Language/Croatian/Grammar/Advanced-Verb-Tenses

Croatian Grammar → Intermediate Croatian Grammar → Advanced Verb Tenses

As a Croatian language teacher with 20 years of experience, I've found that verb tenses are one of the most challenging aspects of the Croatian language for intermediate and advanced learners. In this lesson, we will dive into complex verb tenses, including compound past, future perfect, and conditional mood.

Compound Past

The compound past tense in Croatian is formed by using the auxiliary verb "biti" in the present tense followed by the past participle of the main verb. The past participle is formed by adding the suffix "-o" to the stem of the infinitive verb.

Let's take the verb "raditi" (to work) as an example:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
radio/la/lo sam	['radiɔ/la/lɔ sam]	I have worked

Notice that the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject of the verb, just like with adjectives.

Here are some other verbs conjugated in the compound past tense:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
plesao/la/lo sam	['plɛsaɔ/la/lɔ sam]	I have danced
jeo/la/lo sam	['jɛɔ/la/lɔ sam]	I have eaten
spavao/la/lo sam	['spavaɔ/la/lɔ sam]	I have slept

Future Perfect

The future perfect tense in Croatian is formed by using the auxiliary verb "biti" in the future tense followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Let's take the verb "pisati" (to write) as an example:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
bit ću napisao/la/lo	['bit tɕu 'napisao/la/lɔ]	I will have written

Here are some other verbs conjugated in the future perfect tense:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
bit ću dobio/la/lo	['bit tɕu 'dɔbijɔ/la/lɔ]	I will have received
bit ću naučio/la/lo	['bit tɕu 'naʊtʃiɔ/la/lɔ]	I will have learned
bit ću putovao/la/lo	['bit tɕu 'putɔvaɔ/la/lɔ]	I will have traveled

Conditional Mood

The conditional mood in Croatian indicates a hypothetical action or event that is dependent on certain conditions or circumstances. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb "bi" followed by the present tense of the main verb.

Let's take the verb "raditi" (to work) as an example:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
radio/la/lo bih	['radiɔ/la/lɔ bih]	I would work

Here are some other verbs conjugated in the conditional mood:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
jeo/la/lo bih	['jɛɔ/la/lɔ bih]	I would eat
spavao/la/lo bih	['spavaɔ/la/lɔ bih]	I would sleep
bio/la/lo bih	['biɔ/la/lɔ bih]	I would be

It's important to note that the conditional mood also has a past tense, which is formed by using the auxiliary verb "bi" in the past tense followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Conclusion

Congratulations on mastering more complex verb tenses in Croatian! With practice and exposure to the language, these verb tenses will become more intuitive and natural to use. Keep up the good work!

Sources

• Croatian Grammar
• Croatian Verbs

Table of Contents - Croatian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

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Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

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Nouns and Pronouns

• Nouns: Gender and Number
• Personal Pronouns

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Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Telling Time

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Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense of Regular Verbs
• Present Tense of Irregular Verbs

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Daily Activities

• Common Activities
• Hobbies and Interests

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Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives: Gender and Number
• Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

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Food and Drink

• Common Foods
• Eating Out

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Croatian Culture and Traditions

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Traditional Music and Dance

Related Lessons

• 0 to A1 Course
• Verbs and Tenses
• Prepositions and Pronouns
• How to Use Be
• Nouns
• Croatian Idiomatic Expressions
• Advanced Noun and Adjective Declension
• Croatian Language Varieties
• Conditional Mood
• Word Order and Sentence Structure