Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu.

Breakdown of Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu.

u
in
danas
today
raditi
to work
naš
our
ured
office
ekipa
team
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Questions & Answers about Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu.

Why is it naša ekipa and not naš ekipa?

In Croatian, possessive adjectives (like naš = our) must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

  • ekipa is a feminine singular noun (ending in -a in the nominative).
  • So naš must take its feminine singular form: naša.

Basic forms of naš (our) in the nominative singular:

  • naš – masculine (naš brat – our brother)
  • naša – feminine (naša ekipa – our team)
  • naše – neuter (naše dijete – our child)

So naš ekipa is grammatically incorrect; it must be naša ekipa.

What exactly does ekipa mean? Is it the same as “team”?

Ekipa usually means team, crew, or group of people working/acting together.

Nuances:

  • In everyday speech, ekipa can feel a bit more informal/colloquial than tim.
    • Naša ekipa – our team / our crew / our gang (can sound friendly/informal)
    • Naš tim – our team (slightly more neutral, often used in business, sports, etc.)

Both can often translate as team, but ekipa can also mean:

  • a work crew: građevinska ekipa – construction crew
  • a group of friends: Ekipica iz kvarta – the gang from the neighborhood

In your sentence, Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu, ekipa is best understood as our team/our group of coworkers.

Why is the verb radi (3rd person singular) and not rade or radimo?

The verb must agree with the grammatical subject in person and number.

  • ekipa is grammatically singular (one team), even though it refers to several people.
  • The subject is naša ekipa3rd person singular.
  • So the verb must be radi (3rd singular), not rade (3rd plural).

Present tense of raditi (to work):

  • ja radim – I work
  • ti radiš – you (sg.) work
  • on/ona/ono radi – he/she/it works
  • mi radimo – we work
  • vi radite – you (pl./formal) work
  • oni/one/ona rade – they work

So: Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu. = Our team works / is working in the office today.

Could I say Naša ekipa danas rade u uredu because the team is many people?

No, not in standard Croatian.

Even though ekipa refers to multiple people, it is one group grammatically, so it takes singular verb forms:

  • Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu. – correct (singular)
  • Naša ekipa danas rade u uredu. – incorrect in standard language

Native speakers might occasionally use plural agreement with some collective nouns in very informal speech, but the correct and natural standard is singular: ekipa radi.

Why isn’t there a separate “is” like in English “is working”? Why don’t we say Naša ekipa danas je radi u uredu?

In Croatian, the simple present tense (like radi) covers both:

  • English “works” (simple present) and
  • English “is working” (present continuous).

You do not add je (is) before a present-tense verb like radi.

You use je + a past participle or an adjective/noun:

  • Ekipa je umorna. – The team is tired.
  • Ekipa je radila jučer. – The team worked yesterday.

But in the present:

  • Ekipa radi. – The team works / is working.

So the correct sentence is:
Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu.
Never: Naša ekipa danas je radi u uredu.

What case is ekipa in, and what is its role in the sentence?

Ekipa is in the nominative singular case.

  • Naša ekipa is the subject of the sentence: the thing that is doing the action.
  • Nominative is used mainly for subjects and for predicate nouns (like “X is Y”).

Structure:

  • Naša ekipa (subject, nominative)
  • danas (adverb of time)
  • radi (verb)
  • u uredu (prepositional phrase of place)

So ekipa is nominative because it is the subject that is doing the working.

Why is it u uredu and not u ured?

The noun ured (office) is in a different case here.

  • ured – nominative (dictionary form)
  • u uredulocative (used after u when expressing location: in the office)

The preposition u can take two cases:

  1. Accusative → motion into something
    • Idem u ured. – I’m going to the office.
  2. Locative → location inside something (no movement)
    • Radim u uredu. – I work in the office.

In your sentence there is no movement, just location:

  • u uredu = in the office (locative singular of ured).
Can I say danas naša ekipa radi u uredu or Naša ekipa radi danas u uredu? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, Croatian word order is quite flexible, and all of these are grammatically correct:

  • Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu.
  • Danas naša ekipa radi u uredu.
  • Naša ekipa radi danas u uredu.
  • U uredu danas radi naša ekipa.

The differences are mostly about emphasis and what comes to the listener’s attention first:

  • Starting with Danas emphasizes “today”:
    • Danas naša ekipa radi u uredu.Today our team is (the one) working in the office.
  • Starting with U uredu emphasizes the place:
    • U uredu danas radi naša ekipa. – It is in the office that our team is working today.

Your original version, Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu, is neutral and very natural.

Does Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu mean “Our team works in the office today” or “Our team is working in the office today”?

It can mean both, depending on context.

Croatian doesn’t distinguish between:

  • simple present (works) and
  • present continuous (is working) the way English does.

Radi can be:

  • a habitual action:
    • (Every Monday they work in the office) – Naša ekipa ponedjeljkom radi u uredu.
  • an action happening right now / today:
    • (Today they are not on site, they are in the office) – Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu.

If you want to stress “right now”, you can add sada (now):

  • Naša ekipa sada radi u uredu. – Our team is working in the office right now.
Do I have to include danas? What difference does it make?

You don’t have to include it. Without danas, the sentence is more general:

  • Naša ekipa radi u uredu.
    • Our team works in the office. / Our team is working in the office.

With danas, you specify time and limit the statement to today:

  • Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu.
    • Today, our team is working in the office (maybe tomorrow they’ll be somewhere else).

You can also move danas around for emphasis (as in the earlier answer), but it always means today.

Could I just say Ekipa danas radi u uredu without naša? What changes?

Yes, you can drop naša, and the sentence is still grammatically correct:

  • Ekipa danas radi u uredu. – The team is working in the office today.

Difference:

  • Naša ekipa… – clearly our team.
  • Ekipa…the team (some team already known from context) or just “the team” in general.

Use naša when you need to indicate possession or distinguish your team from others:

  • Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu, a njihova ekipa na terenu.
    – Our team is working in the office today, and their team is in the field.
What does u uredu mean compared to na poslu? Both translate as “at work”, right?

Both can translate as “at work”, but they focus on different things:

  • u uredu – literally “in the office” (the physical office space)

    • Naša ekipa danas radi u uredu. – Our team is (physically) working in the office today.
  • na poslu – literally “at work/on the job” (being at one’s workplace, not at home)

    • On je na poslu. – He is at work.

Compare:

  • Danas radim u uredu. – I’m working in the office today (not from home / not in the field).
  • Danas sam na poslu do kasno. – I’m at work until late today (general workplace, not necessarily an office).

In your sentence, u uredu specifically highlights the office location.

How do you pronounce naša ekipa danas radi u uredu? Especially š and the two u’s in u uredu.

Pronunciation tips:

  • našaš is like English “sh” in sheNA-sha
  • ekipa – stress usually on ki → e-KI-pa
  • danasDA-nas
  • radiRA-di
  • u uredu:
    • u – like “oo” in food
    • uredu – u-RE-du

u uredu has two u sounds in a row, but you pronounce both, just smoothly:

  • u ureduoo OO-reh-doo
    (no glottal stop between them; just one continuous flow)

Full sentence (approximate English guide):
NA-sha e-KI-pa DA-nas RA-di u U-re-du.