Breakdown of Nemoj otvoriti prozor kad je vani oluja.
Questions & Answers about Nemoj otvoriti prozor kad je vani oluja.
Croatian has two common ways to say don’t (do something):
- Nemoj + infinitive (very common, neutral, often a bit more “advising”): Nemoj otvoriti prozor.
- Ne + imperative form (also correct; can sound a bit more direct/commanding): Ne otvori prozor. (perfective) / Ne otvaraj prozor. (imperfective)
Nemoj is the imperative of ne htjeti (don’t want → used idiomatically as don’t do). With it, Croatian typically uses the infinitive: nemoj otvoriti.
The aspect changes the nuance:
- otvoriti (perfective) = open it (once), perform the action to completion
→ Nemoj otvoriti prozor = Don’t open the window (at all / don’t do that action). - otvarati (imperfective) = be opening / open repeatedly / be in the process
→ Nemoj otvarati prozor = Don’t open the window (habitually / repeatedly) or don’t be opening it.
With storms, the “one-time action” warning fits well, so otvoriti is very natural.
Prozor is in the accusative (direct object) because otvoriti takes a direct object: open what? → prozor.
For many masculine inanimate nouns, nominative = accusative in the singular, so prozor looks the same in both cases.
Word order is fairly flexible, but it affects emphasis and what sounds most natural.
- kad je vani oluja sounds like: when outside there is a storm (focus on outside conditions)
- kad je oluja vani is also possible, but often sounds slightly more “statement-like,” with oluja more foregrounded.
Croatian often places vani early in this kind of weather context.
kad = when (very common in everyday speech).
kada is basically the same meaning, often a bit more formal or explicit.
So these are both correct:
- Nemoj otvoriti prozor kad je vani oluja.
- Nemoj otvoriti prozor kada je vani oluja.
je is the present tense of biti (to be): (it) is.
Croatian commonly uses biti in “there is/it is” weather-style sentences:
- Vani je oluja. = Outside, there is a storm / It’s storming outside.
In English you might omit is in some constructions, but Croatian needs the verb.
Yes—grammatically, oluja (storm) is in the nominative and acts like the subject of je:
- Oluja je vani. (Storm is outside.)
- Vani je oluja. (Outside is a storm.)
Croatian expresses “there is X” in the present using biti + nominative in many cases like this.
Yes. Common options:
- vani = outside (very common; widely understood)
- van can also occur in some contexts (often “out” rather than “outside”)
- napolju = outside (common especially in Serbian; still widely understood in Croatian, but vani is more standard/typical in Croatian usage)
So a natural Croatian alternative is:
- Nemoj otvoriti prozor kad je vani oluja. (most typical)
- prozor = window (singular accusative)
- prozore = windows (plural accusative)
Both are possible depending on the situation:
- Nemoj otvoriti prozor... = Don’t open the (one) window...
- Nemoj otvoriti prozore... = Don’t open the windows...
Change nemoj (singular) to nemojte (plural/polite):
- Nemojte otvoriti prozor kad je vani oluja. = Don’t open the window when there’s a storm outside. (to you all / formal you)
Croatian uses nemojte both for plural you and polite singular you.
Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly:
- kad = when (at the time that; can be general or conditional)
- dok = while (emphasizes “during the time that”)
So:
- Nemoj otvoriti prozor kad je vani oluja. = Don’t open the window when/whenever there’s a storm outside.
- Nemoj otvoriti prozor dok je vani oluja. = Don’t open the window while the storm is going on outside.
Both can work; dok feels more explicitly “during the storm.”
Approximate pronunciation (very rough, English-friendly):
- Nemoj ≈ NE-moy (two syllables)
- otvoriti ≈ ot-VO-ree-tee
- prozor ≈ PRO-zor
- kad je ≈ kad yeh (the j is like English y)
- vani ≈ VA-nee
- oluja ≈ o-LOO-ya (the j again like y)
Also note: Croatian r is “rolled/tapped,” especially in careful speech.