Prije treninga želim se malo zagrijati u dvorani.

Before training I want to warm up a bit in the hall.

Breakdown of Prije treninga želim se malo zagrijati u dvorani.

• u: in
• prije: before
• željeti: to want
• malo: a bit

Questions & Answers about Prije treninga želim se malo zagrijati u dvorani.

Why is it prije treninga and not prije trening?

In Croatian, the preposition prije (before) always takes the genitive case.

• The noun trening (training, practice) in the genitive singular becomes treninga.
• So:
  • prije treninga = before (the) training
  • trening on its own is nominative (training as a subject), which is not correct after prije.

Pattern to remember:

• prije + genitive
  • prije posla (before work)
  • prije ručka (before lunch)
  • prije treninga (before training)

What case is treninga, and how is it formed?

Treninga is genitive singular of trening.

For many masculine nouns ending in a consonant, the genitive singular ending is -a:

• prijatelj → prijatelja (friend → of the friend)
• grad → grada (city → of the city)
• trening → treninga (training → of the training)

We need this form because prije requires the genitive case.

Why is the verb zagrijati used in the infinitive: želim se malo zagrijati?