Kad dođe majstor, složit ćemo novi ormar u sobi.

When the repairman comes, we will assemble the new wardrobe in the room.

Breakdown of Kad dođe majstor, složit ćemo novi ormar u sobi.

• u: in
• nov: new
• kad: when
• htjeti: will

Questions & Answers about Kad dođe majstor, složit ćemo novi ormar u sobi.

Why is dođe used here? Is it present tense or past tense?

Dođe is present tense, 3rd person singular, from the verb doći (to come / to arrive).

What can confuse English speakers is that Croatian often uses the present tense of a perfective verb to talk about a future event, especially after words like kad (when).

So in:

Kad dođe majstor...

the meaning is:

When the repairman/worker arrives...

not when he came.

A useful idea is:

• doći = perfective, one completed arrival
• dolaziti = imperfective, ongoing/repeated coming

Here, the sentence is about a single future arrival, so dođe is the natural choice.

Why is it kad dođe, not kad dolazi?