Policijska uprava će nastaviti obradu dok god zahtev važi.

Questions & Answers about Policijska uprava će nastaviti obradu dok god zahtev važi.

Why is it Policijska uprava and what exactly does that phrase mean?

Policijska uprava is a noun phrase meaning something like the police administration, police department, or police directorate, depending on context.

  • policijska = police, police-related
  • uprava = administration, directorate, management body

Grammatically:

  • uprava is a feminine singular noun
  • policijska is an adjective that agrees with it in gender, number, and case
  • here the whole phrase is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence

So Policijska uprava is the thing doing the action.

Why is the future written as će nastaviti instead of nastaviće?

Both are possible in Serbian.

This sentence uses the normal future I pattern:

  • će
    • infinitive
  • će nastaviti = will continue

You can also attach the future clitic to the verb:

  • nastaviće

So these are both possible:

  • Policijska uprava će nastaviti obradu...
  • Policijska uprava nastaviće obradu...

There is no major difference in meaning. The first version often sounds a bit more neutral and common in everyday prose.

A useful rule:

  • when će stands separately, you use the full infinitive: će nastaviti
  • when it attaches to the verb, the infinitive loses -ti: nastaviće
Why is it obradu and not obrada?

Because obradu is in the accusative singular.

The verb nastaviti means to continue, and here it takes a direct object:

  • continue what?
  • obradu = the processing / handling

The base form is:

  • obrada = nominative singular

But as a direct object, it becomes:

  • obradu = accusative singular

So:

  • nastaviti obradu = to continue the processing/handling
What does obrada mean here?

In this kind of administrative sentence, obrada usually means processing, handling, or review of an application, request, file, or case.

So nastaviti obradu is a very common bureaucratic phrase meaning:

  • continue processing
  • continue handling
  • continue the review/procedure

It sounds formal and administrative, not conversational.

What does dok god mean, and how is it different from just dok?

Dok god means as long as.

It expresses duration with a strong sense of for the whole time that something remains true.

So:

  • dok god zahtev važi = as long as the request is valid

Compared with dok alone:

  • dok can mean while or until, depending on context
  • dok god is more clearly as long as

In this sentence, dok god emphasizes that the processing will continue for the entire period in which the request remains valid.

Why is važi in the present tense if the whole sentence talks about the future?

This is very normal in Serbian.

After conjunctions like dok, kad, ako, čim, and similar words, Serbian often uses the present tense even when English would use a future idea.

So:

  • će nastaviti = future in the main clause
  • zahtev važi = present form in the subordinate clause, but its meaning can still refer to the future situation

Literally, it looks like:

  • The police administration will continue the processing while/as long as the request is valid

This is standard Serbian grammar, not a tense mistake.

What case is zahtev, and why is there no article like the request or a request?

Zahtev is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of važi.

  • zahtev = request, application
  • važi = is valid, remains in force

So:

  • zahtev važi = the request is valid

As for the article: Serbian has no articles like a or the. Whether it means a request or the request depends on context.

In an administrative sentence like this, English usually translates it as the request, because a specific request is normally understood.

What exactly does važi mean here?

Here važi means is valid, remains valid, or is in force.

The verb važiti has a few related meanings, such as:

  • to be valid
  • to apply
  • to count / be accepted

In this sentence, the meaning is clearly about validity:

  • zahtev važi = the request is valid

So the idea is that processing continues only while the request still has legal/administrative validity.

Could the word order be changed?

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

For example, this is also possible:

  • Dok god zahtev važi, Policijska uprava će nastaviti obradu.

That version puts the as long as clause first and may sound slightly more natural in some contexts.

The original order is also perfectly correct:

  • Policijska uprava će nastaviti obradu dok god zahtev važi.

The meaning stays the same.

Why is će placed after Policijska uprava?

Because će is a clitic, and Serbian clitics usually appear in the second position of the clause.

In this sentence, the first unit is the whole noun phrase:

  • Policijska uprava

Then the clitic comes:

  • će

So:

  • Policijska uprava će nastaviti...

This is normal Serbian clitic placement.

Is zahtev the only correct spelling, or can it also be zahtjev?

Both exist, depending on the standard variety.

  • zahtev = common in Serbian Ekavian
  • zahtjev = used in Ijekavian varieties

So if you are learning standard Serbian as used in much of Serbia, zahtev is completely normal.

The sentence you were given is in an Ekavian form overall.

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