Croatian Present Tense
Croatian present-tense endings are among the friendliest in the Slavic family: one set of personal endings, three theme vowels, no stress gymnastics. And because the ending announces the person, pronouns usually stay home.
One Set of Endings
Every Croatian verb, whatever its class, uses these person markers:
| Person | Ending | govoriti → |
|---|---|---|
| ja | -m | govorim |
| ti | -š | govoriš |
| on / ona | — | govori |
| mi | -mo | govorimo |
| vi | -te | govorite |
| oni | -e / -u / -ju | govore |
First person singular in -m is your anchor: imam (I have), znam (I know), radim (I work), govorim (I speak).
The Three Vowel Classes
Verbs differ only in the vowel before those endings — a, i, or e:
| Person | imati (have) — a | govoriti (speak) — i | pisati (write) — e |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | imam | govorim | pišem |
| ti | imaš | govoriš | pišeš |
| on/ona | ima | govori | piše |
| mi | imamo | govorimo | pišemo |
| vi | imate | govorite | pišete |
| oni | imaju | govore | pišu |
Note pisati's stem change (pis- → piš-) — e-class verbs often shift a consonant, but once you know the ja form, the rest of the row follows mechanically.
Radim u Zagrebu, ali živim u Samoboru.
I work in Zagreb, but I live in Samobor.
Note: Two i-class verbs, no pronoun in sight.
Što piješ? Pijem kavu.
What are you drinking? I'm drinking coffee.
Note: Croatian has one present tense — it covers both 'drink' and 'am drinking'.
Negating Verbs
Place ne directly before the verb — always separate, except for the three fused verbs:
| Croatian | English |
|---|---|
| Ne radim danas. | I'm not working today. |
| Ona ne govori njemački. | She doesn't speak German. |
| nisam / nemam / neću | I'm not / I don't have / I won't (fused) |
Chaining with the Infinitive
Where Serbian says хоћу да учим, Croatian chains verbs the English way — with an infinitive:
| Croatian | English |
|---|---|
| Želim učiti hrvatski. | I want to learn Croatian. |
| Moram raditi. | I have to work. |
| Volim čitati. | I love to read. |
| Mogu doći sutra. | I can come tomorrow. |
Only the first verb conjugates; the second stays in its dictionary form (-ti). The pattern powers wants, plans, obligations, and abilities all day long: želim/moram/volim/mogu + infinitive.
Želim naučiti hrvatski do ljeta.
I want to learn Croatian by summer.
Note: Conjugated želim + infinitive naučiti — the Croatian chain.
Hear the endings do their work — tap the speakers:
💬 Making evening plans
Što radiš večeras?
What are you doing tonight?
Ništa posebno. Zašto pitaš?
Nothing special. Why do you ask?
Želiš li gledati utakmicu kod mene?
Do you want to watch the match at my place?
Može! Dolazim oko osam.
Sure! I'm coming around eight.
Common Mistakes
- Adding pronouns to every sentence. Ja radim, ja živim, ja govorim sounds like a robot. The -m already says "I" — drop ja unless you're contrasting.
- Conjugating both verbs in a chain. After želim/moram/mogu the second verb stays in the infinitive: želim učiti, not želim učim.
- Trusting the infinitive to predict the present. Pisati gives pišem, not pisam. Always learn the pair: infinitive + ja form.
- Translating "I am working" with biti. There's no ja sam radim — Croatian's one present tense does it all: radim.
- Forgetting oni varies. They-forms end differently by class: imaju, govore, pišu. Learn each verb's oni form with its row.
What You Can Do Now
You can say what you do, where you live and work, what you want, must, and love to do — and ask a friend the same. With Što radiš? and želim + infinitive you can make actual plans in Croatian. Verbs of motion are next, and they build directly on these endings.