Djeca idu spavati kasno kad je školski praznik.

to be

Breakdown of Djeca idu spavati kasno kad je školski praznik.

• ići: to go
• kasno: late
• kad: when
• dijete: child
• spavati: to sleep
• školski: school
• praznik: holiday

Questions & Answers about Djeca idu spavati kasno kad je školski praznik.

Why is it “Djeca idu spavati” and not something like “Djeca idu na spavanje” or “Djeca idu da spavaju”?

In Croatian, ići + infinitive is a very common structure to mean “to go and do X”:

• ići jesti – to go eat
• ići spavati – to go (to) sleep

So “Djeca idu spavati” literally means “The children go sleep,” i.e. “The children go to sleep.”

You can also say:

• Djeca idu na spavanje. – literally “The children are going to (the) sleeping” (a more noun-like expression).

Both idu spavati and idu na spavanje are correct and natural.
The form “idu da spavaju” is not standard in Croatian; it sounds more like Serbian/Montenegrin usage. In standard Croatian, you generally use ići + infinitive (ići spavati) or a noun phrase (ići na spavanje).

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What tense is “idu” here, and why is present tense used for something habitual?

Idu is present tense, 3rd person plural of ići (idem, ideš, ide, idemo, idete, idu).

Croatian uses the simple present for:

• actions happening now
• habits and general truths

So “Djeca idu spavati kasno kad je školski praznik” uses the present to describe a repeated / habitual situation:

• “Children go to sleep late when it is the school holiday.”
  = “Children tend to go to sleep late when it’s school holiday time.”

This is directly parallel to English present simple for habits.

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Why is it “idu” and not something like “iđu” or “idaju”? The verb looks irregular.

The verb ići (to go) is highly irregular in Croatian. Its present forms are:

• ja idem
• ti ideš
• on/ona/ono ide
• mi idemo
• vi idete
• oni/one/ona idu

So the 3rd person plural is idu, not iđu or idaju.
You simply have to memorize this paradigm; it doesn’t follow the pattern of regular verbs.

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What exactly is “Djeca” grammatically? Why is the verb plural?

Dijete = child (singular, neuter)
Djeca = children (plural, special irregular form)

Even though djeca looks a bit like a singular neuter noun to English speakers, it is grammatically plural in Croatian, so it takes plural verbs:

• Djeca idu spavati. – The children go to sleep.
• Djeca su umorna. – The children are tired.

Adjectives describing djeca are in neuter plural:

• mala djeca – small children
• dobra djeca – good children

But the verb is always plural (idu, su, vole, etc.).

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Why is it “kad je školski praznik” and not “kad su školski praznici”, since English says “school holidays” (plural)?

Both are possible in Croatian, but they carry slightly different nuances:

• kad je školski praznik – literally “when it is a school holiday”

  • singular praznik (“holiday”)
  • Often understood as “when it’s school holiday time / when there is school holiday” in a general sense.

• kad su školski praznici – literally “when school holidays are”

  • plural praznici (“holidays”)
  • More directly matches English “when the school holidays are / during the school holidays”.

In everyday speech, “kad su školski praznici” is very common for the vacation period.
Your sentence with singular is also correct and idiomatic; it treats “school holiday” as a kind of event or period in the singular.

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Why is it “kad je” and not something like “kad ima školski praznik” to say “when there is a school holiday”?

In Croatian, the usual way to say “when it is a holiday” or “when there is a holiday” is:

• kad je praznik – when (it) is a holiday

You don’t need a separate word for “there” like English “there is”.
The structure “ima praznik” is not standard in this meaning.

So kad je školski praznik is best translated:

• “when it is the school holiday”
• “when there is a school holiday (period)”

The verb je is just the 3rd person singular of biti (to be): sam, si, je, smo, ste, su.

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What does “kad” mean, and is there a difference between “kad” and “kada”?

Kad means “when” (introducing a time clause).

• Djeca idu spavati kasno kad je školski praznik.
  – Children go to sleep late when it is a school holiday.

Kad and kada are practically interchangeable in modern Croatian:

• kad – a bit more colloquial/short
• kada – a bit more formal / fuller form

You can say either:

• kad je školski praznik
• kada je školski praznik

No difference in meaning here.

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What is “kasno” grammatically, and why doesn’t it change form?

Kasno in this sentence is an adverb meaning “late”:

• Djeca idu spavati kasno. – The children go to sleep late.

As an adverb, kasno does not change for gender, number, or case. It stays kasno regardless of what it refers to.

Contrast this with the adjective “late,” which would change:

• kasni vlak – the late train (masc. sg.)
• kasna večera – a late dinner (fem. sg.)
• kasno jutro – late morning (neut. sg.)

So:

• adverb – do something late → kasno
• adjective – late X (noun) → kasni/kasna/kasno, etc.

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Could I say “Djeca kasno idu spavati” instead of “Djeca idu spavati kasno”? Does word order matter?

Yes, you can say:

• Djeca idu spavati kasno.
• Djeca kasno idu spavati.

Both are grammatically correct and mean “Children go to sleep late.”

Word order in Croatian is fairly flexible, and changes in order usually express emphasis or rhythm, not basic meaning. Roughly:

• Djeca idu spavati kasno. – neutral; “go to sleep” is kept together, “late” is added at the end.
• Djeca kasno idu spavati. – puts a bit more emphasis on “kasno” by moving it earlier.

In everyday speech, the first version is probably more common here, but both are fine.

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Could I say “Djeca kasno spavaju kad je školski praznik” instead of “Djeca idu spavati kasno…”?

Yes, that’s also possible, but the focus shifts slightly:

• Djeca idu spavati kasno – focuses on the time when they go to bed.
• Djeca kasno spavaju – literally “Children sleep late,” which tends to mean:
  • they sleep until late in the morning, or
  • they sleep late (in general), without focusing on bedtime.

If you want to say specifically “They go to bed late,” “idu spavati kasno” (or “idu kasno spavati”) is clearer.
If you mean “During the holidays, they sleep in,” then “Djeca kasno spavaju kad je školski praznik” would fit.

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What is the role of “školski” here, and why is it in that form?

Školski is an adjective meaning “school” (relating to school). It modifies praznik (holiday).

• praznik – holiday (masculine, nominative singular)
• školski praznik – school holiday

Adjectives in Croatian must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
Since praznik is masculine singular nominative, the adjective also appears as školski (masc. sg. nom.).

If you changed the case or number, školski would change too:

• za vrijeme školskih praznika – during the school holidays (genitive plural)
• ovaj školski praznik – this school holiday (masc. sg. nom.)

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Is “praznik” always “holiday/vacation,” or are there other common words for school breaks?

Praznik means “holiday” in general – often a public or religious holiday (e.g. Christmas, Easter).

For school breaks, Croatian commonly uses:

• školski praznici – school holidays (general, widely used)
• zimski praznici – winter holidays
• ljetni praznici – summer holidays

In some regions or in Serbian/Bosnian/Montenegrin, you’ll also see:

• školski raspust – school break/holiday

In standard Croatian, školski praznici is the most typical term for “school holidays,” but your phrase “školski praznik” (singular) is still understandable and acceptable in context.

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Is “kad je školski praznik” a full clause, and what case is “školski praznik” in?

Yes, “kad je školski praznik” is a subordinate time clause:

• kad – when (subordinating conjunction)
• je – is (3rd person singular of biti)
• školski praznik – predicate noun, describing the subject (implied “it”).

Školski praznik is in the nominative singular:

• It functions as a subject complement (predicate), just like in:
  • To je školski praznik. – That is a school holiday.

So the structure is literally: “when (it) is (a) school holiday.”