Čekamo zadnji vlak.

We are waiting for the last train.

Breakdown of Čekamo zadnji vlak.

• čekati: to wait
• vlak: train
• zadnji: last

Questions & Answers about Čekamo zadnji vlak.

What form of the verb is čekamo, and what does it correspond to in English?

Čekamo is the present tense, 1st person plural form of the verb čekati (to wait).

• čekam – I wait / I am waiting
• čekaš – you (sg.) wait
• čeka – he/she/it waits
• čekamo – we wait / we are waiting
• čekate – you (pl./formal) wait
• čekaju – they wait

In English it corresponds to both we wait and we are waiting (Croatian doesn’t have a separate continuous tense).

Why is there no word for we in the sentence?

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• čekamo already tells you it is we who are waiting.
• You would only add mi čekamo for emphasis or contrast, like: Mi čekamo zadnji vlak, a oni idu pješice. – We are waiting for the last train, but they are going on foot.

Why is there no word for for, even though in English we say “wait for the last train”?

In Croatian, čekati usually takes a direct object in the accusative case, with no preposition:

• čekati vlak – to wait for the train
• čekati autobus – to wait for the bus

So Čekamo zadnji vlak. literally is We wait the last train, but in natural English that becomes We are waiting for the last train. The preposition for is simply built into how čekati works.

Why is it vlak, not something like vlaka, vlakom, or vlaku?

Vlak here is in the accusative singular as the direct object of čekamo.

• The noun vlak is masculine, inanimate.
• For masculine inanimate nouns, the nominative and accusative singular look the same: vlak.
• Other cases change:
  • vlaka – genitive singular (of the train)
  • vlaku – dative/locative singular (to/at the train)
  • vlakom – instrumental singular (with/by train)

Since we are waiting for the train, the train is the object, so we use the accusative: vlak.

What is the gender and case of vlak, and how does zadnji agree with it?

• vlak is masculine, singular, accusative (direct object).
• zadnji is an adjective that must match the noun in gender, number, and case.

So we have:

• masculine, singular, accusative noun: vlak
• masculine, singular, accusative adjective: zadnji

For masculine inanimate nouns, the nominative and accusative forms of adjectives are the same, so zadnji looks just like the nominative. With a masculine animate noun, accusative would usually be zadnjeg (e.g. vidim zadnjeg psa – I see the last dog).

What is the difference between zadnji and posljednji?

Both can mean last, but there are some nuances:

• zadnji vlak – common, neutral in everyday speech. It can also mean “back” or “rear” in other contexts (e.g. zadnja klupa – back bench).
• posljednji vlak – more formal or emphatic final, “the very last one in a sequence”.

In most everyday situations, zadnji vlak is perfectly normal Croatian. Posljednji vlak might sound a bit more formal or dramatic, e.g. in writing or speeches.

Can Čekamo zadnji vlak. mean both “We are waiting for the last train (right now)” and “We usually wait for the last train”?

Yes. Croatian present tense can express:

1. An action happening right now
   – We are currently waiting for the last train.

2. A habitual/repeated action
   – We (normally) wait for the last train.

Context (and sometimes adverbs like sad – now, uvijek – always) tells you which meaning is intended.

Is čekati imperfective or perfective, and does that matter here?

Čekati is an imperfective verb. That means it focuses on the process / ongoing nature of waiting, not its completion.

• čekati – to wait (ongoing, process)
• Related perfective verbs: dočekati, pričekati, sačekati (to wait until something happens, to wait a bit, etc.)

In Čekamo zadnji vlak., the imperfective čekamo highlights that the waiting is in progress or is a repeated activity, which fits both “We are waiting” and “We (usually) wait”.

Could you say Čekamo na zadnji vlak? I thought čekati na means “to wait for”.

Standard usage is:

• čekati koga/što (accusative object, no preposition) for concrete things like trains, buses, people:
  Čekamo zadnji vlak.

You do see and hear čekati na in real life, but it is more typical with:

• abstract things: čekati na pomoć (wait for help)
• or in some fixed expressions: čekati na red (wait one’s turn), čekati na rezultate (wait for the results).

For a train, the recommended and most natural form is čekati vlak, not čekati na vlak.

Can I change the word order, for example Zadnji vlak čekamo? Does the meaning change?

Word order in Croatian is flexible, but it affects emphasis:

• Čekamo zadnji vlak. – neutral: We are waiting for the last train.
• Zadnji vlak čekamo. – puts stronger emphasis on zadnji vlak; something like: It’s the last train that we’re waiting for (not some other one).

The basic factual meaning is the same, but Zadnji vlak čekamo sounds more contrastive or focused, depending on context. For a simple, neutral statement, Čekamo zadnji vlak. is the default.

How do you pronounce Čekamo zadnji vlak?

Roughly:

• Čekamo – ČE-ka-mo
  • Č like ch in chair
  • stress on the first syllable: ČE
• zadnji – ZAD-nji
  • dj blends a bit, like dny; it’s one syllable: ZAD-nji
• vlak – one syllable, vlak
  • v as in vine
  • l as in look
  • a like a in father
  • k as in cat

Said smoothly: ČE-ka-mo ZAD-nji vlak. Stress normally falls on ČE and ZAD.

Why is there no word like English the (“the last train”) in Croatian?

Croatian does not use articles (a/an, the) at all.

Definiteness is understood from context, word choice, and sometimes word order. Zadnji vlak is naturally interpreted as the last train, not a last train, because zadnji already suggests a specific, identifiable one in a sequence.

What would the sentence look like in the plural, e.g. “We are waiting for the last trains”?

You have to put both the adjective and the noun in the accusative plural:

• Čekamo zadnje vlakove. – We are waiting for the last trains.

Breakdown:

• vlak → vlakove (accusative plural, masculine inanimate)
• zadnji → zadnje (accusative plural masculine inanimate to match vlakove)