Dok traje obnova, ovaj smještaj je samo privremen.

Here dok means while or as long as.

So Dok traje obnova means something like:

• While the renovation is going on
• As long as the renovation lasts

In Croatian, dok often introduces a time clause.

Both are possible.

• Dok traje obnova
• Dok obnova traje

Croatian word order is fairly flexible. In this sentence, traje obnova sounds natural and slightly more flowing after dok. The meaning does not change.

The basic idea is:

• obnova = the renovation
• traje = lasts / is ongoing

So literally: While lasts the renovation = While the renovation is ongoing

Obnova is in the nominative singular.

It is the subject of the verb traje.

• obnova = renovation
• traje = lasts / continues

So the structure is:

• obnova traje = the renovation lasts / is ongoing

Because Croatian uses the present tense here for an action/state happening at the same time as the main clause.

• Dok traje obnova... = While the renovation is going on...

This is very normal after dok when talking about something currently in progress.

English may translate it with:

• while the renovation lasts
• while the renovation is ongoing
• during the renovation

Croatian does not need a separate progressive form like English is lasting / is going on.

Because smještaj is a masculine singular noun.

So the demonstrative must agree with it:

• masculine singular: ovaj
• feminine singular: ova
• neuter singular: ovo

Examples:

• ovaj smještaj = this accommodation
• ova soba = this room
• ovo mjesto = this place

Even though English learners may expect something like this to stay the same, Croatian demonstratives change according to gender, number, and case.

Smještaj means accommodation, lodging, or housing arrangement, depending on context.

In this sentence, it refers to the place someone is staying in or being housed in.

A few useful comparisons:

• smještaj = accommodation/lodging
• stan = apartment/flat
• kuća = house
• soba = room

So ovaj smještaj is not necessarily one specific room; it can mean the accommodation arrangement as a whole.

This is a very common question.

In ovaj smještaj je samo privremen, privremen is a predicate adjective after je.

Croatian usually uses the short form of many adjectives in this position:

• Smještaj je privremen. = The accommodation is temporary.

But when the adjective comes directly before a noun, you usually use the long form:

• privremeni smještaj = temporary accommodation

So:

• ovaj smještaj je privremen = correct
• privremeni smještaj = correct

This is one of the important differences between adjective use before a noun and after to be.

Yes.

Smještaj is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the predicate adjective also matches that:

• privremen

If the noun changed, the adjective would change too:

• Ova soba je privremena. = This room is temporary.
• Ovo rješenje je privremeno. = This solution is temporary.
• Ovi uvjeti su privremeni. = These conditions are temporary.

Samo means only or just.

So:

• je samo privremen = is only temporary / is just temporary

It limits the statement and emphasizes that the accommodation is not permanent.

Compare:

• Ovaj smještaj je privremen. = This accommodation is temporary.
• Ovaj smještaj je samo privremen. = This accommodation is only temporary.

The second one puts more stress on the idea that this is a temporary arrangement.

Because it modifies the adjective privremen.

• samo privremen = only temporary

That placement is very natural in Croatian. It works much like English only temporary.

You could think of the sentence structure as:

• ovaj smještaj = subject
• je = is
• samo privremen = only temporary

Because Dok traje obnova is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

So Croatian normally writes:

• Dok traje obnova, ovaj smještaj je samo privremen.

This is similar to English:

• While the renovation is ongoing, this accommodation is only temporary.

If the main clause came first, punctuation might look different depending on style, but with the subordinate clause first, the comma is standard.

Yes, in a normal neutral sentence it is.

• ovaj smještaj je privremen = this accommodation is temporary

Croatian often omits pronouns, but not the main verb like je in this kind of statement.

Without je, the sentence would sound incomplete.

In standard Croatian, that is not the normal form here.

After je, you want the predicate adjective:

• Ovaj smještaj je samo privremen.

If the adjective directly describes the noun before it, then you use:

• Ovaj smještaj je samo privremeni smještaj is possible only if you are explicitly saying This accommodation is only temporary accommodation, which is repetitive and not the same structure.

So for the original sentence, privremen is the correct choice.

Not in this sentence.

Dok can sometimes overlap with meanings that English learners find tricky, but here the meaning is clearly while/as long as because it describes a situation happening during the renovation.

• Dok traje obnova... = While the renovation lasts...

If the intended meaning were until, Croatian would usually express that differently depending on context.

So in this sentence, read dok as a time word meaning while.

It is very natural and neutral. It works well in:

• notices
• rental or hotel information
• housing communication
• official messages
• everyday speech

It sounds slightly polished because of words like smještaj and obnova, but it is not overly formal.