Breakdown of Budući da traje održavanje mosta, cesta je zatvorena.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
zatvoren
closed
trajati
to last
most
bridge
cesta
road
budući da
since
održavanje
maintenance
Questions & Answers about Budući da traje održavanje mosta, cesta je zatvorena.
Why do we use "budući da" here instead of "jer" or "zato što"?
Budući da translates to "since" or "given that". It is specifically used at the very beginning of a sentence to introduce a reason or cause. Words like jer or zato što (because) are normally used in the middle of a sentence to connect clauses.
Why is the verb "traje" placed before its subject "održavanje"?
While you could say održavanje mosta traje, placing the verb before the subject is very natural in Croatian when stating that an event is happening. It puts the focus on the occurrence of the maintenance rather than emphasizing the action of it "lasting".
Why is the word for bridge "mosta" instead of "most"?
Mosta is in the genitive case. When one noun modifies another, the second noun takes the genitive case to show belonging or association, working just like "of the" in English. Here, održavanje mosta literally means "maintenance of the bridge".
The English translation says "is ongoing", but doesn't "traje" mean "lasts"?
Exactly. The verb trajati literally means "to last" or "to take time". In Croatian, saying that something "lasts" is the most common and natural way to express that an activity, process, or event is currently "ongoing".
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