Breakdown of Što se tiče ekspedicije, moramo biti spremni.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
što
what
spreman
ready
morati
must
Questions & Answers about Što se tiče ekspedicije, moramo biti spremni.
Why does the word ekspedicije end in -e here instead of -a?
It is in the genitive case. The fixed phrase što se tiče (meaning 'as for' or 'regarding') always requires the noun or pronoun that follows it to take the genitive case. Since ekspedicija is a feminine noun ending in -a, its genitive ending is -e.
What verb is tiče derived from, and what does it literally mean?
It comes from the reflexive verb ticati se, which means 'to concern' or 'to touch upon'. So literally, što se tiče ekspedicije translates to 'what concerns the expedition'. Knowing this literal meaning makes it easier to remember why it acts as a topic-fronting phrase.
Why is the adjective spremni in the masculine plural form if ekspedicija is feminine?
The adjective spremni (ready) describes the hidden subject mi (we), which is built into the verb moramo. It does not describe the expedition. In Croatian, when a group consists of mixed genders or the genders are unknown, the masculine plural form of the adjective is always used as the default.
Could we drop the word biti and just say moramo spremni?
No, you cannot drop it. Just like English uses 'to be' in 'we must be ready', Croatian strictly requires the infinitive biti after the modal verb morati (must) in order to connect it grammatically to an adjective.