Present Tense II: Speak, Live, Drink
Present Tense I gave you the -am family. Two families remain — and with them, the whole verb map. Plus the habit that makes Croatian verbs feel almost English: chaining with the infinitive.
The -im Family
The verbs of daily life: govoriti (speak), živjeti (live), raditi (work), voljeti (love), učiti (learn).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ja | govorim |
| ti | govoriš |
| on / ona | govori |
| mi | govorimo |
| vi | govorite |
| oni | govore |
Govorim hrvatski i engleski.
I speak Croatian and English.
Note: No preposition needed — govorim + the language.
The -em Family
The -em family hides its stem in the infinitive — learn the pair together: piti → pijem (drink), ići → idem (go), zvati se → zovem se (be called — an old friend!).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ja | pijem |
| ti | piješ |
| on / ona | pije |
| mi | pijemo |
| vi | pijete |
| oni | piju |
One Row, Three Families
All three families share the same endings after their vowel — the only slot where they really differ is the they-form:
| -am (imati) | -im (govoriti) | -em (piti) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | imam | govorim | pijem |
| ti | imaš | govoriš | piješ |
| oni | imaju | govore | piju |
Spot the vowel (a/i/e), and every other form falls into place.
Croatian Keeps the Infinitive
When verbs stack, Croatian chains them with the infinitive — just like English:
| Croatian | English |
|---|---|
| Želim učiti hrvatski. | I want to learn Croatian. |
| Moram raditi. | I have to work. |
| Mogu doći sutra. | I can come tomorrow. |
| Volim plivati. | I love swimming. |
💬 Small talk, fully conjugated
Gdje živiš?
Where do you live?
Živim u Splitu. Radim u školi.
I live in Split. I work at a school.
Govoriš li engleski?
Do you speak English?
Govorim — i želim učiti talijanski.
I do — and I want to learn Italian.