Breakdown of Kad dođu gosti, sklonit ćemo igračke iz hodnika.
Questions & Answers about Kad dođu gosti, sklonit ćemo igračke iz hodnika.
Why is kad used here? Is it different from kada?
Kad means when here. It is the shorter, very common form of kada. In most everyday contexts, kad and kada mean the same thing.
So both of these are fine:
- Kad dođu gosti...
- Kada dođu gosti...
Kad usually sounds a bit more natural and conversational.
Why is dođu in the present tense if the sentence is about the future?
This is a very common pattern in Croatian.
After time words like kad (when), Croatian often uses the present tense form even when the meaning is future. English actually does something similar:
- When the guests arrive, we'll...
- not usually When the guests will arrive...
So Kad dođu gosti literally uses a present form, but it means when the guests arrive in the future.
What exactly is dođu?
Dođu is the 3rd person plural present form of doći, which means to come or to arrive.
Here:
- doći = to come / to arrive
- dođu = they come / they arrive
Because the subject is gosti (guests), which is plural, the verb is also plural: dođu.
Why is it gosti?
Gosti is the nominative plural of gost (guest).
It is in the nominative because it is the subject of dođu:
- gost = guest
- gosti = guests
So dođu gosti = the guests arrive.
Where is the word the? Why doesn’t Croatian have something like the guests or the hallway?
Croatian does not use articles like the and a/an.
So:
- gosti can mean guests or the guests
- igračke can mean toys or the toys
- hodnik / hodnika can mean hallway or the hallway
Context tells you which meaning is intended.
If you want to be more specific, Croatian can use words like:
- ti gosti = those guests
- te igračke = those toys
But there is no regular article system like in English.
How is sklonit ćemo formed?
It is the future tense.
Croatian future tense is often made with:
- the infinitive
- plus a short form of htjeti (to want), which functions like an auxiliary
So:
- skloniti = to move away / remove / put aside
- ćemo = we will
Together:
- sklonit ćemo = we will remove / we will put away
Why is it sklonit ćemo and not skloniti ćemo?
When the infinitive comes before the future auxiliary, the final -i is normally dropped in writing:
- skloniti + ćemo → sklonit ćemo
This is standard.
You may also see the future expressed with the auxiliary before the infinitive in some contexts:
- Mi ćemo skloniti igračke.
But in your sentence, sklonit ćemo is the normal form.
What does skloniti mean here exactly?
Here skloniti means something like:
- move out of the way
- remove
- put away
- clear away
So sklonit ćemo igračke iz hodnika means that the toys will be moved out of the hallway so they are no longer there.
It does not necessarily mean permanently removing them; it often just means putting them somewhere more suitable.
What case is igračke, and why?
Igračke is in the accusative plural because it is the direct object of sklonit ćemo.
The thing being removed is the toys, so that noun takes the accusative.
From the singular/plural forms:
- igračka = toy
- igračke = toys
For many feminine nouns in -a, the nominative plural and accusative plural look the same, so here igračke could look identical in both cases.
Why is it iz hodnika? What case is hodnika?
Is the comma necessary?
Yes. The first part, Kad dođu gosti, is a subordinate time clause, and when it comes first, it is separated by a comma:
- Kad dođu gosti, sklonit ćemo igračke iz hodnika.
That comma is standard and expected.
Could I also say Kad gosti dođu instead of Kad dođu gosti?
Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and both are natural:
- Kad dođu gosti, sklonit ćemo igračke iz hodnika.
- Kad gosti dođu, sklonit ćemo igračke iz hodnika.
The meaning is the same: When the guests arrive, we'll remove the toys from the hallway.
The version with dođu gosti may sound a bit more flowing in this sentence, but both are correct.
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