Prije dolaska tumača stranka čita privatnu ispravu.

Because prije normally takes the genitive case in Croatian when it means before.

• dolazak = arrival (nominative)
• dolaska = of arrival / before the arrival (genitive)

So:

• prije dolaska = before the arrival

This is a very common pattern:

• prije sastanka = before the meeting
• prije ručka = before lunch
• prije početka = before the beginning

Dolaska is the genitive singular of dolazak, which is a verbal noun formed from the verb doći (to come / to arrive).

So the chain is:

• doći = to come, to arrive
• dolazak = arrival
• dolaska = of the arrival / before the arrival

Croatian often uses these verbal nouns where English might use either a noun or a clause. So instead of saying something like before the interpreter arrives, Croatian can say prije dolaska tumača = before the interpreter’s arrival.

Because tumača is also in the genitive singular.

In prije dolaska tumača, the word tumača depends on dolaska:

• dolazak tumača = the arrival of the interpreter

So:

• dolazak = arrival
• tumača = of the interpreter

This is a very common noun + genitive structure in Croatian.

Be careful: tumača can also look like a different form in other contexts, but here it is best understood as genitive singular because of the phrase dolaska tumača.

Because stranka is the subject of the main clause.

Main clause:

• stranka čita privatnu ispravu

Here:

• stranka = subject, so it is in the nominative
• čita = reads
• privatnu ispravu = direct object

So the sentence structure is basically:

• Before the interpreter’s arrival, the party/client reads a private document.

Yes, stranka is a word with several meanings depending on context. Common ones include:

• party (especially a legal party or one side in a procedure)
• client
• customer
• political party

In this sentence, because of the formal/legal wording (tumač, privatna isprava), stranka most likely means:

• the party in a legal/administrative procedure
• or the client/applicant in an official setting

So it is probably not political party here.

Čita is the 3rd person singular present tense of čitati (to read).

Conjugation of čitati in the present:

• ja čitam = I read / am reading
• ti čitaš = you read
• on/ona/ono čita = he/she/it reads
• mi čitamo = we read
• vi čitate = you read
• oni/one/ona čitaju = they read

Since the subject is stranka (singular), the verb must be singular too:

• stranka čita

Because privatnu ispravu is the accusative singular, which is used for the direct object of the verb čita.

The object is isprava (document), a feminine noun. Since čitati takes a direct object, that noun goes into the accusative:

• nominative: privatna isprava
• accusative: privatnu ispravu

The adjective must match the noun in gender, number, and case, so:

• privatna isprava = nominative
• privatnu ispravu = accusative

This is a standard agreement pattern in Croatian.

Isprava usually means a document, instrument, certificate, or official written record. It is often more formal than a general word like dokument.

In legal or administrative language, isprava can refer to an official or legally relevant written document. The phrase privatna isprava is especially common in legal language and usually means a private document as opposed to a public or official one.

So while document is a good general translation, the Croatian word has a somewhat formal/legal flavor here.

Yes, very often it is.

In legal Croatian, privatna isprava is a standard term, typically contrasted with javna isprava:

• privatna isprava = private document
• javna isprava = public document / official document

So in this sentence, the phrase probably has a technical or legal meaning, not just a personal paper in an everyday sense.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings show grammatical relationships.

This sentence could be rearranged in several ways, for example:

• Stranka čita privatnu ispravu prije dolaska tumača.
• Privatnu ispravu stranka čita prije dolaska tumača.

These versions are still grammatical, but they may shift the emphasis slightly.

The original order:

• Prije dolaska tumača stranka čita privatnu ispravu.

puts the time phrase first, so it emphasizes when the reading happens: before the interpreter arrives.

Yes, absolutely.

These are two natural ways to express a similar idea:

• prije dolaska tumača = before the interpreter’s arrival
• prije nego što tumač dođe = before the interpreter comes/arrives

The version with dolaska is more compact and often sounds more formal or administrative.
The version with prije nego što uses a full clause and may feel more explicit.

So both are possible, but the sentence you were given has a more formal, document-like style.

A few things may stand out to English speakers:

• prije is roughly pree-yeh
• čita begins with č, pronounced like ch in church
• tumača also has č
• ispravu has a rolled or tapped r for many speakers
• Croatian spelling is very regular, so words are usually pronounced as written

One especially useful point:

• č is a strong ch sound
• it is different from ć, which is softer in many pronunciations

In this sentence, both čita and tumača use č, not ć.