Breakdown of Dostavljač kasni, pa još čekamo paket.
Questions & Answers about Dostavljač kasni, pa još čekamo paket.
Dostavljač is in the nominative singular because it’s the subject of the sentence (the one doing/experiencing the action): Dostavljač kasni = “The delivery person is late.”
It’s a masculine noun ending in a consonant, which is typical for nominative singular masculine nouns.
Grammatically, dostavljač is masculine, but it’s often used generically for “delivery person/courier,” especially when the person’s gender isn’t important or isn’t known.
If you want an explicitly feminine form, you may see dostavljačica (depending on context and usage).
Kasni means “is late” / “is running late.”
It’s the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb kasniti (“to be late”).
Croatian commonly uses the present tense here just like English does: Dostavljač kasni.
Here pa functions like “so/and so/therefore” linking two independent parts:
- Dostavljač kasni
- još čekamo paket
In that use, Croatian typically writes a comma before pa, similar to English when so introduces a result: “The courier is late, so we’re still waiting for the package.”
No. Pa is a very flexible word. Depending on context, it can mean things like “so,” “and,” “well,” “then,” or it can be a conversational filler.
In this sentence it’s clearly the result/continuation meaning: “so/and therefore.”
Here još means “still” (we are continuing to wait).
Position-wise, još often goes before the verb (like here: još čekamo), but it can move for emphasis. This placement is very natural and common.
Yes. Još can mean “still” or “more/another.”
- Još čekamo paket. = “We’re still waiting for the package.”
- Još jedan paket. = “One more package / another package.”
Context usually makes it clear which meaning is intended.
Čekamo is 1st person plural present of čekati (“to wait”). It literally means “we wait / we are waiting.”
Croatian often doesn’t need an explicit pronoun mi (“we”) because the verb ending -mo already shows it’s “we.” The “we” is understood from context (the speaker + at least one other person).
Yes, you can, but it adds emphasis/contrast, like “...so we are still waiting (as opposed to someone else).”
Without emphasis, the more natural version is the original: ... pa još čekamo paket.
Paket is in the accusative singular because it’s the direct object of čekati (“to wait for”).
For many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular is the same as nominative (so it looks unchanged): paket.
In Croatian, čekati takes a direct object in the accusative without a preposition:
- čekati paket = “to wait for a package”
So you don’t add a separate word equivalent to “for” here.
Čekamo is the normal imperfective verb for an ongoing action: “we are (still) waiting.”
Sačekati is perfective and focuses on reaching the end of waiting (“wait and then it’s done”). You might use it in contexts like:
- Sačekaj me! = “Wait for me (until I arrive)!”
In your sentence, the ongoing sense fits čekamo best.
Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but the choice affects focus and flow.
The original presents the cause first, then the result:
- Dostavljač kasni, pa još čekamo paket. (Cause → result)
You can reverse it, but it sounds like you’re explaining after the fact: - Još čekamo paket, pa dostavljač kasni. (“We’re still waiting…, so the courier is late.”)
That reversal may feel less logical unless the context supports it.