Tko god vozi po kiši, mora paziti na kočnice i na mokru ulicu.

Whoever drives in the rain has to pay attention to the brakes and to the wet street.

Breakdown of Tko god vozi po kiši, mora paziti na kočnice i na mokru ulicu.

• i: and
• kiša: rain
• morati: to have to
• voziti: to drive
• ulica: street
• na: to
• mokar: wet
• paziti: to pay attention
• po: in
• tko god: whoever
• kočnica: brake

Questions & Answers about Tko god vozi po kiši, mora paziti na kočnice i na mokru ulicu.

What does tko god mean here?

Tko god means whoever, anyone who, or no matter who.

It is built from:

• tko = who
• god = a particle that adds the sense of ever / no matter who

So Tko god vozi po kiši... means something like Whoever drives in the rain...

A useful point for learners: god here has nothing to do with the English word God.

Why is there a comma after kiši?

Because Tko god vozi po kiši is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

Structure:

• Tko god vozi po kiši = dependent clause
• mora paziti na kočnice i na mokru ulicu = main clause

In Croatian, when a subordinate clause comes first, it is normally separated from the main clause by a comma.

Why is it po kiši? What case is kiši?

Kiši is in the locative singular.

The preposition po often takes the locative in Croatian. In this sentence, po kiši means in the rain or when it is raining.

So:

• kiša = rain
• po kiši = in the rain

This use of po does not literally mean on here. English speakers often expect a more direct equivalent, but Croatian uses po + locative in several weather and movement-related expressions.

Why is the verb vozi in the present tense if the sentence is a general statement?

In Croatian, the present tense is often used for general truths, habits, and instructions of general validity, just as in English.

So vozi here does not mean only is driving right now. It can also mean:

• drives
• is driving
• drives in such conditions / whenever driving

In this sentence, it has a generic meaning: anyone who drives in rainy conditions.

Why is it vozi and not vozi se?

Both forms exist, but they are not identical.

• voziti can mean to drive or to operate a vehicle
• voziti se often means to ride / to be riding / to travel by vehicle

Here, vozi focuses on the person as the driver, not just as a passenger or traveler.

So:

• vozi po kiši = drives in the rain
• vozi se po kiši would sound more like is riding/traveling around in the rain

Is vozi missing an object? Shouldn’t it say what the person is driving?

No. In Croatian, as in English, drive can be used without stating the vehicle if it is obvious or not important.

So vozi can simply mean:

• drives
• is driving

The sentence is about the act of driving in rainy conditions, not about a specific car, bus, or other vehicle.

What does mora paziti mean grammatically?

This is a very common Croatian pattern:

• morati = must / have to
• paziti = infinitive, to pay attention / to watch out

So:

• mora paziti = must pay attention / has to watch out

The verb morati is followed by the infinitive of the main verb, just like English must or have to plus a verb.

Why is it paziti na? What does na do here?

The verb paziti often goes with the preposition na when it means:

• pay attention to
• watch out for
• be careful about

So:

• paziti na kočnice = pay attention to the brakes
• paziti na mokru ulicu = watch out for the wet street

This is something learners often need to memorize as a pattern: paziti na + accusative.

Why is na repeated: na kočnice i na mokru ulicu?

Croatian often repeats the preposition before each coordinated item for clarity and natural style.

So:

• na kočnice i na mokru ulicu

is very normal.

You may sometimes see the second preposition omitted in some contexts, but repeating it is clear and idiomatic, especially when the two noun phrases are a bit different in form.

Why is kočnice in that form? What case is it?

Here kočnice is in the accusative plural, because it follows na in the pattern paziti na + accusative.

The noun is:

• singular: kočnica = brake
• plural: kočnice = brakes

For this noun, the nominative plural and accusative plural look the same:

• kočnice = nominative plural
• kočnice = accusative plural

So the form does not visibly change, even though the case has changed.

Why is it mokru ulicu and not mokra ulica?

Because paziti na requires the accusative, and ulica is a feminine noun.

So:

• nominative: mokra ulica = wet street
• accusative: mokru ulicu = wet street, as the object after na

Both the adjective and the noun change to match:

• mokra → mokru
• ulica → ulicu

This is a very important Croatian pattern: adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Why is there no word for the in kočnice or mokru ulicu?

Croatian does not have articles like English a and the.

So Croatian simply says:

• kočnice
• mokra ulica / mokru ulicu

and the exact sense of a or the is understood from context.

That is why learners need to get used to Croatian expressing definiteness without articles.

Is tko the same as ko?

They are related, but tko is the standard Croatian form in careful and formal language.

So in standard Croatian:

• tko = who

You may hear ko in speech or in some regional varieties, but for learners, tko is the safer standard form to use.

Could mokra ulica also be translated as wet road? Why use ulica?

Yes, depending on context, ulica can sometimes be translated as street, and in some situations English might use road more naturally.

But literally:

• ulica = street
• cesta = road

So mokru ulicu specifically means the wet street or a wet street. If the idea were more generally the wet road, Croatian might also use mokru cestu depending on context.

Is this sentence talking about one specific person or people in general?

It is talking about people in general.

The combination tko god ... mora ... creates a generic rule:

• Whoever drives in the rain must...

So the sentence is not about one identified driver. It expresses a general warning or instruction that applies to anyone.