Learn Hardcore Croatian: Sljedeći tjedan imamo posjet zubaru, pa djeca četkaju zube malo duže nego inače. - Next week we have a visit to the dentist, so the children brush their teeth a bit longer than usual.

In Croatian, the present tense is very commonly used for fixed or planned future events, especially when there is a time expression that makes the future meaning clear.

Sljedeći tjedan imamo posjet zubaru.
= Next week we have a visit to the dentist.

The phrase sljedeći tjedan (“next week”) already shows that the action is in the future, so imamo (present) is perfectly natural and even more common than using the future tense.

You could also say:

Sljedeći tjedan ćemo imati posjet zubaru.
(literally: Next week we will have a visit to the dentist.)

Both are correct, but the version with the present (imamo) sounds very normal and is slightly more colloquial and natural in everyday speech.

What exactly does “Sljedeći tjedan” mean, and how is it formed grammatically?

Sljedeći tjedan means “next week”.

sljedeći – adjective meaning “next, following”
tjedan – noun meaning “week” (masculine)

Grammatically:

tjedan is in the accusative singular as a time expression (accusative of time: “for/at what time?”).
For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular form is the same as the nominative singular, so it looks just like the dictionary form.

So:

Nominative: tjedan je dug – The week is long.
Accusative (time): sljedeći tjedan – next week

You might also see idući tjedan, which is a common synonym; both sljedeći and idući mean “next” in this context.

What does “posjet zubaru” literally mean, and why is “zubaru” in that form?

Posjet zubaru literally means “a visit to the dentist”.

posjet – “visit” (noun, masculine)
zubaru – “to the dentist” (dative singular of zubar, “dentist”)

The dative is used because in Croatian you can say:

posjet + dative = “a visit to someone”

So:

posjet zubaru – a visit to the dentist
posjet baki – a visit to grandma (baki = dative of baka)
posjet liječniku – a visit to the doctor (liječniku = dative of liječnik)

That’s why it’s zubaru and not, for example, zubara in this sentence.

What would be the difference between “posjet zubaru” and “posjet zubara”?

The case ending changes the meaning:

posjet zubaru (dative) – “a visit to the dentist”
- We (or someone) are going to see the dentist.
posjet zubara (genitive) – “a visit of the dentist”
- The dentist is the one visiting us.

So:

Imamo posjet zubaru.
= We have a visit to the dentist.
Imamo posjet zubara.
= We have a visit from the dentist. (The dentist is coming here.)

This is a classic example where dative vs. genitive changes who is going where.

Why is “zubaru” used instead of something like “kod zubara”?

Both are possible, but they’re slightly different constructions:

posjet zubaru – literally “a visit to the dentist” (dative).
posjet kod zubara – literally “a visit at the dentist’s (place)” (preposition kod
- genitive).

In everyday Croatian, you’ll often hear:

Idemo kod zubara. – We’re going to the dentist’s (office).
Imamo termin kod zubara. – We have an appointment at the dentist’s.

In your sentence, posjet zubaru is perfectly natural and a bit more compact. Kod zubara emphasizes the place, while zubaru (dative) emphasizes more the person we’re visiting.

What does the conjunction “pa” mean in “..., pa djeca četkaju zube ...”?

Pa is a conjunction that often translates as “so”, “and so”, or sometimes just “and”. It links two clauses, where the second one in some way follows from the first.

In the sentence:

Sljedeći tjedan imamo posjet zubaru, pa djeca četkaju zube malo duže nego inače.

it means:

Next week we have a visit to the dentist, *so the children brush their teeth a bit longer than usual.*

Compared to other conjunctions:

jer = “because” (gives a reason for what comes before)
pa = “so / and so” (often gives a consequence or continuation of what came before)

You could paraphrase:

… jer sljedeći tjedan imamo posjet zubaru.
… because next week we have a visit to the dentist.

But that slightly changes the structure and emphasis.

Why is it “djeca četkaju zube” and not something like “četkaju djeca zube”?

Croatian word order is flexible, but there is still a neutral or default order:

Subject – Verb – Object (SVO)

So:

Djeca četkaju zube.
- djeca – subject (“the children”)
- četkaju – verb (“brush”)
- zube – object (“teeth”, accusative plural)

Other orders are possible, especially to emphasize certain parts, but they sound marked:

Četkaju djeca zube. – Emphasis on the action četkaju (e.g., in contrast to something else they might usually do).
Djeca zube četkaju. – Emphasis on zube (e.g., not hair, not shoes).

In a simple neutral statement, “Djeca četkaju zube” is the most natural.

Why is it “četkaju zube” and not “peru zube”? Do both mean “brush (their) teeth”?

Both verbs can appear with zube (teeth), but they have slightly different nuances:

četkati zube – literally “to brush teeth” (using a toothbrush)
prati zube – literally “to wash/clean teeth”, often used in practice to mean “brush teeth” as well

In everyday speech, Croatians very often say:

Djeca peru zube. – The children brush their teeth.
even though the literal meaning of prati is “to wash”.

Using četkati zube is a bit more literal/specific (“brush with a brush”), but it’s also perfectly correct and understood.

So:

Your sentence with četkaju zube is fine.
Djeca peru zube malo duže nego inače.
would also be very natural.

Why don’t we say “četkaju si zube” or “četkaju se zube”? Don’t we normally use reflexive pronouns for body parts?

Croatian often uses reflexive pronouns with body parts, but not always, and not with every verb.

With prati (to wash), you’ll frequently see:

Perem zube. – I brush my teeth.
Perem si zube. – also possible: “I wash myself the teeth” (a bit more explicitly reflexive).

However, četkati zube is normally used without a reflexive pronoun:

Djeca četkaju zube. – The children brush their teeth.

Forms like:

četkaju si zube – could be understood, but sounds much less idiomatic.
četkaju se zube – is ungrammatical; se does not work that way with this verb and object.

So the natural pattern with četkati here is simply verb + body-part object:

četkati zube, četkati kosu (brush hair), etc., without si or se in neutral statements.

Why is “zube” used, and what form is it?

Zube is the accusative plural of zub (tooth).

Nominative singular: zub – tooth
Nominative plural: zubi – teeth
Accusative plural: zube

Because zube is the direct object of the verb četkaju, it must be in the accusative case:

Što djeca četkaju? – Zube.
What are the children brushing? – (Their) teeth.

That’s why the form zube appears here.

What does “malo duže” mean, and how does the comparative “duže” work?

Malo duže means “a bit longer”.

Breakdown:

dug – adjective meaning “long”
duže – comparative adverb (or neuter comparative adjective) meaning “longer”
malo – adverb meaning “a little / a bit / slightly”

So:

dugo – long (for a long time)
duže – longer
malo duže – a bit longer

In some regions (especially in parts of Croatia), you’ll also hear dulje instead of duže, but duže is fully standard.

Examples:

Spava malo duže nego obično. – He/she sleeps a bit longer than usual.
Ovaj put je trajalo duže. – This time it lasted longer.

Why is “nego” used in “duže nego inače” and not “od inače”?

In Croatian, both nego and od can translate as “than”, but they are used in different structures.

“Nego” is used after a comparative when you compare with:
- an entire clause,
- an adverb, or
- when there is a contrast involving “ne … nego …” (“not … but rather …”).

Here, we compare the duration with inače (“normally / usually”), which is an adverb, so we use nego:

malo duže nego inače
= a bit longer than usual

“Od” is typically used with nouns/pronouns in the genitive:

Viši je od brata. – He is taller than (his) brother.
Bolja je od mene. – She is better than me.

If you tried od inače, it would sound wrong, because inače is an adverb, not a noun in the genitive. So “duže nego inače” is the correct comparative structure.

What does “inače” mean in this sentence?

Inače is an adverb with several possible translations depending on context. In this sentence it means “normally / usually / as they usually do”:

… malo duže nego inače.
= … a bit longer than usual.

Common meanings of inače:

“normally / usually / in general”
- Inače rano ustajem. – I usually get up early.
“otherwise” (if not)
- Požuri, inače ćeš zakasniti. – Hurry up, otherwise you’ll be late.
“by the way” (in conversation, informal)
- Inače, kako ti je brat? – By the way, how is your brother?

In your sentence, it clearly has the first meaning: “normally / usually”.

Is there any difference between “sljedeći tjedan” and “sljedeći tjedan ćemo imati posjet zubaru” in terms of politeness or style?

Yes, a small nuance:

Sljedeći tjedan imamo posjet zubaru.
- Present tense for a future event.
- Sounds natural, neutral, and conversational. Very common in everyday speech.
Sljedeći tjedan ćemo imati posjet zubaru.
- Explicit future tense with ćemo imati.
- Slightly more formal or emphatic, or used when you want to highlight the futurity more clearly.

In many real-life situations (talking to family, colleagues, etc.), the present version is more typical, especially when combined with a clear future time expression like sljedeći tjedan.

Croatian has “tjedan” and “sedmica”. Why does this sentence use “tjedan” and not “sedmica”?

Both words mean “week”, but usage varies geographically:

tjedan – more common in standard Croatian and throughout most of Croatia.
sedmica – more common in Bosnia and Herzegovina, parts of Serbia, and in some dialects.

In standard Croatian (as taught in most textbooks and used in Croatia’s media and schools), tjedan is the default word, so:

Sljedeći tjedan imamo posjet zubaru.

If you said:

Sljedeća sedmica imamo posjet zubaru.

it would be understood, but it would sound more regional / non-standard in Croatia itself, though fully normal in Bosnian/Serbian contexts.