take the exact same case. Because the preposition u requires the locative case for location, both grad and Zagreb become gradu and Zagrebu. You do not use the genitive case for 'of' in this structure.
Why is it Bit ćemo instead of Biti ćemo?
When forming the future tense, if an infinitive ending in -ti (like biti) comes right before the auxiliary verb (ćemo), you must drop the final -i. If the order were reversed, you would keep the full infinitive: Mi ćemo biti.
How do we know the preposition u triggers the locative case here and not the accusative?
The preposition u takes the locative case when it describes a static location, answering the question 'where?' (We will be in the city). It only takes the accusative case when describing motion towards a destination, answering 'where to?' (We are traveling into the city).
Is it necessary to say u gradu Zagrebu, or can I just say u Zagrebu?