Question 1

What does Mi mean, and is it necessary in the sentence?

Accepted Answer

Mi is the first-person plural pronoun “we.” In Croatian the verb ending often already tells you the subject, so you can drop mi and simply say Idemo u grad. Including mi adds emphasis or clarity (“We are going to town,” as opposed to someone else).

Question 2

How do you form idemo, and what verb is it from?

Accepted Answer

Idemo is the present-tense form of the irregular verb ići (to go) for we. The full present-tense conjugation is:  
• ja idem (I go)  
• ti ideš (you go)  
• on/ona/ono ide (he/she/it goes)  
• mi idemo (we go)  
• vi idete (you pl./formal go)  
• oni/one/ona idu (they go)

Question 3

What tense is used in Mi idemo u grad, and can it refer to the future?

Accepted Answer

This is the present tense. In Croatian, the present can express both a current action (“we are going right now”) and a near future (“we’re going to town in a moment”), depending on context.

Question 4

Why is the preposition u used here, and what case does it require?

Accepted Answer

U means “into/to.” When expressing motion toward a location, u takes the accusative case. That’s why grad stays in its basic form (accusative singular of a masculine inanimate noun):  
• Nom. grad → Acc. grad

Question 5

Could we say Idemo u grad without Mi? Would the meaning change?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Idemo u grad is perfectly natural and probably more common in casual speech. Omitting mi doesn’t change the core meaning; it just removes the explicit pronoun (the verb ending still shows you’re talking about we).

Question 6

What’s the difference between ići, hodati, and šetati?

Accepted Answer

• ići = to go, to move somewhere with purpose  
• hodati = to walk (no focus on direction or destination; simply the act of walking)  
• šetati = to stroll or take a leisurely walk, often without a fixed goal

Question 7

How do you pronounce idemo?

Accepted Answer

The stress is on the first syllable: Í-de-mo  
Pronunciation guide: i = “ee,” d = as in “dog,” e = “eh,” mo = “moh.”

Question 8

Is word order fixed in Croatian? Why is it Mi idemo u grad and not U grad idemo mi?

Accepted Answer

Croatian has relatively flexible word order because the case endings show each word’s role. The typical neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object/Adverbial, i.e. Mi idemo u grad. You can move words around for emphasis (e.g., U grad idemo mi to emphasize “we” rather than someone else), but the default SVO sounds most natural here.

Mi idemo u grad.

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