Breakdown of Jednom sam zaboravio zaključati garažu, ali je susjeda kasnije otključala i provjerila.
Questions & Answers about Jednom sam zaboravio zaključati garažu, ali je susjeda kasnije otključala i provjerila.
In this sentence, Jednom means once / one time in the sense of on one occasion in the past.
- It introduces a specific incident: Jednom sam zaboravio… → Once I forgot… / One time I forgot…
- It does not have the fairy-tale meaning of once upon a time. For that, you’d usually hear Jednom davno… or similar.
You can think of Jednom here as:
Jednom = On one occasion / Once (in my life or at some point in the past).
The word order is driven by Croatian clitic rules.
- sam is a clitic form of the auxiliary verb biti (to be) used to form the past tense:
sam zaboravio = (I) forgot - Clitics (like sam, si, je, smo, ste, su, se, mi, ti) normally go in second position in the clause.
In Jednom sam zaboravio zaključati garažu:
- Jednom = first element in the clause
- sam = clitic, moves into second position
- zaboravio = past participle of zaboraviti
You could also say:
- Zaboravio sam jednom zaključati garažu.
Here, Zaboravio is the first element, so sam still comes second.
But Jednom zaboravio sam sounds unnatural because sam is being pushed too far back; it’s not in the typical clitic position.
The verb zaboraviti (to forget) normally takes another verb in the infinitive:
- zaboraviti učiti – to forget to study
- zaboraviti jesti – to forget to eat
- zaboraviti zaključati garažu – to forget to lock the garage
So the structure is:
- sam zaboravio = I forgot
- zaključati garažu = to lock the garage
If you said zaboravio sam zaključao garažu, it would sound wrong; you would be saying something like I forgot I locked the garage, and even then you’d normally phrase that differently (Zaboravio sam da sam zaključao garažu).
garažu is the accusative singular of garaža.
- Nominative (dictionary form): garaža – the garage
- Accusative (direct object): garažu – the garage (as the thing you act on)
In the sentence:
- zaključati garažu – to lock the garage
The garage is the direct object of the verb zaključati, so it goes into the accusative case.
Some more examples:
- Vidim garažu. – I see the garage. (accusative)
- Garaža je velika. – The garage is big. (nominative, subject)
The form of the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.
- zaboravio – masculine singular
- zaboravila – feminine singular
- zaboravilo – neuter singular
- zaboravili – masculine/mixed plural
- zaboravile – feminine plural
So:
- If the speaker is a man: Jednom sam zaboravio zaključati garažu.
- If the speaker is a woman: Jednom sam zaboravila zaključati garažu.
Your sentence assumes a male speaker.
Here, je is not a pronoun meaning she or it. It is the auxiliary verb (3rd person singular of biti – to be) used to form the past tense.
- je otključala = (she) unlocked
The subject susjeda (female neighbor) tells us who did the action, and je just helps form the past tense:
- susjeda je otključala → The neighbor unlocked
- susjed je otključao → The (male) neighbor unlocked
So:
- je = is/was (here: auxiliary for past tense)
- The subject susjeda provides the she meaning.
Croatian often drops repeated objects when they’re clear from context.
We already have:
- zaključati garažu – to lock the garage
So in the second part:
- ali je susjeda kasnije otključala i provjerila.
The understood object is still garažu (the garage), so the full, explicit version would be:
- ali je susjeda kasnije (garažu) otključala i (garažu) provjerila.
That would sound heavy and unnatural, so Croatian simply omits the repeated garažu. English also does this:
- I locked the garage, and later my neighbor unlocked it and checked it.
You don’t repeat the garage every time; you replace it with it or just omit it if clear.
These pairs show perfective vs imperfective aspect:
- zaključati – perfective: to lock (once, as a complete action)
zaključavati – imperfective: to be locking, to lock repeatedly / habitually
- otključati – perfective: to unlock (once, completed action)
- otključavati – imperfective: to be unlocking, to unlock repeatedly / over time
In your sentence, we talk about single, completed actions in the past:
- zaboravio zaključati garažu – he forgot to lock it (one occasion)
- susjeda je otključala – she unlocked it (finished action)
- (je) provjerila – she checked it (finished action)
So the perfective forms zaključati, otključala, provjerila are the natural choice.
Both are grammatically possible, but the neutral word order is:
- Susjeda je kasnije otključala i provjerila.
Here:
- Susjeda = first element in clause (subject)
- je = clitic in second position
- kasnije otključala i provjerila = the rest of the predicate
The version in your sentence:
- … ali je susjeda kasnije otključala i provjerila.
is also used and can slightly emphasize the subject coming after the clitic, or maintain a certain rhythm/flow connected to the previous clause. In speech, intonation often decides which feels more natural.
As a learner, you’re usually safest with:
- Susjeda je kasnije otključala i provjerila.
Both ali and a can translate as but, but they’re used slightly differently:
- ali = a stronger but, usually for clear contrast or opposition
- a = a weaker and/but, often just shifting the perspective or adding another piece of information
In your sentence, you have a clear contrast:
- Jednom sam zaboravio zaključati garažu, ali je susjeda kasnije otključala i provjerila.
Idea:
- Negative / problem: I forgot to lock the garage.
- Positive / solution: but the neighbor later unlocked and checked it.
This kind of problem–solution contrast fits well with ali.
You could say a here too, but it would sound a bit softer, more like and then / whereas than a strong but.
Yes, provjerila is the feminine singular past participle of provjeriti (to check) and agrees with susjeda (female neighbor):
- susjeda je provjerila – the (female) neighbor checked
- susjed je provjerio – the (male) neighbor checked
- djeca su provjerila – the children checked (neuter/collective or mixed plural; participle often masculine plural in mixed groups)
So both verbs in that clause agree with susjeda:
- susjeda je otključala i provjerila.
→ She unlocked and (she) checked.
Again, this is an aspect pair:
- provjeriti – perfective: to check (once, complete action, result-focused)
- provjeravati – imperfective: to be checking, to keep checking, to check regularly
In the sentence, the neighbor performed one specific check at a particular time, so the perfective provjeriti in the past tense (provjerila) is used.
Examples:
- Moram provjeriti vrata. – I have to check the door (once, now).
- On često provjerava vrata. – He often checks the door (habitually).