Breakdown of Ravnateljica kaže da će se u zbornici razgovarati o raspustu, a u kabinetu o svjedodžbi.
Questions & Answers about Ravnateljica kaže da će se u zbornici razgovarati o raspustu, a u kabinetu o svjedodžbi.
Why is it ravnateljica and not ravnatelj?
Ravnateljica is the feminine form of ravnatelj and means female principal / headmistress / director, depending on context.
In this sentence, it tells you that the person speaking is a woman. It is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of kaže.
- ravnatelj = a male principal/director
- ravnateljica = a female principal/director
How does kaže da će... work?
This is a very common Croatian structure.
- kaže = says
- da = that
- će = future auxiliary, roughly will
So kaže da će... means says that ... will ...
The clause after da is a subordinate clause:
- Ravnateljica kaže = The principal says
- da će se razgovarati... = that there will be discussion / that people will talk...
English sometimes leaves out that, but Croatian normally uses da here.
Why is it će se razgovarati? What does se mean here?
Here se makes the sentence impersonal.
Razgovarati normally means to talk / to have a conversation. In this sentence, Croatian does not name who will be doing the talking. Instead, it uses an impersonal construction:
- razgovarat će se
- će se razgovarati
Both mean something like:
- people will talk
- there will be discussion
- it will be discussed
So se here does not mean oneself. It helps create an impersonal meaning, similar to English people will... or a passive-like expression.
Why doesn’t the sentence say who will do the talking?
Because Croatian very often prefers an impersonal construction when the doer is unimportant, obvious, or deliberately left unstated.
So instead of saying:
- Teachers will discuss...
- The staff will talk about...
Croatian can simply say:
- razgovarat će se o... = there will be discussion about...
This is very natural and common in formal or institutional language.
Why are the forms u zbornici and u kabinetu used?
Because u means in here, showing location, and after u in the meaning in/at a place, Croatian uses the locative case.
So:
- zbornica → u zbornici
- kabinet → u kabinetu
Compare:
- u zbornici = in the staff room
- u kabinetu = in the office / classroom / кабинет-type room
Important contrast:
- u zbornici = in the staff room (location, locative)
- u zbornicu = into the staff room (movement, accusative)
Why are the forms o raspustu and o svjedodžbi used?
Because the preposition o meaning about takes the locative case.
So the base forms change like this:
- raspust → o raspustu
- svjedodžba → o svjedodžbi
This is a very useful rule:
- o + locative = about
Examples:
- o školi = about school
- o profesoru = about the teacher/professor
- o raspustu = about the school break/holiday
Why is the second razgovarati missing after a?
Because Croatian often leaves out repeated words when they are easy to understand from context.
The full version would be:
- Ravnateljica kaže da će se u zbornici razgovarati o raspustu, a u kabinetu će se razgovarati o svjedodžbi.
But that sounds repetitive, so Croatian shortens it to:
- ...a u kabinetu o svjedodžbi.
English does this too:
- They will talk about the holiday in the staff room, and in the office about the report card.
The missing part is understood from the first clause.
What does a mean here? Is it and or but?
Here a is best understood as and, but with a slight sense of contrast or switching to another setting/topic.
It often connects two parallel pieces of information:
- u zbornici o raspustu
- a u kabinetu o svjedodžbi
So it is not a strong but, but it is not exactly the plain additive i either. It is more like:
- and meanwhile
- and in the other place
- whereas in the office...
Croatian a often links two related but contrasting parts.
Why is the word order like this?
Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.
This sentence puts the place phrases early:
- u zbornici
- u kabinetu
That helps highlight where each discussion will happen.
A more expanded version could be:
That is possible, but the original version sounds neat and well balanced. Croatian often arranges information for emphasis and rhythm, not only according to fixed word order rules.
What exactly do zbornica, kabinet, raspust, and svjedodžba mean in school context?
These words can be slightly context-dependent:
- zbornica = staff room / teachers’ room
- kabinet = often office, but in schools it can also mean a subject classroom, study, or a specialized room
- raspust = school break / holiday / vacation
- svjedodžba = usually school report card or certificate
So the sentence sounds very school-related and fairly formal.
Could će se razgovarati also be written as razgovarat će se?
Yes. Both are correct future forms.
You may see:
- će se razgovarati
- razgovarat će se
In this sentence, da će se razgovarati is especially natural after da.
So:
- Ravnateljica kaže da će se razgovarati... = correct
- Ravnateljica kaže da razgovarat će se... = not natural/standard in this structure
After da, the version with će before the infinitive is the normal one.
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