Breakdown of Tko god želi ići, može doći.
željeti
to want
ići
to go
moći
can
doći
to come, to arrive
tko god
whoever
Questions & Answers about Tko god želi ići, može doći.
Does tko god change depending on the case, like other pronouns?
Yes! The tko part declines just like the regular question word tko (who), while god stays exactly the same as a separate word. Since "whoever" is the subject of the sentence here, it stays in the nominative case: tko god. If you needed to say "to whoever," it would become dative: kome god.
Why are the verbs želi and može in the 3rd person singular, even if we might be talking about a large group of people?
In Croatian, pronouns based on tko—including tko god (whoever), netko (someone), and nitko (no one)—always take 3rd person singular verbs. Grammatically, tko god acts just like "he" or "she" (on or ona), regardless of how many people actually end up going.
Is there a difference between writing tko god as two words versus one word (tkogod)?
Yes, it is a very important distinction! Written as two words (tko god), it means "whoever" or "no matter who," as seen in this sentence. If you write it as a single word (tkogod), it changes meaning entirely to become a synonym for netko (someone/anyone). For this lesson's grammar structure, always use two words.
Why is there a comma before može? We usually wouldn't use one in the English translation.
Croatian comma rules are stricter about separating clauses than English rules. Because the sentence contains two separate clauses with their own conjugated verbs—the dependent clause Tko god želi ići and the main clause može doći—they must be separated by a comma.
Learn Tko god želi ići, može doći and more in Croatian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free