Breakdown of Djeca šapuću u knjižnici kako ne bi smetala odraslima.
Questions & Answers about Djeca šapuću u knjižnici kako ne bi smetala odraslima.
Šapuću is:
- present tense
- 3rd person plural
- of the verb šaptati (also common: šaputati) – “to whisper”.
Conjugation of šaptati in the present (standard I-form):
- ja šapćem
- ti šapćeš
- on/ona/ono šapće
- mi šapćemo
- vi šapćete
- oni/one/ona šapuću
So djeca šapuću = “the children (they) whisper / are whispering”.
Djeca means “children” and is:
- the nominative plural form
- of the noun dijete = “child”.
Irregular pattern:
- singular: dijete (child)
- plural: djeca (children)
Grammatically, djeca is treated as neuter plural:
- adjectives agree in neuter plural: mala djeca (“small children”)
- verbs use 3rd person plural: djeca šapuću, djeca su došla.
Knjižnica is the base form (nominative singular) meaning “library”.
In u knjižnici, the noun is in the locative singular: knjižnici.
- The preposition u
- locative answers “where?” (location).
- So u knjižnici = “in the library”.
Compare:
- u knjižnici (locative) – “in the library” (location)
- u knjižnicu (accusative) – “into the library” (movement toward).
Knjižnici (knjiž–ni–ci) has 3–4 clearly pronounced syllable parts, but the nj sound is like the “ny” in “canyon”.
Approximate pronunciation: KNYIZH-ni-tsi
(IPA: [kɲiʒnit͡si])
- knj = [kɲ] like “k” + “ny”
- ž = like “s” in “measure”
- c in ci = ts as in “cats”
Say it smoothly: knyizhnitsi.
Literally, kako ne bi smetala means “so that they would not disturb”.
- kako here means “so that / in order that” (expressing purpose).
- ne bi is the conditional auxiliary (“would not”).
- smetala is a past active participle agreeing in gender/number with djeca (neuter plural → ending -la).
So the whole clause is a purpose clause:
- Djeca šapuću … kako ne bi smetala odraslima.
“The children whisper … so that they wouldn’t disturb the adults.”
Yes, you can say:
- Djeca šapuću u knjižnici da ne bi smetala odraslima.
Both kako and da are used to introduce purpose clauses.
Nuance:
- kako ne bi… is slightly more formal / stylistic in written language.
- da ne bi… is very common in speech.
Meaning is practically the same: “so that they wouldn’t disturb… / in order not to disturb…”.
There’s a difference in meaning:
- ne smetaju odraslima = “they do not disturb the adults” (a simple fact).
- kako ne bi smetala odraslima = “so that they would not disturb the adults” – this expresses intention/purpose and a possible action that is being prevented.
The conditional (bi + participle) is used to show:
- a potential action (they might disturb)
- which is being avoided by whispering.
So the structure kako ne bi + participle is standard for “so that [something] would not happen”.
Smetala is:
- the neuter plural form
- of the past active participle of smetati (“to disturb”).
Past active participle endings:
- masculine plural: -li (onI su smetali)
- feminine plural: -le (one su smetale)
- neuter plural: -la (ona su smetala)
Since djeca is grammatically neuter plural, the matching participle is smetala:
- (djeca) bi smetala
- (djeca) su smetala
Odraslima is dative plural of odrasli (“adults”).
Pattern:
- nominative plural: odrasli – “adults”
- dative plural: odraslima – “to (the) adults”
The verb smetati (“to bother/disturb”) takes an indirect object in the dative:
- Smetati komu? – “to disturb whom?” (dative)
- Smetam susjedima. – “I disturb the neighbours.”
- Djeca bi smetala odraslima. – “The children would disturb the adults.”
So: odraslima = “to the adults”.
Yes, odrasli is originally an adjective meaning “grown-up”.
In Croatian, adjectives can be nounified (used as nouns) by dropping the noun they describe when it’s clear from context. So:
- odrasla osoba = “an adult person”
- odrasli (literally: “the grown(-up) ones”) = “adults”
Here, odrasli / odraslima functions as a noun: “adults” / “to the adults”.
Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible. All of these are grammatical:
- Djeca šapuću u knjižnici kako ne bi smetala odraslima.
- U knjižnici djeca šapuću kako ne bi smetala odraslima.
Differences are mainly in emphasis:
- Starting with Djeca… emphasizes the children.
- Starting with U knjižnici… emphasizes the place first: “In the library, the children are whispering…”
The core grammar (cases, verb forms) stays the same regardless of the order.
Both šaptati (“to whisper”) and smetati (“to disturb”) are imperfective verbs.
Imperfective aspect:
- describes ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions
- is typically used for present tense and for background actions.
In this sentence:
- šapuću – ongoing whispering
- (ne bi) smetala – a possible ongoing / repeated disturbance
So the imperfective aspect fits well with the idea of continuous behaviour in the library, not a single completed event.
Both can mean “library”, but there are usage differences:
- knjižnica – preferred in standard Croatian (especially in Croatia).
- biblioteka – more common in Serbian, and also understood in Croatian, but in Croatian it can also mean “collection of books / series of books” rather than the institution.
In a Croatian textbook or exam, knjižnica is usually the recommended word for “library”.
Yes, that is a good natural translation.
In this kind of context, kako ne bi does indeed mean “so that (something) would not / in order not to”. It’s a very common way to express preventing an undesired result:
- Zatvorio je prozor kako ne bi bilo propuha.
“He closed the window so that there wouldn’t be a draft.”
So in your sentence, kako ne bi smetala odraslima = “in order not to disturb the adults.”