Prije nego što dođu gosti, složi čiste tanjure na stol.

It introduces a time clause meaning before.

So the structure is:

prije nego što + verb clause

Here, the verb clause is dođu gosti.

Croatian often uses this full expression when before is followed by a whole clause, not just a noun. Compare:

• Prije nego što dođu gosti... = before the guests arrive...
• Prije dolaska gostiju... = before the guests’ arrival...

Both are correct, but the first one is more clause-based and conversational.

You may hear that in speech, but for a learner, prije nego što is the safest and most standard full form.

So:

• prije nego što dođu gosti — standard and very natural
• prije nego dođu gosti — also heard, especially in less formal usage

If you want to sound correct and avoid doubt, use the full version with što.

After time expressions like prije nego što, Croatian very often uses the present form of a perfective verb to talk about a future event.

So although dođu looks like a present-tense form, here it refers to something that will happen later: the guests’ arrival.

That is very normal in Croatian.

So:

• prije nego što dođu gosti = before the guests arrive

Using će doći here is much less natural in standard Croatian.

Because doći is perfective, and here the sentence refers to a single completed arrival.

• dođu = they arrive / once they have arrived
• dolaze = they are coming / they come regularly / the process is ongoing

With before, Croatian usually prefers the perfective form when talking about a one-time future event. The point is the moment when the guests actually arrive, not the ongoing process of coming.

Dođu is the 3rd person plural present form of the verb doći.

Breakdown:

• infinitive: doći = to come / to arrive
• dođu = they arrive

Even though it is formally a present-tense form, with prije nego što it refers to a future event.

Yes, gosti dođu is also possible.

Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order. In subordinate clauses like this, both of these are natural:

• prije nego što dođu gosti
• prije nego što gosti dođu

The version in your sentence sounds very natural and fluid. Putting gosti after the verb is common and does not change the core meaning.

Složi is the 2nd person singular imperative of složiti.

So it is a command to one person:

• složi = arrange / set out / put in order

In this sentence, it does not just mean put in a neutral sense. It suggests arranging the plates neatly on the table.

It is also perfective, which fits a one-time completed task: do this once, and finish it.

If you were speaking to more than one person, or using the polite form, you would say:

• složite

Because tanjure is the accusative plural form, and this noun is the direct object of složi.

You are arranging what?
čiste tanjure

For tanjur, the relevant forms are:

• nominative plural: tanjuri
• accusative plural: tanjure

So after the verb, you need tanjure, not tanjuri.

Because adjectives in Croatian must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Here, čiste goes with tanjure, so it must match that form.

Since tanjure is plural and in the accusative here, the adjective also appears in its matching form:

• čiste tanjure

So the adjective is not chosen independently; it changes to fit the noun.

Because Croatian makes an important distinction between:

• motion toward a place → na + accusative
• location at a place → na + locative

Here, the idea is put the plates onto the table, so there is movement toward the table:

• na stol

If you were describing where something already is, you would use:

• na stolu = on the table

So:

• Složi tanjure na stol. = Put/arrange the plates onto the table.
• Tanjuri su na stolu. = The plates are on the table.

Yes. That is a very good alternative.

It replaces the full clause prije nego što dođu gosti with a noun phrase:

• prije dolaska gostiju = before the arrival of the guests

This version is a bit more compact and can sound slightly more formal or written. The original sentence with prije nego što dođu gosti sounds more like everyday speech.

Both are correct.

Yes, in standard writing it should be there.

The clause Prije nego što dođu gosti is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause, so Croatian normally separates it with a comma:

• Prije nego što dođu gosti, složi čiste tanjure na stol.

That comma is the standard punctuation choice.