Learn Hardcore Croatian: Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad. - First we have breakfast, then we go to the city.

Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad.

First we have breakfast, then we go to the city.

Breakdown of Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Croatian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Croatian now

Questions & Answers about Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad.

What exactly does najprije mean, and can I just say prvo instead?

Najprije is an adverb meaning first, first of all, before anything else.

You can usually replace it with prvo:

Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad.
Prvo doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad.

Both are correct and very common.

Nuance:

najprije can sound a bit like “first of all” (slightly more formal/ordered).
prvo is shorter and very common in everyday speech.

In everyday conversation, prvo might actually be more frequent, but najprije is perfectly normal and natural.

Why is there no word for “we” in the sentence?

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns (like “I, you, we”) because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

doručkujemo = we have breakfast
- -mo ending = 1st person plural (“we”)
idemo = we go / we are going
- again, -mo = “we”

So:

Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad.
literally: “First have-breakfast-we, then go-we to city.”

You can say Mi najprije doručkujemo… for emphasis (like “We first have breakfast…”), but in neutral sentences, mi is usually left out.

What is doručkujemo exactly? How is it formed and what tense is it?

Doručkujemo is:

the present tense
1st person plural (“we”)
of the verb doručkovati – to have breakfast

Rough breakdown:

noun: doručak – breakfast
verb: doručkovati – to eat/have breakfast
present tense stem: doručkuj-
ending for “we”: -emo

So:

(mi) doručkujemo = we have breakfast / we are having breakfast

A mini present conjugation:

(ja) doručkujem – I have breakfast
(ti) doručkuješ – you have breakfast (singular, informal)
(on/ona) doručkuje – he/she has breakfast
(mi) doručkujemo – we have breakfast
(vi) doručkujete – you have breakfast (plural/formal)
(oni/one) doručkuju – they have breakfast

Does Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad describe the present, the future, or a routine?

It can be any of those, depending on context, just like English “We have breakfast first, then we go to town.”

Possible readings:

Routine / habit
- “First we (usually) have breakfast, then we go to town.”
Planned future / schedule (very common)
- “First we’ll have breakfast, then we’ll go to town.”
  Croatian often uses the present tense for near future plans, especially when the order of actions is clear.
A decision / suggestion (“Let’s…”)
- In context, it can feel like: “Let’s have breakfast first, then (let’s) go to town.”
  This use is very common in 1st person plural: Idemo! = “Let’s go!”

So grammatically it’s present tense, but pragmatically it can talk about now, a routine, or the (near) future.

What does pa mean here, and how is it different from i, onda, or zatim?

Here pa is a conjunction roughly meaning “and then / and so”.

In this sentence:

Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad.
≈ “First we have breakfast, and then we go to town.”

Compared:

i – “and” (just adds another item, neutral)
- Najprije doručkujemo i idemo u grad.
  Sounds like two actions listed together, the sequence is less emphasized.
onda / zatim – “then, after that”
- Najprije doručkujemo, onda idemo u grad.
- Najprije doručkujemo, zatim idemo u grad.
  Both explicitly mark sequence in time, similar to “then, afterwards”.
pa – sits somewhere between “and” and “and then”:
- It connects the clauses
- It suggests a next step, a consequence, or a natural follow-up
- Often sounds a bit more colloquial/natural in everyday speech.

In many everyday contexts, pa is the most natural choice for “and then”.

Why is there a comma before pa? Is it always required?

In your sentence, the comma marks a pause between two clauses:

Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad.
Clause 1: Najprije doručkujemo
Clause 2: (mi) idemo u grad

With pa joining two full clauses, a comma is very common and stylistically natural.

In practice:

When pa merely connects two verbs with the same subject, some writers might omit the comma:
- Najprije doručkujemo pa idemo u grad. – also seen.
When you want to mark a clear pause or step (as in this example), the comma is usually written, and many learners’ materials will include it.

So:

In this exact sentence, the comma is standard and good to imitate.
In more advanced writing, you’ll see both with and without comma, depending on style and the strength of the pause the writer wants.

Why is it u grad and not u gradu?

Because Croatian uses different cases with u depending on meaning:

u + accusative = movement into / to a place
u + locative = location in a place

Here we have movement to the city, so accusative:

grad → accusative singular: grad (same form as nominative)

So:

Idemo u grad. – We’re going to (the) city/town. (movement → accusative)
Smo u gradu. – We are in (the) city/town. (location → locative gradu)

That’s why this sentence uses u grad: it expresses direction / destination.

What case is grad in u grad, and why no article like “the”?

Grad in u grad is accusative singular (used here for destination / direction).

Croatian does not have articles (a, an, the). So:

idemo u grad
can mean:
- we go to town
- we go to the city
- we are going into town

The exact English choice (a / the / no article) depends on context, not on any word in Croatian. The form grad itself does not mark definiteness.

Can I change the word order, for example Doručkujemo najprije, pa idemo u grad or Najprije idemo u grad, pa doručkujemo?

You can change the order, but it may change the emphasis or meaning.

Doručkujemo najprije, pa idemo u grad.
- Grammatically possible.
- Slightly marked: it emphasizes “najprije” as an afterthought.
- The original Najprije doručkujemo… is more natural and neutral.
Najprije idemo u grad, pa doručkujemo.
- Now the order of actions is reversed:
  - First we go to town, then we have breakfast.

In general:

Time adverbs like najprije, onda, kasnije are very natural at the beginning of the clause:
- Najprije doručkujemo.
- Onda idemo u grad.

So it’s best to keep the original order unless you intentionally want to change the sequence or focus.

Does Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad sound like a neutral statement, or more like a suggestion (“let’s first…”)?

It can be both, depending on context and tone.

Literally it’s a neutral statement:

“First we have breakfast, then we go to town.”

But in 1st person plural, Croatian often uses the simple present to express a proposal or decision shared by the speaker:

Idemo! – “Let’s go!”
Najprije doručkujemo, pa idemo u grad. – often used as:
“Let’s have breakfast first, then (let’s) go to town.”

So:

As a description: it can describe a routine or plan.
As a suggestion / plan just agreed on: it works like “We’ll first have breakfast, then we’ll go to town / Let’s first have breakfast, then go to town.”

Context (who is speaking to whom, and when) tells you which one is intended.