Breakdown of Kad dobijem poziv na zabavu, često ne znam koga da povedem sa sobom.
Questions & Answers about Kad dobijem poziv na zabavu, često ne znam koga da povedem sa sobom.
In Croatian, after time words like kad / kada (when), it is normal to use the present tense of a perfective verb to refer to the future.
- Kad dobijem poziv… = When I get an invitation… (in the future)
- This is preferred over kad ću dobiti poziv, which sounds awkward or overly emphatic in standard Croatian.
So the combination kad + present tense (perfective) is the usual way to talk about a future event that will happen once.
Kad and kada mean the same thing: when.
- kada is slightly more formal and a bit longer.
- kad is more common in everyday speech and informal writing.
You can usually switch them freely:
- Kad dobijem poziv na zabavu…
- Kada dobijem poziv na zabavu…
Both are correct.
The fixed collocation in Croatian is poziv na + event (invitation to + event).
- poziv na zabavu – invitation to a party
- poziv na vjenčanje – invitation to a wedding
- poziv na ručak – invitation to lunch
Na with the accusative (na zabavu) often means to in the sense of to an event, to an activity.
Za or u would sound wrong here with poziv.
Zabavu is in the accusative singular, feminine.
- Nominative: zabava (party)
- Accusative: zabavu (used after na to show direction/goal)
The preposition na takes the accusative when it means “onto / to (an event)”, so we get na zabavu.
Koga is the accusative singular form of the pronoun tko (who).
- Nominative: tko – who (as subject)
- Accusative: koga – whom / who (as object)
In the sentence, koga is the direct object of povedem:
- ne znam koga [da povedem] = I don’t know whom to bring.
So it must be in the accusative case.
Yes, this da + present tense structure in Croatian often corresponds to the English infinitive.
- ne znam koga da povedem ≈ I don’t know whom to bring
- Literally: I don’t know whom that I bring.
Croatian doesn’t always use the infinitive where English does. Instead of saying something like ne znam koga povesti, it is very natural to say ne znam koga da povedem.
So da povedem behaves like to bring in English in this context.
All come from voditi (to lead / to take someone somewhere), but they differ in prefix and aspect:
- vodim – imperfective: I’m taking / I usually take / I lead
- povedem – perfective: I will take (with me, from here), focus on starting the action
- dovedem – perfective: I will bring (here, to a point), focus on bringing to the speaker’s location
In this sentence:
- koga da povedem sa sobom = whom to (take along) with me to the party
Povedem suggests taking someone along as you go somewhere.
Dovedem would sound more like bring (someone) here to where you are now.
Vodim would be more generic or habitual, not a single specific occasion.
Both are grammatically possible, but they have different typical uses:
- sa sobom literally: with myself / with oneself, but in practice it means with me (or with “oneself”) and is the most natural expression in “take X with me/you/him…”.
- sa mnom literally: with me (emphasizing the person “me” as a companion).
In collocations like bring/take someone with you, Croatian usually uses sa sobom:
- koga da povedem sa sobom – whom to bring with me
Using sa mnom here isn’t wrong, but sa sobom is more idiomatic with verbs like ponijeti, povesti, uzeti.
The preposition is basically s (with), but sa is used:
- For easier pronunciation before certain consonant clusters or words starting with s, š, z, etc.
- sa sobom is easier to say than s sobom.
- Sometimes for emphasis or style.
So sa sobom sounds natural and smooth; s sobom is possible but awkward.
You can say only:
- …često ne znam koga da povedem.
That already means I often don’t know whom to bring, and context usually makes it clear that it’s “with me”.
However, sa sobom:
- makes the meaning explicit (with me), and
- is very common in natural speech.
So both versions are correct; the original one is simply more explicit.
Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible. Both of these are correct:
- Kad dobijem poziv na zabavu, često ne znam koga da povedem sa sobom.
- Često ne znam koga da povedem sa sobom kad dobijem poziv na zabavu.
The difference is in what you emphasize:
- Starting with Kad dobijem poziv… highlights the condition (when I get an invitation).
- Starting with Često ne znam… highlights how often the problem occurs.
Često means often and is an adverb of frequency.
The most natural position here is near the verb it modifies:
- …često ne znam koga da povedem…
You could also hear:
- …ne znam često koga da povedem… (less common, sounds a bit marked)
- Često, kad dobijem poziv na zabavu, ne znam koga da povedem sa sobom.
But the original position is the most neutral and idiomatic.
Yes:
- poziv – invitation in a general sense (can be verbal, written, a phone call, etc.)
- pozivnica – a written invitation card (like the physical card or formal written invite)
In everyday speech, poziv is more general and perfectly fine here:
- Kad dobijem poziv na zabavu… – when I get an invitation to a party…
If you specifically meant an invitation card, you could say pozivnica, but it’s not necessary.