The Best Detailed Introduction to Croatian Verbs
Croatian Language Series
Croatian Language Series
If you’re looking for a detailed introduction to Croatian verbs, you’ve come to the right place!
Croatian grammar is quite complex, but the good news is that you don’t need to know everything in order to reach a conversational level.
For this reason, my advice is to focus on the basics and ask your teacher to simplify the grammar for you. Leave the “heavy lifting” for later.
But, just so you’re familiar with some of the Croatian grammar, here is an explanation of how Croatian verbs are formed and when they are used:
In the Croatian language, verbs have five grammatical categories:
I will not cover all of the categories because they are similar to English. But, there are several tenses in Croatian that you need to be familiar with, and then we’ll look at the aspect of verbs.
There are seven tenses in the Croatian language:
The past – perfect tense, imperfect tense, pluperfect tense, and aorist tense
The present – present tense
The future – future I. tense, future II. tense
(Note: some verbs expressing past actions change according to genders!)
Before we start looking at different tenses, it is important to mention a couple of things that are important in forming verbs:
Let’s look at each one to see what their role is in forming tenses.
There are two auxiliary verbs in Croatian:
These are used to form past and future tenses, and are, therefore, an important part of Croatian grammar.
Auxiliary verb biti
Note: The shorter form of the verb is used most often.
Verb “biti” | Verb “to be” | Example sentence | Translation |
jesam (sam) | I am | Ja sam Ivan. | I am Ivan. |
jesi (si) | You are | Ti si pametan. | You are smart. |
jest (je) | He/she/it is | Ona je lijepa. | She is pretty. |
jesmo (smo) | We are | Mi smo brzi. | We are fast. |
jeste (ste) | You (pl.) are | Vi ste hrvati. | You (pl.) are Croats. |
jesu (su) | They are | Oni su mudri. | They are wise. |
Auxiliary verb htjeti
Note: The shorter form of the verb is used most often.
Verb “htjeti” | Verb “to will” | Example sentence | Translation |
hoću (ću) | I will | Ići ću u kino. | I will go to the cinema. |
hoćeš (ćeš) | You will | Tražit ćeš me. | You will search for me. |
hoće (će) | He/she/it will | Pjevat će. | He/she/it will sing. |
hoćemo (ćemo) | We will | Voljet ćemo. | We will love. |
hoćete (ćete) | You (pl.) will | Prodat ćete auto. | You (pl.) will sell the car. |
hoće (će) | They will | Igrat će rukomet. | They will play handball. |
Apart from auxiliary verbs, you will need to understand the infinitive and the present base form of the verb since both are also used in forming tenses.
In English, if you just want to name an action without expressing a time, duration or the person, you use the infinitive form of the verb – to run, to jump, to sing, etc.
These verbs in Croatian have two endings: -ti, -ći.
In order to form a verb tense in Croatian, you will usually need the infinitive base form. To get the infinitive base form of the verb, you simply take the ending of the infinitive verb off:
trčati ⟶ trča | -ti
[to run]
Jučer sam cijeli dan trčala.
[Yesterday] [I-am] [whole] [day] [I-ran feminine].
I ran the whole day yesterday.
moliti ⟶ moli | -ti
[to pray, ask politely]
Molio sam je za oprost.
[I-asked masc.] [I-am] [her] [for] [forgiveness].
I asked her for forgiveness.
tražiti ⟶ traži | -ti
[to search]
Tražili smo ga čitav dan.
[We-searched] [we-are] [him] [whole] [day].
We searched for him the whole day.
pjevati ⟶ pjeva | -ti
[to sing]
Pjevala je kao slavuj.
[She-sang] [she-is] [like] [nightingale].
She sang like a nightingale.
čitati ⟶ čita | -ti
[to read]
Jučer je čitao knjigu.
[Yesterday] [he-is] [he read] [book].
He was reading a book yesterday.
(Note: infinitive verbs ending in -ći follow a different rule.)
Another base you will need in order to form different verb tenses is the present base form.
You get the present base form if you take the infinitive verb and remove the endings:
–ati,
trčati ⟶ trč | -ati
[to run]
Trčim svaki dan.
[I-run] [each] [day].
I run every day.
pecati ⟶ pec | -ati
[to fish]
Pecamo ribu svaki vikend.
[We-fish] [fish] [each] [weekend].
We fish every weekend.
skijati ⟶ skij | -ati
[to ski]
On skija vrlo dobro.
[He] [he-skis] [very] [well].
He skis very well.
–iti,
moliti ⟶ mol | -iti
[to pray, to ask politely]
Molim te da šutiš.
[I-am-asking] [you] [to] [you-are-quiet].
Please, be quiet.
praviti ⟶ prav | -iti
[to make]
Mama i ja pravimo tortu.
[Mom] [and] [I] [we-are-making] [cake].
My mom and I are making a cake.
sjediti ⟶ sjed | -iti
[to sit]
Sjede zajedno svaki dan.
[They-sit] [together] [each] [day].
They sit together every day.
-jeti,
letjeti ⟶ let | -jeti
[to fly]
Letiš li često?
[You-fly] [interrogative particle] [often]?
Do you fly often?
šutjeti ⟶ šut | -jeti
[to be quiet]
Šutim kad sam tužan.
[I-am-quiet] [when] [am] [sad – masculine].
I am quiet when I’m sad.
trpjeti ⟶ trp | -jeti
[to suffer]
Trpimo nepravdu svaki dan.
[We-suffer] [injustice] [each] [day].
We suffer injustice every day.
–uti.
otrnuti ⟶ otrn | -uti
[to go numb]
Otrnem ako dugo sjedim.
[I-go-numb] [if] [long] [I-sit].
I go numb if I sit too long.
klonuti ⟶ klon | -uti
[to collapse]
Klonem ako ne spavam.
[I-collapse] [if] [no] [I-sleep].
I collapse if I don’t sleep.
prasnuti ⟶ prasn | -uti
[to burst, pop, break]
Prasnem u smijeh kad ga vidim.
[I-burst] [in] [laughter] [when] [him] [I-see].
I burst out laughing when I see him.
Now, let’s look at how these help us form verb tenses in Croatian:
Just as there are different tenses in the English language used to express an action in the past (such as Simple Past Tense, Past Continuous Tense, etc.), Croatian has several past tenses.
There are four tenses, to be exact, which express a past action, but they are not all used frequently.
Let’s look at each one:
The perfect tense is used for an action that happened and lasted at a specific time in the past. This tense is used the most in the Croatian language.
Kupio sam auto prije pet godina.
[I-bought am] [car] [before five years].
I bought a car five years ago.
Form a perfect tense in 3 easy steps:
Step 1
Take the infinitive base form of the verb:
kupiti → kupi | -ti = kupi
Step 2
Add the endings:
singular | plural | |
masculine | -o | -li |
feminine | -la | -le |
neuter | -lo | -la |
kupi + o = kupio
Step 3
Add the shorter form of the auxiliary verb “to be”:
kupio + sam = kupio sam (I bought – masc.)
Let’s look at more examples:
napraviti (to make) → napravi | -ti → napravi + -la → napravila + sam = napravila sam (I made, fem.)
Napravila sam tortu.
[I-made] [am] [cake].
I made a cake.
pričati (to talk, speak) → priča | -ti → priča + -li → pričali + smo = pričali smo (we talked – masc.)
Pričali smo s njim jučer.
[We-talked] [are] [with him] [yesterday].
We talked to him yesterday.
plakati (to cry) → plaka | -ti → plaka + -la → plakala + je = plakala je (she cried – fem.)
Plakala je cijelu noć.
[She-cried-is] [whole] [night].
She cried the whole night.
The perfect tense is the most used of all the past tenses in Croatian. You can get by with knowing just this form of the past tense. In everyday speech, the other past tenses are not used very frequently.
But, let’s look at the other past tenses, so you can get a good idea of what they are and how they are formed:
The imperfect tense is used to express an action that was repeated in the past or action that happened simultaneously with another action. This tense is hardly used in everyday speech.
Čekah ga godinama.
[I-used-to-wait] [him] [for years].
I used to wait for him for years.
How to form the imperfect tense in 2 easy steps:
Step 1
Take the present base form of the verb
čekati → ček | -ati = ček
Step 2
Add the ending for the imperfect tense:
Singular | Plural | |||||
1st person | -ah | -jah | -ijah | -asmo | -jasmo | -ijasmo |
2nd person | -aše | -jaše | -ijaše | -aste | -jaste | -ijaste |
3rd person | -aše | -jaše | -ijaše | -ahu | -jahu | -ijahu |
ček + ah = čekah (I-used-to-wait)
Let’s look at more examples:
pisati (to write) → pis | -ati → pis + -ah = pisah (I used to write)
Pisah joj pismo svakog dana.
[I-used-to-write] [to-her] [letter] [each] [day].
I used to write her a letter every day.
uzimati (to take) → uzim | -ati → uzim + -ahu = uzimahu (They used to take)
Uzimahu nam stvari.
[They-used-to-take] [to us] [things].
They used to take our things.
pjevati (to sing) → pjev | -ati → pjev + -asmo = pjevasmo (We used to sing)
Pjevasmo jako lijepo.
[We-used-to-sing] [very] [beautiful].
We used to sing very beautifully.
The imperfect tense is hardly ever used in everyday speech. Speakers use the perfect tense instead.
This tense is used when you want to express an action that happened before another action in the past.
Kad sam pošao kući, kiša je već bila počela.
[When] [am] [I-started-going] [to-home], [rain] [is] [already] [was started].
When I started going home, the rain had already started.
How to form the pluperfect tense in 3 steps:
Step 1
Take the perfect or imperfect form of the auxiliary verb “to be”:
-bila je (perfect form)
or
-bijaše (imperfect form).
The perfect form of the auxiliary verb “to be”:
feminine | masculine | neuter | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural | |
1st person (I/we) |
bila sam | bile smo | bio sam | bili smo | – | – |
2nd person (You/you-pl.) |
bila si | bile ste | bio si | bili ste | – | – |
3rd person (he, she, it/they) |
bila je | bile su | bio je | bili su | bilo je | bila su |
Imperfect form of the auxiliary verb “to be”:
singular | plural | |
1st person (I/we) |
bijah / bjeh | bijasmo / bjesmo |
2nd person (You/you-pl.) |
bijaše / bješe | bijaste / bjeste |
3rd person (he, she, it/they) |
bijaše / bješe | bijahu / bjehu |
Step 2
Take the infinitive base form of the verb:
početi → poče | -ti = poče
Step 3
Add the endings:
singular | plural | |
masculine | -o | -li |
feminine | -la | -le |
neuter | -lo | -la |
poče + la = počela
The end result:
bila je (perfect form) + početi + la = bila je počela (it had started)
or
bijaše (imperfect form) + početi + la = bijaše počela (it had started)
Here are some more examples:
pjevati (to sing) → bili smo + pjeva | -ti → bili smo pjeva + -li = bili smo pjevali (we were singing)
Bili smo pjevali kad ste nas prekinuli.
[We-were-are-sang] [when] [you-are-pl.] [us] [interrupted].
We were singing when you interrupted us.
tražiti (to search) → bijah + traži | -ti → bijah traži + -la = bijah tražila (I was searching)
Bijah ga tražila dok ga nisam pronašla.
[I-used-to-be] [him] [searched] [until] [him] [I’m-not] [found].
I was searching for him until I found him.
Again, pluperfect tense is seldom used in everyday speech and locals mostly use the perfect tense instead.
This tense is used when you want to express an action that happened recently, just after another action in the past or, in literature, when you want to express short and abrupt actions. This tense is also not used very often in everyday conversations. It is replaced by the perfect tense.
Upravo pročitah obavijest.
[Just] [I-have-read] [notice].
I have just read a notice.
How to form the aorist tense in 2 steps:
Step 1
Take the infinitive base form of the verb:
pročitati → pročita | -ti = pročita
Step 2
Add the ending for the aorist tense:
Singular | Plural | |
1st person (I/we) |
-h / -oh | -smo / -osmo |
2nd person (You/you-pl.) |
– / -e | -ste / -oste |
3rd person (he, she, it/they) |
– / -e | -še / -oše |
pročita + -h = pročitah (I have read)
Let’s look at more examples:
tražiti (to look for, search) → traži | -ti → traži + -ste = tražiste (you-pl. have searched)
Tražiste ga posvuda.
[You-have-searched] [him] [everywhere].
You have searched for him everywhere.
čekati (to wait) → čeka | -ti → čeka + -še = čekaše (they have waited)
Čekaše ga satima.
[They-have-waited] [him] [hours].
They have waited for him for hours.
Remember: In Croatian everyday language, imperfect, pluperfect and aorist tenses are hardly ever used. All you need to learn to reach a conversational level is the perfect tense.
Although you now might be feeling slightly overwhelmed, there is good news ahead!
Let’s look at the present tense together.
Unlike the past, there’s only one present tense in the Croatian language.
You use present tense when you want to express an action in the present or in the near future, a wish, a habit, a command or a repeated action.
Čitam knjigu.
[I’m-reading] [book].
I’m reading a book.
Uglavnom volim pjevati.
[Usually] [I-love] [to sing].
Usually I like to sing.
Sutra radim.
[Tomorrow] [I’m-working].
I’m working tomorrow.
How to form the present tense in 2 steps:
Step 1
Take the present base form of the verb:
(Remider: you get the present base form by taking the endings -uti / – jeti / -iti / -ati off the infinitive: ples-ati; šut-jeti; mol-iti; prevrn-uti).
(to read) čitati → čit | -ati = čit
(to ask nicely/pray) moliti → mol | -iti = mol
(to be quiet) šutjeti → šut | -jeti = šut
Step 2
Add the endings for the present:
Singular | Plural | |
1st person | -em / -jem / -am / -im | -emo / -jemo / -amo /-imo |
2nd person | -eš / -ješ / -aš / -iš | -ete / -jete / -ate / -ite |
3rd person | -e / -je / -a / -i | -u / -ju / -aju / -e |
čit + -am = čitam (I read)
mol + -im = molim (I ask/pray)
šut + -im = šutim (I am quiet)
Here are some more examples of the present tense:
praviti (to make) → prav | -iti → prav + -im = pravim (I am making)
Pravim juhu za ručak.
[I’m-making] [soup] [for] [lunch].
I’m making soup for lunch.
tražiti (to look for, search) → traž | -iti → traž + -im = tražim (I am looking for)
Tražim haljinu za vjenčanje.
[I’m-looking-for] [dress] [for] [wedding].
I’m looking for a dress for the wedding.
sanjati (to dream) → sanj | -ati → sanj + -am = sanjam (I am dreaming)
Sanjam da letim.
[I’m-dreaming] [to] [I’m-flying].
I’m dreaming that I’m flying.
plesati (to dance) → ples | -ati → ples + -jem (Note: s + j make š) = plešem (I am dancing)
Vrlo rado plešem.
[Very] [gladly] [I-dance].
I dance very gladly.
I need to mention, however, that the Croatian language has lots of exceptions to the rules and some of these are evident in the making of the present tense. For this reason it’s really important that you study Croatian with a teacher rather than on your own.
Now, let’s look at the future tenses.
There are two future tenses in the Croatian language:
You use future I. tense to express an action that will happen after the moment of speaking.
Večeras ću ići u kino.
[This evening] [I-will] [to-go] [in] [cinema].
I will go to the cinema tonight.
How to form the future I. tense in 2 steps:
Step 1
Take the Infinitive form of the verb:
ići
Step 2
Add the shorter present form of the auxiliary verb “to want/will”
ići + ću = ići ću (I will go)
Reminder: The shorter form of the auxiliary verb htjeti is:
Verb “htjeti” | Verb “to will” |
ću | I will |
ćeš | You will |
će | He/she/it will |
ćemo | We will |
ćete | You (pl.) will |
će | They will |
Here are more examples:
čitati (to read) → čitati + ću = čitat(i) ću (I will read) (Notice the disappearing “i”.)
Sutra ću čitati knjigu.
[Tomorrow] [I-will] [to-read] [book].
Tomorrow I will read a book.
Čitat ću dok ne zaspim. (The “i” disappears.)
[To-read] [I-will] [until] [not] [I-fall-asleep].
I will read until I fall asleep.
pjevati (to sing) → pjevati + ću = pjevat(i) ću
Uskoro ću pjevati na koncertu.
[Soon] [I-will] [to-sing] [on] [koncert].
Soon I will sing at a concert.
Pjevat ću koliko želim. (The “i” disappears.)
[To-sing] [I-will] [how much] [I-want].
I will sing as much as I want.
The letter “i” sometimes disappears in the future I. tense. This happens both in writing and in speech.
The rule is simple, though. If the infinitive comes first (čitat ću – I will read, tražit ću – I will search, voljet ću – I will love) then the infinitive loses the “i”. The verb is then pronounced without the “t” at the end – čita ću, traži ću, volje ću.
If the infinitive comes second (after the auxiliary verb) – ću čitati, ću tražiti, ću voljeti; then the infinitive doesn’t lose the “i”.
There is also a second future tense in Croatian:
You use future II. tense when you want to express an action that will happen before another action in the future, or at the same time as another action in the future. Future II. tense is always paired up with the future I. tense.
Ako budem tražio, naći ću.
[If] [I-am perfective] [I-have-searched masc.], [to find] [I-will].
If I search, I will find.
Kad budem pronašao posao, bit ću zadovoljan.
[When] [I-am perfective][I-found masc.] [job], [to be] [I-will][satisfied].
When I find a job, I will be satisfied.
How to form future II. tense in 3 steps:
Step 1
You need to use something called the perfective aspect form of the auxiliary verb “to be”
singular | plural | |
1st person (I/we) |
budem | budemo |
2nd person (You/you-pl.) |
budeš | budete |
3rd person (he, she, it/they) |
bude | budu |
budem
Step 2
Take the infinitive base form of the verb:
budem + tražiti (to search for) → traži | -ti = traži
Step 3
Add the endings:
singular | plural | |
masculine | -o | -li |
feminine | -la | -le |
neuter | -lo | -la |
budem + traži + -o = budem tražio
Here are some more examples:
Učiti (to learn) → budem + uči | -ti → budem uči + -o = budem učio (I will learn)
Ako budem učio, znat ću.
[If] [I-am perfective] [I-have-learned masc.], [to-know] [I-will].
If I will learn, I will know.
Pričati (to talk) → budem + priča | -ti → budem priča + -o = budem pričao (I will talk)
Ako budem pričao preglasno, upozori me.
[If] [I-am perfective] [I-have-talked masc.] [too-loud], [warn] [me].
If I talk too loudly, warn me.
Don’t let the tenses scare you away! You can reach a high level of speaking Croatian by knowing just the perfect tense, present tense and future I. tense. You can master the rest when you study more advanced aspects of the language.
Now, let’s look at something which usually causes headaches for English speakers trying to learn Slavic languages:
Verb aspect is something that might be the hardest part of grammar to learn. For some, this might be the most difficult part of the language to master.
Slavic languages have an “aspect distinction” when it comes to verbs. Aspect is the category of verbs, not a form or a tense of verbs.
There are two verb aspects:
Although their names are somewhat similar to the Croatian tenses, they have nothing to do with tenses, they are simply a property of verbs.
Every verb in Croatian has both aspects and, if we compare them to verbs in English, here is what they are:
Let’s look at some example sentences in English.
I was cooking lunch.
I had cooked lunch.
In the first sentence, you’re expressing an action that lasted for some time in the past, and you emphasize the duration of the action. – I was cooking lunch.
In the second sentence, you are simply stating the fact that you have cooked lunch, an action that is finished in the past, it expresses a result of an action. – I had cooked lunch.
If we were to translate these sentences into Croatian, we would use both aspects of the verb “to cook” – kuhati.
Kuhao sam ručak.→ imperfective
[I-was-cooking masc.] [am] [lunch].
I was cooking lunch.
Skuhao sam ručak.→ perfective
[I-had-cooked] [am] [lunch].
I had cooked lunch.
The downside is that there’s no specific rule on how to form the perfective verb.
In some cases, you simply add a prefix to the imperfective verb, but there are several prefixes to choose from and not all can be used in every verb. There are also irregular verbs that don’t follow this pattern.
Here are some examples:
Pisala sam pismo. – Napisala sam pismo.
I was writing a letter. – I had written a letter.
Trčao sam do cilja. – Dotrčao sam do cilja.
I was running to the finish line. – I had run to the finish line.
Gledao sam film. – Pogledao sam film.
I was watching a movie. – I had watched a movie.
Čitala je knjigu. – Pročitala je knjigu.
She was reading the book. – She has read the book.
Brojao je ovce. – Izbrojao je ovce.
He was counting the sheep. – He has counted the sheep.
Kuhao sam ručak. – Skuhao sam ručak.
I was cooking lunch. – I had cooked lunch.
Sušila je kosu. – Osušila je kosu.
She was drying her hair. – She has dried her hair.
There are verbs that not only add a prefix but also change some sounds. A general rule here is that the imperfective verbs are “a-verbs”, and perfective verbs are “i-verbs”:
snimati – snimiti (to film)
bacati – baciti (to throw)
pripremati – pripremiti (to prepare)
primati – primiti (to receive)
Again, besides the a/i distinction, some verbs change some sounds as well:
izmišljam – izmislim (to make up)
shvaćam – shvatim (to understand)
vraćam – vratim (to give back)
ponavljam – ponovim (to repeat)
Another important thing to mention is that in the present tense only the imperfective verbs are used. The only exception is if you want to specify an action that you do every day.
Svaki dan gledam seriju.
I watch a show every day – (you watch it, but maybe you don’t finish it.)
Svaki dan pogledam seriju.
I watch a show every day – (you watch a complete episode every day.)
As you can see, this is quite a difficult aspect of Croatian language to grasp. These are some general rules for making the perfective and imperfective verbs but, as you can see, the best way to learn these is simply by memorizing them.
I hope this extensive introduction has helped you get some clarity on Croatian verbs.
I have also put together a list of great resources to begin or continue your language learning journey.
Remember, even though Croatian may be complex, there are several benefits of learning this language. All you need is to find a strong motivation to keep you going when the going gets tough.
We are here to help you with your language learning journey. If you have any questions, contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
Feel free to share this article with a friend eager to learn Croatian.
Sretno! (Good luck!)
This article is a part of a set of articles called The Croatian Language Series. If you would like more information about different aspects of Croatian, please visit the related posts:
Jan van der Aa traveled to over 100 countries and learned 10 languages before he turned 30. On this website, he shares his language learning experience and helps people from all over the world to learn languages faster.
Languageboost OÜ
Narva mnt 5
Tallinn, Estonia
VAT: EE102137978
Registry code: 14563273
info[at]languageboost.biz