Čekamo ih ispred škole.

school

Breakdown of Čekamo ih ispred škole.

• ispred: in front of
• čekati: to wait
• ih: them

Questions & Answers about Čekamo ih ispred škole.

What does ih mean, and what case is it?

ih is the unstressed clitic form of njih (third‑person plural pronoun). Here it’s in the accusative case, meaning them as a direct object of čekati. Use njih after prepositions or for emphasis (e.g., Bez njih ne idemo., Čekamo baš njih.).

Why is there no preposition for after čekamo?

In Croatian, čekati already includes the idea of “wait for,” so it takes a direct object in the accusative without a preposition: Čekamo autobus / Čekamo ih. You’ll hear čekati na in everyday speech, but the bare accusative is the neutral standard, especially in careful writing.

What case is škole after ispred, and why?

ispred (“in front of”) governs the genitive. škola (school, fem.) → genitive singular škole. So ispred škole = “in front of the school.”

Can I say pred školom instead of ispred škole?

Yes. pred with the instrumental (pred školom) also means “in front of.” ispred škole (genitive) and pred školom (instrumental) are both common. Many speakers feel ispred can sound a bit more explicitly “right in front of,” but there’s heavy overlap.

Where does ih go in the sentence? Can it come first?

ih is a clitic and must sit in the “second position” of the clause (after the first stressed word). Examples:

• Čekamo ih ispred škole.
• Mi ih čekamo ispred škole.
• Ispred škole ih čekamo. (focus on location) It cannot start the clause: *Ih čekamo… is ungrammatical in normal prose.

Does čekamo cover both “we wait” and “we are waiting”?

Yes. Croatian has no separate progressive form, so present tense čekamo can mean habitual or right now. Context clarifies: Sada ih čekamo (right now) vs Obično ih čekamo prije nastave (usually).

How do I say it in the future or the past?

• Future: Čekat ćemo ih ispred škole. (Note the clitic ćemo in second position and the dropped -i in čekat.)
• Past: Čekali smo ih ispred škole. (auxiliary smo in second position; participle agrees in gender/number: čekali/čekale.)

Can ih refer to things as well as people?

Yes. ih is “them” for any plural (people or things): Knjige? Čekamo ih u knjižnici. It does not change for gender in the plural.

How do I emphasize them?

Use the stressed form njih, fronting, or a focus particle:

• Njih čekamo ispred škole.
• Čekamo baš njih.
• Samo njih čekamo.

Why is there no word for the in ispred škole?

Croatian has no articles. Definiteness (“the school”) is inferred from context. If you need to be specific, add a determiner like te (those) or a possessive: ispred te škole, ispred njihove škole.

Are there related verbs that change the nuance of “wait”?

Yes:

• pričekati (perfective) = “to wait a bit / hold on a moment”: Pričekaj me.
• dočekati (perfective) = “to wait until someone arrives / to welcome”: Dočekali smo ih ispred škole.
• sačekati (perfective) is common regionally/Serbian; in Croatian you’ll more often hear pričekati for “wait a bit.”

How do I say other locations (at, near, behind the school)?

• u školi = in/at the school (locative after u)
• kod škole = by/near the school (genitive after kod)
• pored škole = next to/beside the school (genitive after pored)
• iza škole = behind the school (genitive after iza)
• pred školom / ispred škole = in front of the school