Moram provjeriti važenje osobne iskaznice prije nego što predam zahtjev.

I have to check the validity of the ID card before I submit the request.

Breakdown of Moram provjeriti važenje osobne iskaznice prije nego što predam zahtjev.

• morati: to have to
• provjeriti: to check
• prije nego što: before
• zahtjev: request
• osobna iskaznica: ID card
• važenje: validity
• predati: to submit

Questions & Answers about Moram provjeriti važenje osobne iskaznice prije nego što predam zahtjev.

Why is it Moram provjeriti + an infinitive? Do I always use the infinitive after morati?

Yes. Morati (moram, moraš, mora…) is a modal verb and it’s normally followed by the infinitive:

• Moram provjeriti = I have to check
• Moraš doći = You have to come

In everyday Croatian, you can also hear a da-clause in some contexts, but with morati the infinitive is the standard, most natural choice.

What’s the difference between provjeriti and provjeravati?

It’s aspect:

• provjeriti (perfective) = to check (once), to verify / complete the check
• provjeravati (imperfective) = to be checking, to check repeatedly/regularly

In your sentence, Moram provjeriti… implies a single, completed check before doing something else.

What exactly does važenje mean here, and why is it a noun?

važenje means validity (literally “being valid”). It’s a verbal noun formed from važiti (to be valid). Croatian often uses this noun in administrative language:

• provjeriti važenje osobne iskaznice = check the validity of the ID card

You’ll also commonly see rok važenja = expiry/validity period.

Why is it važenje osobne iskaznice and not važenje osobnu iskaznicu?

Because važenje takes a complement in the genitive to mean “validity of something.” So osobne iskaznice is genitive singular: of the ID card.

By contrast, provjeriti osobnu iskaznicu would mean to check the ID card itself (e.g., examine it), while provjeriti važenje osobne iskaznice focuses specifically on whether it’s still valid.

What case is osobne iskaznice, and how do I know?

It’s genitive singular (feminine). You can recognize it because:

• the noun iskaznica (nom. sg.) becomes iskaznice (gen. sg.)
• the adjective osobna becomes osobne (gen. sg. fem.)

Together: (važenje) osobne iskaznice = the validity of the personal ID card.

What is osobna iskaznica exactly? Is it just any ID?

osobna iskaznica is specifically the national identity card (Croatian ID card). It’s more specific than the general word identifikacijska isprava (ID document) or osobni dokumenti (personal documents).

Why does the sentence use prije nego što? Can I drop što?

prije nego što means before (that) and introduces a subordinate clause. In many situations, speakers shorten it to prije nego (especially in speech), but prije nego što is very common and perfectly standard.

Both are usually translated as before.

Why is it prije nego što predam (present tense) if it refers to the future?

In Croatian, after time conjunctions like prije nego što / kad / čim, you often use the present tense even when you’re talking about a future event—English would use before I submit, not before I will submit. Also, the verb predam is perfective present, which naturally points to a completed future action:

• predam (from predati, perfective) ≈ I (will) submit/hand in (and it will be done)

So prije nego što predam zahtjev = before I submit the application.

What does predam come from, and why isn’t it predajem?

• predam = 1st person singular present of predati (perfective): to hand in/submit (once, completed)
• predajem = 1st person singular present of predavati (imperfective): to be handing in / to submit repeatedly

Here you’re talking about one completed submission, so predam is the natural choice.

What case is zahtjev, and why?

zahtjev is accusative singular because it’s the direct object of predati (to submit/hand in something):

• predati zahtjev = to submit an application/request

For this masculine inanimate noun, accusative singular looks the same as nominative singular: zahtjev.

Is the word order fixed? Could I move things around?

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but neutral/admin style would keep it close to what you have. You can rearrange for emphasis, for example:

• Prije nego što predam zahtjev, moram provjeriti važenje osobne iskaznice. (emphasizes the “before” part)
• Moram prije predaje zahtjeva provjeriti važenje osobne iskaznice. (more formal; before the submission of the application)

The original order is very natural and clear.

How would I pronounce važenje and iskaznice?

A practical approximation for English speakers:

• važenje ≈ VAH-zhe-nyeh (the ž is like the s in measure)
• iskaznice ≈ ees-KAZ-nee-tseh (final ce like tseh)

If you can produce ž (/ʒ/) and keep vowels clear (Croatian vowels are “pure”), you’ll be understood well.