Breakdown of Čim smo spakirali stvari, označili smo kutije za selidbu.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
kutija
box
stvar
thing
čim
as soon as
za
for (+ accusative)
spakirati
to pack (perfective)
selidba
relocation
označiti
to mark
Questions & Answers about Čim smo spakirali stvari, označili smo kutije za selidbu.
Why is the perfective verb spakirali used here instead of the imperfective pakirali?
The conjunction čim means "as soon as" and highlights that one action finishes right before another begins. Because it focuses on the completion of the packing, you must use the perfective aspect (spakirali). If you used the imperfective, it would sound like "as soon as we were in the middle of packing."
Why does the second clause start with označili smo instead of smo označili?
The comma marks the start of a brand new clause. The auxiliary verb smo is an enclitic, which means it must take the second position in its clause. Since the pronoun mi (we) is dropped, the main verb označili takes the first position, pushing smo to the second spot.
The word selidbu means "relocation". What verb is this related to?
It comes from the verb seliti (to move) or seliti se (to move oneself or relocate). The suffix -idba is often added to verb roots to create nouns representing the action itself, changing seliti into the feminine noun selidba (which is in the accusative case here).
Why is za selidbu in the accusative case?
When the preposition za is used to indicate purpose or intention, meaning "intended for", it always takes the accusative case. Here, the boxes are intended for moving, so the feminine noun selidba changes to its accusative form selidbu.
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