03.01.2020 Views

EasyCroatian_r47.an

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 54 When, While, Unl, Before, Aer 313 / 600

54 When, While, Until, Before, After

How to say we’ll go to the beach when the rain stops? Like this:

Otići ćemo na plažu A kad kiša N prestane.

prestati

This sentence is very similar to the English sentence. We have two parts, linked with

the adverb-used-as-conjunction kad(a) when. As in English, it’s the same word that’s

used to create questions (when...?).

We can use the verb prestati (prestane) perf. stop, cease (introduced in 52 Stand,

Become, Exist, Cease), because we refer to an ‘accomplished change’ (and not to

some process) at an unknown point in time, in the future: it’s definitely not now,

since it’s obviously raining now! It’s the same trick as in English, we use the present

tense but it’s really about some future event. The verb otići (...) perf. go, leave is

also used since we are going to accomplish that, not just start an activity and who

knows if we make the beach...

The word kad(a) starts a time clause. The word order is the same as in other kinds of

clauses: check the previous sentence in the past tense (word positions in

superscripts):

Otišli¹ smo² na plažu A [kad¹ je² kiša N prestala]. We went to the beach otići past-mpl

[when the rain stopped].

Such use of the present tense of perfective verbs in clauses to express future events

is widespread in Croatian.

We can use impf. verbs in time clauses too:

Idem tramvajem I kad pada kiša N . I go by tram when it’s raining.

ići

The sentence above has both verbs in the present tense, meaning it’s universal, it

happened and it will happen again. There are no very strict rules how to use tenses

in time clauses, but the main uses are summarized in the following table. It also

indicates that in some cases we can use only one type of verbs (impf. or perf.). We

have to use perf. verbs if we are just waiting for a defined point in time:

past

pres.

pres.

kad past

kad pres.

kad

future kad

pres. (perf.)

biti (je² +) → (bude)

pres. (perf.)

(pot.) future (impf.)

biti (je² +) → (bude)

happened in

the past

happened and

will happen

immediate

future

plans for

the future

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!