Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.

My colleague is not coming to the office today.

Breakdown of Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.

• ne: not
• u: to
• moj: my
• danas: today
• dolaziti: to come
• ured: office
• kolega: colleague

Questions & Answers about Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.

Why does kolega end in -a if it means male colleague? Isn’t -a usually feminine?

In Croatian, kolega is grammatically masculine, even though it ends in -a, which often (but not always) marks feminine nouns.

• Words like kolega (colleague), sudac (judge), vojvoda (duke) and some male names (e.g. Luka, Iva for a man) are masculine nouns with an unusual ending.
• You can see that kolega is masculine from:
  • The possessive: moj kolega (not moja kolega) – moj is masculine.
  • The verb agreement: moj kolega dolazi (3rd person singular masculine subject).

Declension (singular) of kolega:

• Nominative (subject): kolega – Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.
• Genitive: kolege – Nema mog kolege. (My colleague is not here / There is no my colleague.)
• Dative: kolegi – Pomažem kolegi. (I help my colleague.)
• Accusative: kolegu – Vidim kolegu. (I see my colleague.)
• Locative: kolegi – Pričam o kolegi. (I talk about my colleague.)
• Instrumental: kolegom – Idem s kolegom. (I’m going with my colleague.)

So the -a ending here does not mean it is feminine; the agreement (moj / dolazi) shows it is masculine.

Why is there no separate word like is in the Croatian sentence, when in English we say is not coming?

Croatian does not need a separate verb like is to form the present tense.

• In English: My colleague is not coming – you need is
  • coming.
• In Croatian: Moj kolega ne dolazi – the verb form dolazi already expresses he/she comes / is coming by itself.

The auxiliary je (is) is used mainly:

• As a linking verb:
  
  • On je doktor. – He is a doctor.
• As an auxiliary for some past tenses:
  
  • On je došao. – He has come / he came.

But with a normal action verb in the present (like dolaziti – to come), you just conjugate the verb:

• dolazim, dolaziš, dolazi, dolazimo, dolazite, dolaze

So Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured. is literally My colleague today not comes to office, but in natural English: My colleague is not coming to the office today.

Why is the present tense dolazi used when in English we often say will not come?

Croatian often uses the present tense to talk about planned or scheduled future events, especially when there is a time expression like danas (today), sutra (tomorrow), večeras (this evening), sljedeći tjedan (next week), etc.

• Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.
  – Literally: My colleague today does not come to the office.
  – Meaning: My colleague is not coming / will not come to the office today.

In Croatian, this sounds normal for something like:

• a schedule (work, train, flight, classes)
• a fixed plan or decision

If you want to emphasize the future as a decision or prediction, you can use the future tense:

• Moj kolega danas neće doći u ured.
  – He will not come to the office today.
  – This can sound a bit more like a firm statement about the future, or about a one-time event.

In everyday speech, both are possible, but the simple present with a time word (danas ne dolazi) is extremely common.

How does negation work in ne dolazi? Where do I put ne in Croatian sentences?

Basic negation in Croatian is formed with ne placed directly in front of the main verb.

• dolazi – he/she comes / is coming
• ne dolazi – he/she does not come / is not coming

General rules:

1. One main verb:

   • On radi. – He works.
   • On ne radi. – He does not work.

2. With the future tense (auxiliary + infinitive), ne usually attaches to the auxiliary:

   • On će doći. – He will come.
   • On neće doći. – He will not come.

3. With the verb biti (to be) in the present:

   • On je tamo. – He is there.
   • On nije tamo. – He is not there.

In your sentence:

• Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.
  – ne comes right before dolazi, the main verb.

So the safe rule: put ne immediately before the verb form that carries the tense/person.

Why is it u ured here, but I often see u uredu? What’s the difference?

The preposition u can take either accusative or locative case, and the choice depends on the meaning:

• Accusative
  • u = movement into / direction towards something
• Locative
  • u = location inside something (no movement)

For ured (office):

• Nominative: ured
• Accusative: ured
• Locative: uredu

So:

• Idem u ured. – I am going to the office. (movement → accusative)
• Radim u uredu. – I work in the office. (location → locative)

In your sentence:

• Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.
  – There is movement implied (coming to the office), so u ured (accusative) is correct.

If you wanted to say he is not (physically) in the office today, you might say:

• Moj kolega danas nije u uredu. – My colleague is not in the office today.

Can I change the word order, for example Danas moj kolega ne dolazi u ured? Does it change the meaning?

Croatian word order is more flexible than English. All of these are grammatically correct:

• Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.
• Danas moj kolega ne dolazi u ured.
• Moj kolega ne dolazi danas u ured.
• Danas ne dolazi moj kolega u ured. (more marked/emphatic)

The basic meaning stays the same, but the focus and emphasis can shift:

• Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.
  – Neutral: Subject (moj kolega) at the beginning, time (danas) in the middle.

• Danas moj kolega ne dolazi u ured.
  – Slight emphasis on today; something like As for today, my colleague is not coming to the office.

• Moj kolega ne dolazi danas u ured.
  – Emphasis on today as the time he specifically won’t come.

In everyday speech, your original sentence (Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.) or Danas moj kolega ne dolazi u ured. are the most natural.

Why is there no word for the in u ured? How do I know it means to the office, not just to an office?

Croatian has no articles (no equivalents of English a / an / the). The idea of definite vs. indefinite (the office vs. an office) is expressed by:

• Context and what is already known in the conversation.
• Sometimes word order or demonstratives like taj (that), ovaj (this).

In your sentence:

• Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.

Because you say my colleague, it is natural to assume his usual office / our office, so we understand it as the office.

If you really wanted to stress that specific office, you could say:

• Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u taj ured. – My colleague is not coming to that office today.

But usually, just u ured is enough, and the listener understands from context.

Can I leave out moj or kolega and just say Danas ne dolazi u ured?

Yes, Croatian often drops things that are obvious from context, especially subjects.

Possible variants:

1. Kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.
   – No moj, so it’s more general: A colleague is not coming to the office today.

2. Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured.
   – Clear: my colleague.

3. Danas ne dolazi u ured.
   – Subject is omitted completely: (He/She) is not coming to the office today.
   – This works only if it’s already clear who you’re talking about from context.

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: the subject pronoun (and sometimes even the noun) can be left out because the verb form tells you the person and number:

• Dolazim. – I’m coming.
• Dolaziš. – You are coming.
• Dolazi. – He/She is coming.

So in conversation, if you were already talking about your colleague, you could naturally say just:

• Danas ne dolazi u ured.

What exactly is the verb dolazi, and how do I conjugate it?

Dolazi is the 3rd person singular present of the verb dolaziti (to come, to be coming).

Present tense of dolaziti:

• ja dolazim – I come / am coming
• ti dolaziš – you (sg) come / are coming
• on/ona/ono dolazi – he/she/it comes / is coming
• mi dolazimo – we come / are coming
• vi dolazite – you (pl/formal) come / are coming
• oni/one/ona dolaze – they come / are coming

So:

• Moj kolega danas dolazi u ured. – My colleague is coming to the office today.
• Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured. – My colleague is not coming to the office today.

The infinitive is dolaziti (imperfective aspect).

What is the difference between dolaziti and doći? Which one fits in this sentence?

Croatian verbs usually come in aspect pairs:

• dolaziti – imperfective (ongoing, repeated, habitual)
• doći – perfective (single, completed event / arrival)

In the present tense:

• Imperfective dolaziti has a normal present for real present or near future:

  • On danas ne dolazi u ured. – He is not coming (today).

• Perfective doći in the present is used only for future meaning (it’s a kind of future form):

  • On danas ne dođe u ured. – Very unusual / archaic in modern standard speech.
  • Typical future: On danas neće doći u ured. – He will not come today.

For your sentence, the natural choice is dolazi (from dolaziti):

• Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured. – Neutral, everyday way to say it.

If you wanted a clearer future with a bit more emphasis on the one‑time event, you’d say:

• Moj kolega danas neće doći u ured.

How do you pronounce Moj kolega danas ne dolazi u ured naturally?

Approximate pronunciation (stressed syllables in CAPS):

• MOJ – like English moy (rhymes with boy), one syllable.
• ko‑LE‑ga – stress usually on LE: ko‑LE‑ga.
• DA‑nas – stress on DA: DA‑nas.
• ne – like neh, short, as in net without the final t.
• do‑LA‑zi – stress on LA: do‑LA‑zi.
• u – like English oo in food, short.
• U‑red – stress on U: U‑red.

Said smoothly:

• Moj koLEga DAnas ne doLAzi u Ured.

All vowels are short and clear, no diphthongs, and each written vowel is pronounced. The j in moj is like the y in yes.