Kad dođu gosti, poslužit ćemo im palačinke s borovnicama.

In Croatian, after time words like kad (when), a future event is often expressed with the present tense of a perfective verb.

So kad dođu gosti literally looks like when the guests come, but it naturally means when the guests arrive in the future.

This is very normal in Croatian:

• Kad dođe, javit ću ti. = When he comes, I’ll let you know.
• Kad završimo, idemo kući. = When we finish, we’re going home.

So the future meaning comes from:

• kad = a future time point
• dođu = perfective present, often used for a completed future action in subordinate clauses

Dođu is the 3rd person plural present form of the verb doći (to come, to arrive).

Here it agrees with gosti (guests), which is plural.

A few forms of doći:

• dođem = I come / I arrive
• dođeš = you come
• dođe = he/she comes
• dođemo = we come
• dođete = you plural come
• dođu = they come

Because doći is a perfective verb, these present-tense forms often refer to a future completed event, especially after kad.

Because gosti is the subject of the verb dođu, so it must be in the nominative plural.

• gosti = nominative plural = guests
• goste = accusative plural = guests as a direct object

Here, the guests are the ones doing the arriving, so nominative is needed:

• Kad dođu gosti... = When the guests arrive...

If they were the object, you could get goste, for example:

• Vidim goste. = I see the guests.

Both are possible, but they are structured a little differently.

Croatian future tense can be formed with:

• the infinitive + the clitic form of htjeti
• or the clitic first, then the full infinitive

With poslužiti, you get:

• poslužit ćemo
• ćemo poslužiti

Both mean we will serve.

When the clitic comes after the infinitive, the infinitive usually drops its final -i in writing:

• poslužiti
  • ćemo → poslužit ćemo

This is standard Croatian spelling.

It is the future tense (futur I).

It is made from:

• the infinitive of the main verb: poslužiti
• the auxiliary htjeti in its clitic form: ćemo = we will

So:

• poslužit ćemo = we will serve

This is the main action of the sentence, and it happens after the guests arrive.

Im means to them and is the dative plural form of the personal pronoun.

It refers back to gosti (the guests).

The verb poslužiti often works like this:

• poslužiti nekome nešto = to serve someone something

So in this sentence:

• im = to them
• palačinke = what is being served

Structure:

• poslužit ćemo im palačinke = we will serve them pancakes

Palačinke is the direct object, so it is in the accusative plural.

The singular is:

• palačinka = pancake / crêpe

Plural:

• palačinke = pancakes

In this case, the accusative plural has the same form as the nominative plural for this noun, so palačinke can mean either:

• pancakes as a subject
• pancakes as an object

Here it is the object:

• We will serve what? → palačinke

Because the preposition s(a) meaning with requires the instrumental case.

So:

• borovnice = blueberries (basic dictionary form: nominative plural)
• borovnicama = with blueberries (instrumental plural)

That is why you get:

• s borovnicama = with blueberries

This is a very common pattern in Croatian:

• s prijateljem = with a friend
• s mlijekom = with milk
• s jabukama = with apples

Both mean when.

• kad is shorter and very common in everyday language
• kada is a bit fuller and can sound slightly more formal, careful, or emphatic depending on context

In this sentence, both would work:

• Kad dođu gosti...
• Kada dođu gosti...

There is no big meaning difference here.

Because poslužiti is perfective, and it fits a single completed action in the future: serving the guests once, at that occasion.

• služiti = imperfective, more ongoing, repeated, or general
• poslužiti = perfective, one completed act of serving

So:

• Poslužit ćemo im palačinke = We’ll serve them pancakes as one complete action

If you used služiti, it would sound less natural here unless you meant something habitual or ongoing.

Yes. That is also correct and natural.

Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order. Both of these are fine:

• Kad dođu gosti, poslužit ćemo im palačinke s borovnicama.
• Kad gosti dođu, poslužit ćemo im palačinke s borovnicama.

The difference is mostly about rhythm or emphasis, not basic meaning.

• Kad dođu gosti... can put a little more focus on the arrival itself
• Kad gosti dođu... may feel slightly more neutral to some learners

It can suggest either, depending on context.

Literally, palačinke s borovnicama means pancakes with blueberries. In real use, that could mean:

• pancakes topped with blueberries
• pancakes filled with blueberries
• pancakes served together with blueberries
• blueberry pancakes in a general sense

Croatian often leaves that level of detail to context unless the speaker wants to be more specific.