Breakdown of Delegati dolaze na konferenciju.
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
dolaziti
to come
konferencija
conference
delegat
delegate
Questions & Answers about Delegati dolaze na konferenciju.
Does the plural noun delegati follow the same irregular plural rules we're learning for inhabitants like Zagrepčanin?
No, delegat is a standard masculine noun ending in a consonant, so it just takes the regular -i ending for the plural nominative (delegati). The special rule where -in drops in the plural (like Zagrepčanin becoming Zagrepčani) only applies to that specific suffix, so you won't use it for standard nouns like this one.
Why is it na konferenciju (accusative) instead of na konferenciji (locative)?
Because there is motion towards a destination here. The verb dolaziti (to come/arrive) shows movement to the conference, which requires the accusative case. If the delegates were already there, you would use the locative case for a static location: Delegati su na konferenciji (The delegates are at the conference).
Why do we use dolaze instead of the perfective form dođu?
Dolaze is the present tense of the imperfective verb dolaziti, which is used for actions happening right now ('are coming') or ongoing actions. You can't use the perfective present (dođu) as a main verb to say what is happening right this second; perfective present forms are mostly used in complex sentences after words like ako (if) or kad (when) to express a completed future action.
Both delegat and konferencija sound a lot like their English translations. Do borrowed words like this decline normally?
Yes, they do! Croatian adopts many international words and fits them directly into its standard grammar boxes. Because delegat ends in a consonant, it's treated as a completely regular masculine noun. Because konferencija ends in -a, it declines exactly like any other regular feminine noun.
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