Breakdown of Roditelji strpljivo čekaju djecu ispred škole.
Questions & Answers about Roditelji strpljivo čekaju djecu ispred škole.
Djeca is the nominative plural (the “dictionary form”) meaning children as the subject of a sentence.
In this sentence, djecu is the direct object of the verb čekaju (they wait for the children), so it must be in the accusative case.
For this noun:
- Nominative plural (subject): djeca – Djeca dolaze. (The children are coming.)
- Accusative plural (object): djecu – Čekamo djecu. (We are waiting for the children.)
Because the children are being waited for (object), djecu is required here, not djeca.
Roditelji is the nominative plural form of roditelj (parent).
- Singular: roditelj – a parent
- Plural nominative: roditelji – parents
Nominative is the case normally used for the subject of a sentence. Here, roditelji are the ones doing the action (they are the ones waiting), so nominative is correct:
- Roditelji (subject) čekaju (verb) djecu (object).
If roditelji were an object, you’d see roditelje (accusative plural), but here they are clearly the subject.
In Croatian, the present tense of a verb already expresses what English often writes with “am/are/is + -ing”.
- Čekaju = they wait / they are waiting
You do not add the auxiliary biti (to be, sam, si, je, smo, ste, su) to form the present continuous like in English. You just conjugate čekati:
- ja čekam
- ti čekaš
- on/ona/ono čeka
- mi čekamo
- vi čekate
- oni/one/ona čekaju
So Roditelji čekaju = The parents wait / The parents are waiting.
If you add su (they are), it would be ungrammatical: Roditelji su čekaju is wrong in standard Croatian.
Strpljivo is an adverb meaning patiently.
It is formed from the adjective strpljiv (patient):
- adjective: strpljiv – a patient (man)
- adverb: strpljivo – patiently
Croatian very often forms adverbs from adjectives by using the neuter singular form of the adjective, which ends in -o. That neuter form then “turns into” an adverb in use:
- spor → sporo (slow → slowly)
- brz → brzo (fast → quickly)
- strpljiv → strpljivo (patient → patiently)
As an adverb, strpljivo does not change for gender, number, or case. It always stays strpljivo.
The preposition ispred (in front of) always takes the genitive case.
- škola is the nominative singular (dictionary form)
- škole is the genitive singular (among other uses)
So:
- nominative: škola – a school
- genitive singular: škole – of the school
Because ispred requires genitive, we must say:
- ispred škole = in front of the school
Other examples with ispred + genitive:
- ispred kuće – in front of the house
- ispred trgovine – in front of the shop
Yes, Croatian word order is flexible, and several variants are grammatically correct:
- Roditelji strpljivo čekaju djecu ispred škole. (neutral)
- Roditelji čekaju djecu strpljivo ispred škole.
- Roditelji čekaju djecu ispred škole strpljivo.
All are possible, but the most neutral, natural version here is the original one, with the adverb strpljivo placed close to the verb:
- Subject – Adverb – Verb – Object – Place
- Roditelji strpljivo čekaju djecu ispred škole.
Moving strpljivo elsewhere usually adds a slight emphasis or different rhythm, but the basic meaning does not change.
Yes. You can say:
- Ispred škole roditelji strpljivo čekaju djecu.
This is still correct Croatian. Moving ispred škole to the front makes the location the first piece of information, giving it more emphasis or setting the scene:
- In front of the school, the parents are patiently waiting for the children.
This kind of fronting is common in Croatian, especially in spoken language and storytelling.
Yes. Croatian is a pro‑drop language: the subject pronoun (or even a noun subject, if clear from context) can often be omitted because the verb ending shows who is doing the action.
- Strpljivo čekaju djecu ispred škole.
= They are patiently waiting for the children in front of the school.
Here, čekaju is 3rd person plural, so we know the subject is “they” (some group of people). If it’s clear from context that “they” are the parents, you don’t need to repeat Roditelji.
However, including Roditelji is perfectly fine and often clearer in isolated sentences or when introducing the topic.
Yes, grammatically you can say:
- Roditelji strpljivo čekaju ispred škole.
= The parents are patiently waiting in front of the school.
In this version, what they are waiting for is not stated. The verb čekati does not require you to name the object every time, especially if it is known from context (for example, if everyone already knows they are waiting for the children).
So:
- With object: čekaju djecu – they are waiting for the children
- Without object: čekaju – they are waiting (for someone/something)
Both can appear in real language, but there is a nuance:
čekati djecu (verb + direct object in accusative)
– This is the standard, most common way to say to wait for the children.
– Roditelji čekaju djecu ispred škole.čekati na djecu (verb + preposition na
- accusative)
– Also used, but often implies waiting for them to arrive / be ready / do something, and can sound slightly more colloquial or idiomatic in some contexts.
– It may have a shade of “they’re late / we’re stuck waiting on them”.
- accusative)
In most neutral sentences, čekati djecu is the safest and most straightforward option.
Roditelj is grammatically a masculine noun. The plural roditelji is treated as masculine plural (even though in meaning it usually includes both a mother and a father).
In Croatian, the verb in the present tense does not change for gender, only for person and number:
- oni / one / ona čekaju – they wait / they are waiting
So čekaju would be the same whether we had:
- roditelji čekaju (parents)
- muškarci čekaju (men)
- žene čekaju (women)
- djeca čekaju (children)
Gender matters more for past tense and adjectives (e.g. roditelji su bili strpljivi – the parents were patient; bili is masc. pl.), but in the present tense čekaju stays the same.