Breakdown of Bilo da radi sklekove bilo da radi čučnjeve, hoće biti snažna.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
raditi
to work
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
snažan
powerful
Questions & Answers about Bilo da radi sklekove bilo da radi čučnjeve, hoće biti snažna.
How exactly does the double conjunction bilo da ... bilo da ... work in this sentence?
It translates to "whether ... or ...". It is used to show that the outcome (hoće biti snažna) remains the same regardless of which of the two conditions happens. Notice that it is followed by standard present tense verbs (radi), not special conditional forms.
Do we have to repeat the verb radi after the second bilo da?
Yes, when you use the full bilo da ... bilo da ... structure, it introduces two complete clauses, so you need a verb in both. If you wanted to drop the second verb, you would normally switch to just using ili (or), like this: Bilo da radi sklekove ili čučnjeve...
The English translation says "wants to be", but doesn't hoće biti usually mean "will be"?
It can mean both! Hoće is the full present tense of htjeti (to want), so hoće biti literally means "wants to be". However, hoće is also the auxiliary verb used to form the future tense. Without further context, this could also be interpreted as an emphatic future meaning "she WILL be strong."
Why is the word for "squats" čučnjeve? What is the base form?
The nominative singular is čučanj. When forming the plural (čučnjevi) or the accusative plural (čučnjeve as used here for the direct object), the second 'a' drops out. This is a common pattern you have seen before known as the "fleeting a".