prethoditi

Prethoditi is a verb used in Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, and Montenegrin to denote that something comes before something else—in time or in sequence. It describes precedence, whether in a timeline, a list, or in order of importance, and is commonly used in formal, historical, and narrative contexts. The action is typically described as an event or element that precedes another.

Etymology: The word is built from the prefix pre- meaning before and hoditi, meaning to go or to walk. Thus the sense is literally “to go before.”

Usage and examples: Prethoditi is used to indicate that one event or item occurs earlier than another. For example: Događaj prethodi drugom događaju (The event precedes the other event). In historical or chronological descriptions, one might say: Ovi događaji prethodili su ratu (These events preceded the war). The verb can govern various sentence constructions and is versatile in both written and spoken language.

Conjugation and aspect: Prethoditi is imperfective and commonly conjugated as a standard -iti verb. Present tense forms include: ja prethodim, ti prethodiš, on/ona prethodi, mi prethodimo, vi prethodite, oni prethode. Past tense forms include: prethodio (masc), prethodila (fem), prethodilo (neut), with appropriate plural forms (prethodili, prethodile, prethodila). The future is typically expressed periphrastically, for example with the auxiliary will form plus infinitive (e.g., ću prethoditi).

See also: prethodnik (predecessor) as a closely related term referring to a person or thing that precedes another.