Breakdown of Svejedno ćemo stići, mada je zastoj u prometu.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
u
in, into
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
stići
to arrive
Questions & Answers about Svejedno ćemo stići, mada je zastoj u prometu.
Could I use premda instead of mada in this sentence?
Yes, you can! Both mada and premda (as well as iako) mean "although" or "even though" and are completely interchangeable here to show contrast.
How does the word svejedno mean "anyway"?
It is a compound of sve (all) and jedno (one/equal). While it literally means "all the same", it is commonly used as an adverb meaning "anyway" or "regardless", showing that the traffic won't stop you from arriving.
Why is the future tense written as ćemo stići instead of stići ćemo?
Croatian word order rules place the enclitic ćemo in the second position of the clause. Because the adverb svejedno takes up the first position, ćemo must come right after it, followed by the main verb stići.
Why is promet (traffic) in the locative case (u prometu)?
The preposition u requires the locative case when describing a location or state where something is happening. Here, the delay is happening "in traffic", so promet gets the locative ending -u.