da + present vs the Infinitive | Croatian Grammar

This is one of the most consequential choices in Croatian grammar, which is why so many other pages point here. After verbs like moći, morati, htjeti, željeti, trebati — "can, must, want, need" — the second verb can appear in two shapes: as a bare infinitive (raditi "to work") or as a da + present clause (da radim "that I work"). Often either is fine and the choice is about register and region. But there is one rule that overrides everything else, and it is the spine of this whole topic: if the two verbs have the same subject, you may use either; if the subjects differ, only da is possible. Master that, and the rest is style.

The two forms are often interchangeable

After a modal or volition verb, when the subject is the same for both verbs ("I have to work" — I must, I work), Croatian lets you say it either way, with no change in meaning:

Infinitive	da + present	Meaning
Moram raditi.	Moram da radim.	I have to work.
Želim ići.	Želim da idem.	I want to go.
Možeš početi.	Možeš da počneš.	You can start.
Trebam spavati.	Trebam da spavam.	I need to sleep.

Moram raditi do kasno večeras.

I have to work late tonight. — infinitive; same subject (I must / I work).

Moram da radim do kasno večeras.

I have to work late tonight. — da + present; same meaning, southern/colloquial flavour.

Želim ići kući.

I want to go home. — infinitive, the standard Croatian default.

Notice that in the da-version the present-tense verb still agrees with the same subject (moram da radim — both first person). That redundant agreement is exactly why the infinitive can replace it: when the subject is shared, the second verb does not need to spell out its own subject.

The register and region split

When both forms are available (same subject), they are not stylistically equal. The infinitive is the standard, written, and northern/western preference; da + present is the southern/eastern and colloquial choice (and the norm in Serbian).

Form	Register / region	Where you'll meet it
Moram raditi (infinitive)	standard Croatian; northern/western; written	news, exams, formal writing, careful speech
Moram da radim (da + present)	southern/eastern; colloquial	casual speech, especially toward Slavonia/Bosnia

Trebamo rezervirati stol za večeras.

We need to book a table for tonight. — infinitive, the neutral written/standard choice.

Moraš da paziš na to. (regional: south/east)

You have to watch out for that. — da + present, colloquial; in standard Croatian prefer 'Moraš paziti'.

💡

When you are writing Croatian — an email, an exam, anything formal — and the subject is the same, default to the infinitive: Moram raditi, not Moram da radim. The da-version is not wrong, but it reads as southern/colloquial and is marked in standard written Croatian. See the subordinator da for its other jobs.

The rule that overrides everything: different subjects need da

Here is the non-negotiable part. The free choice above exists only when both verbs share a subject. The moment the subjects differ — "I want you to come", where I do the wanting but you do the coming — the infinitive becomes impossible, and you must use da + present, with the da-clause carrying its own subject.

Želim da ti dođeš.

I want YOU to come. — different subjects (I want / you come), so 'da' is obligatory.

Hoću da ostaneš još malo.

I want you to stay a little longer. — I want / you stay: only 'da' works here.

Trebam da svi budu na vrijeme.

I need everyone to be on time. — I need / they be: da-clause with its own subject.

There is no \Želim ti doći — you cannot smuggle a different subject into an infinitive, because the infinitive has no subject of its own to carry the "you". English handles this with "for you to come" / "want you to come"; Croatian has only one option: a full finite *da-clause.

Subjects	Infinitive?	da + present?	Example
same	yes (standard)	yes (colloquial)	Želim ići / Želim da idem — „I want to go"
different	no	obligatory	Želim da ti dođeš — „I want you to come"

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The one rule to carry away: same subject → either form (prefer the infinitive in writing); different subjects → only da. If the person doing the second action is not the person doing the first, the infinitive is off the table.

This is also exactly why indirect commands always use da: Reci mu da dođe ("Tell him to come") has two subjects — you tell, he comes — so the infinitive is structurally impossible there.

Reci mu da dođe odmah.

Tell him to come right away. — you tell / he comes: different subjects force 'da'.

A bonus: the future tense always uses the infinitive stem

One place where the infinitive is simply required, with no da-alternative, is the future tense. Croatian forms the future-I with the clitic auxiliary ću, ćeš, će... plus the infinitive of the main verb. The da-construction has no role here.

Sutra ću raditi od kuće.

Tomorrow I'll work from home. — future: 'ću' + infinitive 'raditi'.

Hoćeš li doći na večeru?

Will you come to dinner? — future, infinitive 'doći'.

When the infinitive ends in -ti and follows the auxiliary directly, the written form contracts: raditi + ću → radit ću (the final -i drops in writing). So the future leans entirely on the infinitive stem — yet another reason to keep your infinitives sharp. For the full mechanics, see the future tense.

Which verbs take which

A practical inventory. These verbs all accept the same-subject infinitive (and, colloquially, da + present), and switch to obligatory da the moment subjects differ:

moći (can): Mogu pomoći / Mogu da pomognem
morati (must): Moram otići / Moram da odem — see morati / trebati
htjeti / željeti (want): Želim učiti / Želim da ti učiš (different subject → da)
trebati (need / should): Trebaš se odmoriti / Trebaš da se odmoriš
smjeti (be allowed): Smiješ ući / Smiješ da uđeš
znati (know how to): Znam plivati / Znam da plivam

Znaš li voziti?

Do you know how to drive? — 'znati' + infinitive, same subject.

Trebao bi se ispričati njoj, a ne meni.

You should apologise to her, not to me. — 'trebati' + infinitive, same subject.

Common Mistakes

❌ Želim ti doći.

Incorrect — with different subjects the infinitive is impossible; you must use 'da'.

✅ Želim da ti dođeš.

I want you to come.

❌ Reci mu doći odmah.

Incorrect — an indirect command has two subjects, so it needs a finite da-clause.

✅ Reci mu da dođe odmah.

Tell him to come right away.

❌ Moram da radim. (in a formal Croatian essay)

Dispreferred in standard written Croatian — the colloquial/southern 'da + present' where the infinitive belongs.

✅ Moram raditi.

I have to work. — standard Croatian infinitive.

❌ Sutra ću da radim od kuće.

Incorrect — the future tense uses the infinitive, never 'da + present'.

✅ Sutra ću raditi od kuće.

Tomorrow I'll work from home.

Key Takeaways

After modal/volition verbs with the same subject, the infinitive and da + present are interchangeable in meaning (Moram raditi = Moram da radim).
The choice is a register/region split: the infinitive is standard Croatian (northern/western, written); da + present is southern/colloquial. In writing, default to the infinitive.
When the subjects differ, the infinitive is impossible and da + present is obligatory (Želim da ti dođeš — no \Želim ti doći). This is why indirect commands always take *da (Reci mu da dođe).
The future tense is built on the infinitive (radit ću, ću raditi) — never with da + present.

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