Breakdown of Kad bi on imao više strpljenja, ne bi mu toliko smetale male pogreške.
biti
to be
on
he
imati
to have
mali
small
Questions & Answers about Kad bi on imao više strpljenja, ne bi mu toliko smetale male pogreške.
Why does the sentence start with Kad bi? Does it really mean when here?
In this sentence, kad bi introduces a hypothetical situation, so it is best understood as if rather than a literal when.
So:
- Kad bi on imao više strpljenja... = If he had more patience...
In Croatian, kad bi can be used for unreal or imagined conditions, especially in everyday language. A learner may also see:
- Ako bi... — also possible in some contexts, but less natural here
- Da ima više strpljenja... — another common way to express a hypothetical idea
So although kad normally means when, in a sentence like this it functions more like if.
Why is bi used in both parts of the sentence?
Croatian commonly uses the conditional particle bi in both the if-clause and the result clause when talking about unreal or hypothetical situations.
Structure here:
- Kad bi on imao više strpljenja = If he had more patience
- ne bi mu toliko smetale male pogreške = small mistakes would not bother him so much
This differs from English, where we usually say:
- If he had...
- ...he would not be bothered...
So English uses a past form in the first clause and would in the second, but Croatian often uses conditional marking in both clauses.