Kad dođeš, pozdravit ćemo goste na vratima.

Dođeš is 2nd person singular, so it means you when speaking to one person informally.

• Kad dođeš = when you arrive / when you come to one person informally
• If you were speaking formally to one person, or to more than one person, you would say Kad dođete.

So this sentence is addressing one person in an informal way.

In Croatian, after time words like kad meaning when, a future event is often expressed with the present tense, not the future.

So:

• Kad dođeš literally uses a present form
• but it means when you arrive in the future

This is actually similar to English. Compare:

• When you arrive, we’ll greet the guests
• not When you will arrive, we’ll greet the guests

So Kad dođeš is perfectly normal Croatian for a future time clause.

This is a matter of aspect.

• doći is perfective: it focuses on arriving as a completed event
• dolaziti is imperfective: it suggests repeated, ongoing, or habitual coming

Here the sentence refers to one completed future arrival, so dođeš is the natural choice.

• Kad dođeš = when you arrive / once you get here
• Kad dolaziš would usually sound more like when are you coming or could suggest an ongoing/habitual sense depending on context

So dođeš fits the idea of a single arrival much better.

Croatian usually does not need subject pronouns, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Here:

• dođeš tells us the subject is you singular
• ćemo tells us the subject is we

So ti and mi are unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Kad dođeš, pozdravit ćemo goste... = neutral
• Kad ti dođeš, mi ćemo pozdraviti goste... = more emphatic or contrastive

This is the standard Croatian way of writing the future in this position.

The future is formed from:

• the infinitive pozdraviti
• plus the auxiliary ćemo = we will

When the auxiliary comes after the infinitive, standard Croatian drops the final -i of the infinitive in writing:

• pozdraviti + ćemo → pozdravit ćemo

So:

• pozdravit ćemo = we will greet

You may also see the other order:

• ćemo pozdraviti

Both mean the same thing, but pozdraviti ćemo is not the standard Croatian spelling.

Because goste is the accusative plural form, and the word is the direct object of pozdravit ćemo.

• gosti = nominative plural = guests as the subject
• goste = accusative plural = guests as the object

In this sentence, we are doing the action, and the guests receive the action, so Croatian uses the object form:

• pozdravit ćemo goste = we will greet the guests

Here na vratima means at the door or in the doorway.

The noun vrata is one of those Croatian nouns that is grammatically plural in form even when it refers to a single door. So:

• vrata = door
• vratima = a plural case form of that noun

After na meaning location, Croatian uses the locative, so:

• na vratima = at the door / on the door, depending on context

In this sentence, because it is about greeting people as they arrive, the natural meaning is at the door.

Because Croatian uses different cases after na depending on the meaning:

• na + accusative usually shows movement toward a place
• na + locative usually shows location at a place

Here the sentence describes where the greeting will happen, not motion toward the door. So Croatian uses the locative:

• na vratima = at the door

So the focus is on the greeting taking place there.

Because Kad dođeš is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

Croatian normally separates that kind of introductory time clause with a comma:

• Kad dođeš, pozdravit ćemo goste na vratima.

This is standard punctuation, just like in English:

• When you arrive, we’ll greet the guests at the door.

Both are possible translations, but when you arrive is more precise.

That is because the verb doći focuses on reaching the destination, not just the general idea of coming.

So:

• Kad dođeš = when you arrive
• also acceptable in many contexts: when you come

If you want to feel the nuance, think of doći as highlighting the moment of arrival.

Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and different orders can shift the emphasis.

The given sentence is a very natural neutral version:

• Kad dođeš, pozdravit ćemo goste na vratima.

Other versions are possible, for example:

• Kad dođeš, goste ćemo pozdraviti na vratima.
• Kad dođeš, na vratima ćemo pozdraviti goste.

These still mean roughly the same thing, but the focus changes slightly. The original sentence is a good standard choice for everyday use.