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Croatian Grammar → Introduction to Croatian Grammar → Verbs and Tenses

Verbs and Tenses in Croatian Grammar

As a language teacher with over 20 years of experience teaching Croatian to foreigners, I understand that verbs and tenses could be the most difficult aspect of learning Croatian for beginners. But you don't have to worry, as we will go through this step-by-step and help you build a strong foundation in Croatian verb conjugation.

Croatian verbs change depending on the person, number, tense, mood and, sometimes, the gender of the subject. Croatian also has a rich system of aspect, which is an important grammatical category that distinguishes between the completion or duration of an action.

Before we dive into Croatian verb tenses, we need to cover two essential elements of Croatian verbs: the present tense and infinitives.

The Present Tense

In Croatian, the present tense is used for current actions or states in the present, general statements that are always true, and future events that are planned or scheduled.

To form the present tense in Croatian, we basically remove the infinitive ending -ti and add subject endings. There are two groups of verbs depending on the ending, either -iti or -ati. The table below shows the conjugation of two verbs, raditi (to work) and kupovati (to buy) in the present tense:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
Radim	Radim	I work
Radiš	Radiʃ	You work (singular)
Radi	Radi	He/she/it works
Radimo	Radimo	We work
Radite	Radite	You work (plural)
Rade	Rade	They work

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
Kupujem	Kupuʝem	I buy
Kupuješ	Kupuʝeʃ	You buy (singular)
Kupuje	Kupuʝe	He/she/it buys
Kupujemo	Kupuʝemo	We buy
Kupujete	Kupuʝete	You buy (plural)
Kupuju	Kupuʝu	They buy

Infinitives

The infinitive in Croatian is used to express an action in its simplest and most general form. In Croatian, the infinitive ends in -ti or -ći. The most commonly used infinitives frequently used are:

• raditi (to work)
• govoriti (to speak)
• čitati (to read)
• pisati (to write)
• kupovati (to buy)
• prodavati (to sell)
• jesti (to eat)
• piti (to drink)

To form the infinitive, remove -ti or -ći from the verb stem. For example:

• Infinitive of raditi (to work) is rad
• Infinitive of govoriti (to speak) is govor
• Infinitive of čitati (to read) is čit
• Infinitive of pisati (to write) is piš
• Infinitive of kupovati (to buy) is kupuj
• Infinitive of prodavati (to sell) is prodaj
• Infinitive of jesti (to eat) is jed
• Infinitive of piti (to drink) is pij

Verbs Tenses in Croatian

Croatian has the following tenses: present tense, imperfect tense, aorist tense (sometimes called past simple), perfect tense, pluperfect tense (also known as past perfect), future I tense (sometimes called the future simple), future II tense (also known as the future perfect), conditional mood in the present tense, and conditional mood in the past tense (sometimes called conditional perfect).

Let's look at the tenses in more detail:

• The Present Tense: We have discussed this already, but let's remind ourselves that the present tense is used for current actions, general statements that are always true, and future events that are planned or scheduled.
• The Imperfect Tense: The imperfect tense is formed by adding endings to the base of the infinitive, which are different from the present tense. The imperfect tense is used for actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past or to describe a state of being in the past.
• The Aorist Tense or simple past: In spoken language, Croats use the perfect tense with the adverb jučer, which means yesterday for the simple past. In written language, we use the aorist. The aorist tense is used for actions that are completed in the past.
• The Perfect Tense: To form the perfect tense, we use the present tense of verb "to be" (biti in Croatian) and the past participle of the main verb. We use the perfect tense to describe an action that is completed at the time of speaking, and the emphasis is on the result rather than the duration of an action.
• The Pluperfect Tense: To form the pluperfect tense, use the perfect tense of "to be" (biti) and the past participle of the main verb. The pluperfect tense is used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past or a specific point in the past.
• The Future I Tense: The future I tense is used to describe an action that will occur in the future. It is formed by adding the endings to the base of the infinitive. We use the future tense to describe events that will take place in the future.
• The Future II Tense: This tense is used to describe an action that will be completed by a certain point in the future. It's constructed by using the future tense of "to be" (biti) and the past participle.
• The Conditional Mood in the Present Tense: This mood is used to describe hypothetical or uncertain situations or to express a wish. It's formed by adding endings to the base of the infinitive.
• The Conditional Mood in the Past Tense: This mood is used to describe hypothetical, uncertain situations or to express a wish that was not fulfilled in the past. It is constructed by using the conditional mood of "to be" (biti) and the past participle.

Imperative Mood

There is generally an imperative in Croatian for each personal pronoun or subject. To form the imperative in Croatian, remove -ti from the verb stem for -ti verbs or -i from -iti verbs. Then add the required endings. For example:

• Raditi (to work) — Radi! (you singular), radite! (you plural)
• Htjeti (to want) — Hoću! (I want), Hocite! (you plural want)

Keep in mind that in Croatian, the imperative is used more often than in English, for example, when giving directions, instructions or advice.

This lesson should give you an overview of Croatian verb conjugation and tenses. Practice is essential, so keep working on it, and you'll gradually become more comfortable with Croatian verbs. In the next lesson, we will discuss prepositions and pronouns.

Sources

• Croatian verbs
• Croatian grammar

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

• Advanced Verb Tenses
• How to Use Have
• Nouns
• Croatian Language Varieties
• Future Tense
• Croatian Idiomatic Expressions
• Advanced Noun and Adjective Declension
• Participles and Gerunds
• Give your Opinion

Sources

• Serbo-Croatian grammar - Wikipedia
• Croatian Verbs, the Best Detailed Introduction - tenses, aspect, and ...
• Detailed Guide through a Croatian Past Tense
• The present tense in the Croatian language, affirmative - SpeakCRO ...