Adverbs of Time | Croatian Grammar

Time adverbs answer when? (kada?) and how often? (koliko često?), and most of them are simple, high-frequency words you will use in every conversation. But two of them — već ("already") and još ("still / yet") — are worth a section of their own, because English speakers reliably muddle "still", "already", and "yet", and because in Croatian these little words interact with verbal aspect in a way that quietly tells your listener whether an action is finished or ongoing. Master već and još, and your sense of time in Croatian jumps a level.

"When": points and frames in time

The core "when" adverbs locate an action on the timeline — now, then, today, the days around today.

Adverb	Meaning	Adverb	Meaning
sada (sad)	now	tada / onda	then, at that time
danas	today	jučer	yesterday
sutra	tomorrow	prekjučer	the day before yesterday
prekosutra	the day after tomorrow	noćas	tonight / last night
jutros	this morning	večeras	this evening

Two pairs reward a moment's attention. tada and onda both mean "then", but tada points to a specific past or future time ("at that moment"), while onda is more often the sequencing "then / next" ("…and then we left"). And the -as family (danas, noćas, jutros, večeras) bakes "this (current) one" into the word: jutros is precisely "this morning (the one just past or current)", not mornings in general.

Sada nemam vremena, nazovi me sutra.

I don't have time now, call me tomorrow. — 'sada' and 'sutra' locating actions in time.

Jučer je padala kiša, a danas je sunčano.

It rained yesterday, and today it's sunny. — 'jučer' vs 'danas'.

Prvo smo večerali, a onda smo gledali film.

First we had dinner, and then we watched a film. — 'onda' as sequencing 'then'.

"How often": frequency

Frequency adverbs say how regularly something happens. They run along a scale from "always" down to "never".

Adverb	Meaning
uvijek	always
često	often
ponekad / katkad	sometimes
rijetko	rarely, seldom
nikad(a)	never

nikad(a) ("never") carries a grammatical obligation: like every Croatian negative word, it demands a second negation on the verb. You cannot say Nikad pijem kavu; it must be Nikad ne pijem kavu — literally "never I-don't drink coffee". This double (in fact concord) negation is mandatory and correct, not a mistake; ne on the verb is required whenever a negative adverb or pronoun is present. The same goes for nigdje ne… ("nowhere"), ništa ne… ("nothing").

Uvijek pijem kavu ujutro, bez nje ne mogu.

I always drink coffee in the morning, I can't do without it. — 'uvijek' = always.

Nikad ne kasnim na posao.

I'm never late for work. — 'nikad' requires the verb negation 'ne': double negation is obligatory.

Ponekad idemo u kino, ali rijetko.

We sometimes go to the cinema, but rarely. — 'ponekad' vs 'rijetko' on the frequency scale.

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A negative time adverb obliges a second negation. „Never” is nikad ne + verb, not bare nikad. Croatian piles up negatives by design — Nikad nigdje ne idem („I never go anywhere”) is perfectly correct, where English forbids the double.

The high-value pair: već and još

Here is the section to slow down for. već means "already" and još means "still / yet (more)". English keeps these three meanings in three words — already, still, yet — and learners scramble them constantly. Croatian's logic is cleaner once you see it: već marks that something has already happened or is in effect by now; još marks that something is still continuing, or — with a negation — has not happened yet.

Word	Core meaning	Example phrase	English
već	already (by now)	Već je gotovo.	It's already done.
još	still (continuing)	Još radim.	I'm still working.
još ne	not yet	Još nije gotovo.	It's not done yet.
još (+ amount)	more, another	Još jednu kavu, molim.	Another coffee, please.

So the three English words map cleanly: already = već, still = još, not yet = još ne. And note the bonus meaning of još: with a quantity it means "more / another" (još malo "a bit more", još jednom "once more") — the same word that means "still" also means "more", because both express continuation along a scale.

Već sam ti rekao, ne moraš ponavljati.

I've already told you, you don't need to repeat it. — 'već' = already.

Još čekam autobus, kasni petnaest minuta.

I'm still waiting for the bus, it's fifteen minutes late. — 'još' = still (continuing).

Još nisam ručao, idemo zajedno?

I haven't had lunch yet, shall we go together? — 'još … ne/nisam' = not yet.

Daj mi još malo vremena, skoro sam gotov.

Give me a bit more time, I'm almost done. — 'još' + amount = 'more'.

već / još and aspect: finished vs ongoing

This is the deeper insight, and it is where Croatian rewards you. The choice between već and još naturally pairs with verbal aspect. već ("already") points at a completed result, so it sits comfortably with a perfective verb — the action is over and its result holds. još ("still") points at an ongoing process, so it sits with an imperfective verb — the action is in progress.

Adverb	Aspect it favours	Example	Meaning
već	perfective (result)	Već sam pročitao knjigu.	I've already read the book (finished).
još	imperfective (process)	Još čitam knjigu.	I'm still reading the book (ongoing).

The contrast is exact: pročitati is the perfective "read (through, to the end)", and već sam pročitao says the reading is done and finished. čitati is the imperfective "be reading", and još čitam says the reading is still going on. You would not normally say Već čitam knjigu to mean "I've already finished it" — the imperfective čitam describes a process, which clashes with već's "it's done" force. This is one of the clearest places to feel how aspect works; for the full system see aspect overview and, for the past tense, aspect in the past.

Već sam završio izvještaj, šaljem ti ga sad.

I've already finished the report, I'm sending it to you now. — 'već' + perfective 'završiti' = completed result.

Još pišem izvještaj, treba mi još sat vremena.

I'm still writing the report, I need another hour. — 'još' + imperfective 'pisati' = ongoing process.

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Let aspect follow the adverb: već → perfective (it's done), još → imperfective (it's going on). Već sam pročitao („I've read it through”) vs Još čitam („I'm still reading”). If you pair već with an ongoing imperfective, a native ear hears a small mismatch.

A cluster of "just / soon / right away" adverbs

A handful of near-time adverbs round out the picture: upravo ("just (now), right now"), odmah ("immediately, right away"), uskoro ("soon"), and tek ("only just, not until"). upravo marks an action as having happened a moment ago or as happening at this very instant; tek is the tricky one — it means "only just / not before", flagging that something is later or smaller than expected.

Upravo sam stigao kući, javit ću ti se za pet minuta.

I've just got home, I'll get back to you in five minutes. — 'upravo' = just now.

Dođi odmah, ne mogu sama ovo riješiti.

Come right away, I can't sort this out on my own. — 'odmah' = immediately.

Vlak kreće tek u osam, imamo još vremena.

The train doesn't leave until eight, we still have time. — 'tek' = 'not until', and 'još' = 'still'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Nikad pijem alkohol.

Incorrect — a negative adverb requires verb negation: 'nikad NE pijem'.

✅ Nikad ne pijem alkohol.

I never drink alcohol. — obligatory double negation with 'nikad … ne'.

❌ Još sam pročitao knjigu.

Incorrect — 'još' (still/yet) clashes with a finished perfective. For 'already finished' use 'već'.

✅ Već sam pročitao knjigu.

I've already read the book. — 'već' + perfective for a completed result.

❌ Već čekam te pola sata.

Awkward — waiting is ongoing, so use 'još' (still): 'Još te čekam'. 'Već' implies it's done.

✅ Još te čekam pola sata.

I've been waiting for you for half an hour (and still am). — 'još' for an ongoing process.

❌ Nije gotovo već.

Incorrect — 'not yet' is 'još ne', not a negated 'već': 'Još nije gotovo'.

✅ Još nije gotovo.

It's not done yet. — 'još … nije' = not yet.

❌ Dao mi je već jedan komad.

Ambiguous/wrong for 'one more' — for 'another' use 'još': 'još jedan komad'. 'Već' = 'already'.

✅ Daj mi još jedan komad.

Give me one more piece. — 'još' + amount = 'more / another'.

Key Takeaways

Core "when" adverbs: sada, tada/onda, danas/jučer/sutra/prekjučer/prekosutra; the -as family (danas, noćas, jutros, večeras) means "this current one".
Frequency runs uvijek → često → ponekad → rijetko → nikad; nikad (and other negatives) require a second negation on the verb (nikad ne…).
The key pair: već = already, još = still, još ne = not yet, and još + amount = more/another.
već and još track aspect: već → perfective (finished, Već sam pročitao), još → imperfective (ongoing, Još čitam).
Near-time adverbs: upravo (just now), odmah (right away), uskoro (soon), tek (only just / not until).

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