Breakdown of Kad je popravak gotov, stolica više ne škripi.
Questions & Answers about Kad je popravak gotov, stolica više ne škripi.
Kad means when and is very common in everyday Croatian. Kada means the same thing but is often felt as a bit more formal/neutral.
In this sentence, Kad je popravak gotov, ... and Kada je popravak gotov, ... are both correct.
Because the sentence starts with a subordinate time clause (Kad je popravak gotov) followed by the main clause (stolica više ne škripi). In Croatian, when the subordinate clause comes first, a comma is normally used:
- Kad je popravak gotov,
- main clause
(If you reverse the order, the comma is usually still used: Stolica više ne škripi kad je popravak gotov.)
This is a copular structure: je = is (3rd person singular of biti, to be).
- popravak = the subject (the repair)
- gotov = an adjective functioning like a predicate (finished/ready)
So literally: When the repair is finished...
Because popravak is masculine singular (grammatical gender), and adjectives must agree with the noun in gender/number/case.
- masculine: gotov
- feminine: gotova (e.g., Kad je stolica gotova... would be strange, but grammatically that’s the form)
- neuter: gotovo
Here: popravak (m.) → gotov (m.)
It’s nominative singular, because it’s the subject of je in that clause:
- popravak (subject) + je (is) + gotov (finished)
više ne is the common way to say no longer / not anymore.
- ne is the negation and must stand directly before the verb: ne škripi (doesn’t squeak)
- više adds the meaning anymore / no longer
So:
- stolica ne škripi = the chair doesn’t squeak (simple negation)
- stolica više ne škripi = the chair doesn’t squeak anymore / no longer squeaks
Usually više is placed right before ne: više ne + verb. That’s the most natural pattern.
You may hear variations for emphasis, but for learners it’s safest to keep:
- više ne škripi (standard, neutral)
Croatian commonly uses the present tense to state a current result or general fact: once the repair is done, the chair (now) doesn’t squeak.
So the logic is: When X is finished, Y doesn’t happen (anymore).
If you want to emphasize a future situation (“when it gets finished”), you’d often say:
- Kad popravak bude gotov, stolica više neće škripiti.
(When the repair is finished (in the future), the chair won’t squeak anymore.)
The infinitive is škripiti (to squeak/creak).
škripi is 3rd person singular present:
- ja škripim
- ti škripiš
- on/ona/ono škripi
- mi škripimo
- vi škripite
- oni škrip(e)
Here: stolica (she/it) → škripi
Croatian can drop subject pronouns, but not usually subject nouns if they carry the meaning. Here stolica is the actual subject (the chair), so you normally keep it.
You could omit it only if it’s already obvious from context, e.g., someone is holding the chair and you just say:
- Više ne škripi. = It doesn’t squeak anymore.
They’re different forms of the same noun popravak (repair).
- popravak = nominative singular (subject form)
- popravka = genitive singular (often “of the repair”) or accusative plural in some contexts, depending on the sentence
In this sentence you need popravak because it’s the subject: popravak je gotov.
- š is like English sh in ship.
- škr- is a tight consonant cluster; approximate it as shkri- (one syllable start), not shuh-kri-.
So škripi sounds roughly like shkree-pee (Croatian r is “rolled/tapped” more than English).
Yes. gotov and završen can both mean finished, but they’re not always identical in tone:
- gotov = finished/ready, very common and conversational
- završen = finished/completed, a bit more formal/explicit
So you can say:
- Kad je popravak završen, stolica više ne škripi.