Breakdown of Kao prvo, degustacija počinje za deset minuta.
deset
ten
minuta
minute
počinjati
to begin, to start (imperfective)
za
in (after a period of time)
kao prvo
firstly
degustacija
tasting
Questions & Answers about Kao prvo, degustacija počinje za deset minuta.
Why do we use za here to mean "in" ten minutes?
In Croatian, when expressing that an event will happen after a specific amount of time has passed (like "in ten minutes" or "in two days"), you use the preposition za followed by the accusative case. If you used u, it would imply the event takes place within a ten-minute window rather than starting ten minutes from now.
What is the difference between saying Kao prvo and just Prvo?
Both can translate to "first" or "firstly," but Kao prvo translates more closely to "As the first point..." or "First of all..." It is a fixed phrase commonly used to introduce the first item in a list of arguments, rules, or scheduled events.
Why is the verb počinje used here instead of počne?
Počinje is the present tense of the imperfective verb počinjati. We use the imperfective present here to state a fact about a scheduled event. The perfective present form, počne (from početi), cannot stand alone as the main verb in a declarative present-tense sentence; it is mostly used in subordinate clauses, such as after ako (if) or da (that).
Why is the word for minutes spelled minuta here instead of minute?
After numbers five and higher, Croatian requires the noun to be in the genitive plural. Here, minuta is the genitive plural form of the feminine noun minuta. For numbers two, three, and four, you would use the genitive singular (or paucal) form, which is minute (e.g., za dvije minute).
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