Grammar guide · A2
The Croatian future tense with ću
Croatian builds the future from short forms of htjeti (ću, ćeš, će…) plus the infinitive. Word order changes the spelling, so it is worth seeing the patterns side by side.
The building blocks
The future tense pairs the present of htjeti — ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će — with the infinitive of the main verb. Together they say what will happen.
Sutra ću raditi od kuće.
Tomorrow I will work from home.
Vidjet ćemo se u petak.
We'll see each other on Friday.
When the verb comes first, it merges
If the infinitive opens the clause, an infinitive ending in -ti drops its final i and joins the clitic in speech and writing.
Radit ću sutra.
I will work tomorrow.
raditi + ću → radit ću.
Pisat ću ti večeras.
I'll write to you tonight.
pisati + ću → pisat ću.
Questions and negatives
Ask a future question with the inverted form hoćeš li (never with 'Da li'). The negative uses a single fused word: neću, nećeš, neće.
Hoćeš li doći na večeru?
Will you come to dinner?
Neću stići na vrijeme.
I won't make it on time.