Learn Hardcore Croatian: Za školski praznik djeca ne idu u školu. - During the school holiday, children do not go to school.

Za školski praznik djeca ne idu u školu.

During the school holiday, children do not go to school.

Breakdown of Za školski praznik djeca ne idu u školu.

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Questions & Answers about Za školski praznik djeca ne idu u školu.

What does za mean here? In English I would say “during the school holiday”, not “for the school holiday”. Why is za used?

In this sentence za is a preposition that often corresponds to English “during” when talking about time periods:

Za školski praznik djeca ne idu u školu.
= During the school holiday, children don’t go to school.

With time expressions, za + accusative can mean:

during a period:
- Za vikend ne radim. = I don’t work on/over the weekend.
for a span of time (duration):
- Naučio je sve za dva dana. = He learned everything in/within two days.

So here za školski praznik is a standard way to say during the school holiday(s).

Why is it školski praznik and not something like školski praznika or školskih praznika?

Školski praznik is in the accusative singular, governed by the preposition za.

Nominative singular (dictionary form): školski praznik
Accusative singular: školski praznik (same form for masculine inanimate nouns)

Since za here takes the accusative to express time, you get za školski praznik.

You can also hear:

Za školske praznike djeca ne idu u školu.
(for/during the school holidays – accusative plural)

or more formal:

Za vrijeme školskih praznika djeca ne idu u školu.
(during the time of the school holidays – genitive plural after za vrijeme)

But in your sentence, the grammar is:
za + accusative singular → za školski praznik.

What is the exact meaning of školski praznik? Is it “school holiday” or “vacation”?

Školski praznik literally means “school holiday”:

školski = school (adjective: “school-related”)
praznik = holiday (a day or period when you don’t work / don’t have school)

In context it usually refers to:

school breaks, like summer holidays, winter break, spring break, etc.

In natural English, depending on the variety:

British English: during the school holiday(s)
American English: during school vacation / school break

All of these are valid translations of školski praznik in this sentence.

Why is the word for children djeca and not something like djece or djecu?

Djeca is an irregular noun meaning “children” and it’s used as the subject here, so it’s in the nominative case:

Nominative (subject): djeca – children
- Djeca ne idu u školu. = Children don’t go to school.

Other forms you might see:

djecu – accusative (direct object)
- Vidim djecu. = I see (the) children.
djece – genitive
- Nema djece. = There are no children.

So in Za školski praznik djeca ne idu u školu, djeca is the subject, which is why that form is used.

Is djeca grammatically singular or plural? What does it agree with?

Meaning-wise, djeca is plural (“children”), but grammatically it behaves as neuter plural in Croatian.

In practice:

Verbs are in 3rd person plural:
- Djeca idu u školu. = The children go to school.
Adjectives / pronouns in the neuter plural:
- Dobra djeca = good children
- Moja djeca = my children

So:

djeca ne idu is correct
(“children do not go” – plural verb idu agrees with djeca).

What is the verb idu from, and how is it conjugated?

Idu is the 3rd person plural present tense of the verb ići = to go.

Present tense of ići:

(ja) idem – I go
(ti) ideš – you go (singular, informal)
(on/ona/ono) ide – he/she/it goes
(mi) idemo – we go
(vi) idete – you go (plural/formal)
(oni/one/ona) idu – they go

So in your sentence:

djeca idu = the children go
djeca ne idu = the children do not go

Why is the negation ne placed before idu? Can I put it somewhere else?

In Croatian, the basic rule for simple verbal negation is:

ne goes directly in front of the conjugated verb.

So:

idu → ne idu
razumijem (I understand) → ne razumijem (I don’t understand)
radimo (we work) → ne radimo (we don’t work)

You cannot say djeca idu ne u školu to mean don’t go. That would sound wrong or mean something different (like emphasizing “not to school, but somewhere else”).

Correct here is:

Djeca ne idu u školu.

Why is it u školu and not u školi?

The difference is case and meaning:

u školu – accusative, used with verbs of movement → to school
- Idu u školu. = They go to school.
u školi – locative, used for static location → in/at school
- Uče u školi. = They study at school.

Your sentence uses ići (to go), which is motion towards a place, so you use:

u + accusative: u školu → (to) school

Thus:

djeca ne idu u školu = the children do not go to school.

Could I also say Djeca za školski praznik ne idu u školu? Is the word order important?

Yes, you can say:

Djeca za školski praznik ne idu u školu.

It has the same basic meaning: During the school holiday, children don’t go to school.

Word order in Croatian is relatively flexible. The difference is mainly emphasis:

Za školski praznik djeca ne idu u školu.
– The time expression (during the school holiday) is emphasized at the beginning.
Djeca za školski praznik ne idu u školu.
– Starts with djeca (children), so you’re foregrounding the children as the topic.

Both are grammatically correct and natural.

Why is the verb in the present tense (ne idu) if this is a general rule, not just happening right now?

Croatian uses the present tense not only for actions happening right now, but also for:

General truths / habits / rules

Similar to English sentences like:

Children *go to school on weekdays.*
Water *boils at 100°C.*

So:

Djeca ne idu u školu za školski praznik.
literally: Children do not go to school during the school holiday.
→ Means: As a rule/habit, during that time they don’t go.

Therefore the present is the normal tense to express this general fact or rule.