tokom, za vrijeme

During

Level 4

During + genitive.

How It Works

Bosnian has a few ways to use "during". The two most useful take the genitive.

  • tokom + genitive: tokom ljeta, tokom sedmice, tokom puta
  • za vrijeme + genitive: za vrijeme odmora, za vrijeme ručka

They are interchangeable in most sentences. Tokom is short and common in news and in careful writing. Za vrijeme is a little more spoken-sounding. You may also see u toku with the genitive, with the same meaning.

Remember that the noun after za vrijeme is in the genitive, not the nominative: za vrijeme odmora, not za vrijeme odmor.

Both can also go with an event: tokom utakmice (during the match). If you want to use "while" with a full clause, use dok instead: Dok ručamo, pričamo. That is a separate entry at this level.

Examples (5)

  1. Tokom ljeta idemo u Neum.

    During the summer we go to Neum.

    Ljeta is the genitive of ljeto.

  2. Za vrijeme odmora čitam knjige.

    During the break I read books.

    Odmora is the genitive of odmor.

  3. Tokom sedmice radim u Sarajevu.

    During the week I work in Sarajevo.

    Sedmice is the genitive of sedmica.

  4. Za vrijeme ručka ne gledamo telefon.

    We do not look at the phone during lunch.

    Ručka is the genitive of ručak.

  5. Tokom puta slušamo muziku.

    During the trip we listen to music.

    Puta is the genitive of put.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative after tokom.

    Tokom ljeto idemo na more.
    Tokom ljeta idemo na more.

    Tokom is followed by the genitive.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

tokom, za vrijemeLevel 4During

Learn This First

Time-span prepositions.

Words in This Pattern

tokomvrijeme