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Questions & Answers about Moji prijatelji dolaze večeras.
What does each word do grammatically?
- Moji: possessive adjective meaning my, masculine personal plural, nominative; agrees with the noun it modifies.
- prijatelji: noun meaning friends, nominative plural of prijatelj (masculine).
- dolaze: present tense, 3rd person plural of the imperfective verb dolaziti (to come).
- večeras: adverb meaning tonight/this evening.
Why is it present tense (dolaze) if it refers to the future?
Croatian often uses the present tense of an imperfective verb to talk about scheduled or near-future events when a time word is present. Večeras makes the time clear, so the present works naturally. It’s similar to English “My friends are coming tonight.”
Can I say “Moji prijatelji će doći večeras”? What’s the difference?
Yes. Moji prijatelji će doći večeras uses the future tense with the perfective verb doći. Nuance:
- Dolaze večeras (imperfective present): focuses on the process/plan; very natural for arrangements.
- Će doći večeras (future + perfective): emphasizes the single act of arriving in the future; slightly more formal/neutral as a future statement. Both are correct.
Why is it “moji” and not “moje” or “moja”?
Because prijatelji is a masculine personal plural noun, the agreeing form of moj in nominative plural is moji.
- Singular nominative: moj (m), moja (f), moje (n)
- Plural nominative: moji (masc. personal), moje (fem.), moja (neut.)
What’s going on with the plural “prijatelji”? Why the -i?
The singular is prijatelj; the regular nominative plural ending for many masculine nouns is -i, giving prijatelji. The sequence lj + i is pronounced like a palatal “ly” sound plus “i.”
Which case is “Moji prijatelji” in?
Nominative plural. It’s the subject of the sentence, so both the adjective (moji) and the noun (prijatelji) are in nominative plural and agree in number and gender.
How flexible is the word order?
Fairly flexible. Some natural options:
- Moji prijatelji dolaze večeras (neutral, subject first)
- Večeras dolaze moji prijatelji (focus on “tonight”)
- Dolaze večeras moji prijatelji (focus on the action/new information) All are grammatical; word order mainly changes emphasis.
Can I drop the subject and just say “Dolaze večeras”?
Yes. Croatian is a pro‑drop language. Dolaze večeras is fine when it’s clear from context who “they” are.
What’s the difference between “večeras,” “noćas,” and “navečer/danas navečer”?
- večeras: tonight/this evening (roughly early evening to late evening).
- noćas: tonight (late evening into night/overnight).
- navečer / danas navečer: in the evening / this evening (a bit more general; večeras is usually more direct for “tonight”).
How do I say it if only female friends are coming?
Use the feminine forms:
- Moje prijateljice dolaze večeras. Here moje (feminine plural) agrees with prijateljice (female friends).
How do I negate it?
Place ne right before the verb:
- Moji prijatelji ne dolaze večeras. = My friends aren’t coming tonight.
Is “Dođu večeras” correct?
Not in neutral Standard Croatian for a main clause. The present of a perfective verb (doći → dođu) is typically used for future meaning in subordinate time clauses, e.g., Kad dođu, javi. For a main clause, prefer:
- Moji prijatelji dolaze večeras (imperfective present), or
- Moji prijatelji će doći večeras (future with perfective).
If I want to say “are arriving” rather than “are coming,” what verb should I use?
Use stići/stižati:
- Moji prijatelji stižu večeras. (They’re arriving tonight.) This focuses on the arrival itself. Pristižu adds a nuance of arriving one after another/gradually.
How do I add “to my place/over” to the sentence?
- Most natural: Moji prijatelji dolaze večeras kod mene.
- Also possible (more formal/less common in everyday speech): … k meni. Both mean “to my place.”
Are there colloquial alternatives to “prijatelji”?
Yes:
- frendovi (slang/colloquial, from English “friend”)
- ekipa / društvo (the crew/company/group; slightly different nuance) Avoid drugovi in modern Croatian for everyday “friends”; it can sound ideological or old-fashioned.
How would I ask “Are my friends coming tonight?”
Two natural options:
- Dolaze li moji prijatelji večeras? (imperfective present, neutral)
- Hoće li moji prijatelji doći večeras? (future with perfective; slightly more explicit future)
Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?
- Moji: MO-yee (the “j” is like English “y”).
- prijatelji: PREE-ya-tel-yee; lj is a palatal “ly” (like the “lli” in “million”).
- dolaze: doh-LAH-ze.
- večeras: ve-CHÉ-rahs; č is like “ch” in “cherry.” No English-like schwa; pronounce vowels clearly.