If you learn only one subordinating conjunction in Croatian, learn da. It is the single most common word for joining a subordinate clause to a main one, and it does the work that English spreads across half a dozen words — that, to, so that, in order to. The same three letters introduce a reported thought, state a purpose, replace an infinitive, soften a command, and voice a wish. This page sorts those jobs out one by one. The crucial structural fact running through all of them: a da-clause uses the indicative, because Croatian has no subjunctive mood at all.
da = "that": reported speech and thought
The bread-and-butter use of da is to report what someone says, thinks, knows, or hopes — exactly English that. The verb of saying or thinking comes first, then da, then a full clause with an ordinary indicative verb.
Mislim da dolazi sutra.
I think (that) he's coming tomorrow.
Kažu da će biti kiše cijeli tjedan.
They say (that) it'll rain all week.
Znam da si umoran, ali moramo završiti ovo.
I know you're tired, but we have to finish this.
Unlike English, where that is optional and usually dropped in speech (I think he's coming), Croatian da is not droppable. Mislim dolazi is simply ungrammatical. The conjunction has to be there to mark the clause boundary.
da = "so that / in order to": purpose
When da answers the question why? — for what purpose? — it means so that or in order to. The action in the da-clause is the goal of the main action.
Učim svaki dan da prođem ispit.
I study every day (so) to pass the exam.
Nazvala sam te da ti čestitam.
I called you to congratulate you.
Govori glasnije da te svi čuju.
Speak louder so everyone can hear you.
When the subject of both clauses is the same — I study so I pass — colloquial Croatian often keeps da + present here, though the infinitive (da prođem → kako bih prošao, or simply restructuring) is also available in careful style. For now, treat purpose da + present as the everyday default.
da + present replacing the infinitive
This is the use that most surprises learners. After modal-type verbs like moći, morati, htjeti, trebati, Croatian can express the second verb in two ways: with the infinitive, or with da + present.
| da + present (colloquial / southern) | infinitive (standard / northern) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Moram da radim. | Moram raditi. | I have to work. |
| Želim da idem kući. | Želim ići kući. | I want to go home. |
| Možeš da počneš. | Možeš početi. | You can start. |
The two are equivalent in meaning, but not equivalent in register and region. The da + present construction is strongly associated with the south and east (and is the norm in Serbian); standard Croatian and the northern/western dialects clearly prefer the infinitive. In a Croatian exam, a job application, or the news, write Moram raditi, not Moram da radim.
Moram raditi do kasno večeras.
I have to work late tonight. — standard Croatian, infinitive preferred.
Moraš da paziš na to. (regional: south/east)
You have to watch out for that. — colloquial da + present, dispreferred in standard Croatian.
da for indirect commands
To report a command — tell him to come, ask her to wait — Croatian uses da + present, not an infinitive. The da-clause carries the order.
Reci mu da dođe odmah.
Tell him to come right away.
Zamoli ih da pričekaju malo.
Ask them to wait a little.
Rekla sam ti da ne diraš to!
I told you not to touch that!
Notice that English uses an infinitive here (tell him to come), but Croatian uses a full finite clause with da and a present-tense verb agreeing with its own subject (da dođe — third person, „he"). This is one place where the da + present is fully standard, not regional: indirect commands always take the finite da-clause.
da for wishes
Standing at the front of a sentence, often with bar / barem („at least") or samo („only/just"), da introduces a wish or a longing — „if only…", „may…".
Da bar prestane kiša!
If only the rain would stop!
Da si barem rekao na vrijeme.
If only you'd said so in time.
Da nam svima bude bolje iduće godine.
May things be better for us all next year.
This wishing da can take a present (Da prestane) for a wish about the future, or a past (Da si rekao) for a regret about something that didn't happen. It overlaps with the conditional and with unreal da („if"), which is treated on the other subordinators page.
Croatian has no subjunctive — da-clauses stay indicative
Here is the structural payoff, and the point that trips up speakers of Romance languages. In Spanish, French, or Italian, „I want you to come" forces a subjunctive: quiero que vengas, je veux que tu viennes. Learners reasonably expect Croatian to do the same after want, hope, fear. It does not. Croatian has no subjunctive mood. The verb in a da-clause is a plain indicative, identical to the form you would use in a main clause.
Želim da dođeš na zabavu.
I want you to come to the party. — 'dođeš' is plain indicative present, not a special mood.
Bojim se da ne zakasnimo.
I'm afraid we'll be late. — indicative present after a verb of fearing.
So whether da is reporting (Mislim da dolazi), commanding (Reci da dođe), or following a verb of wishing (Želim da dođeš), the verb that follows is just the everyday indicative. There is no extra mood to learn — which, after Romance, comes as a relief.
Common Mistakes
❌ Mislim on dolazi sutra.
Incorrect — da cannot be dropped the way English drops 'that'.
✅ Mislim da dolazi sutra.
I think he's coming tomorrow.
❌ Želim da dođeš — koristim konjunktiv.
Incorrect reasoning — there is no subjunctive in Croatian; 'dođeš' is ordinary indicative.
✅ Želim da dođeš.
I want you to come. — plain indicative, no special mood.
❌ Reci mu doći odmah.
Incorrect — an indirect command needs a finite da-clause, not an infinitive.
✅ Reci mu da dođe odmah.
Tell him to come right away.
❌ Moram da radim. (in a formal Croatian text)
Dispreferred in standard Croatian — the southern da + present where the infinitive belongs.
✅ Moram raditi.
I have to work. — standard Croatian infinitive.
Key Takeaways
- da is the all-purpose subordinator: „that" (reported speech/thought), „so that / in order to" (purpose), infinitive-replacement (Moram da radim), indirect commands (Reci da dođe), and wishes (Da bar…).
- Unlike English „that," da is never optional — Mislim da dolazi, never Mislim dolazi.
- da + present vs the infinitive for „I have to work" is a register/region split: infinitive is standard Croatian, da + present is southern/colloquial. See the da vs infinitive page.
- Indirect commands always take da + present (Reci mu da dođe), even though English uses an infinitive.
- Croatian has no subjunctive. Every da-clause uses the plain indicative — Želim da dođeš is not a special mood, despite what Spanish or French would lead you to expect.
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Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- da + present vs the InfinitiveB1 — When to use the infinitive and when to use a da + present clause after modal and volition verbs — the same-subject choice, the different-subject rule, and the register split.
- Subordinators of Time and CauseB1 — Time conjunctions (kad, dok, čim, prije nego, nakon što, otkad) and cause conjunctions (jer, zato što, budući da, pošto) — including the 'until' trap dok ne with its non-negating expletive ne.
- Other Subordinators and CorrelativesB1 — Condition (ako, da), concession (iako, makar), comparison (kao, kao da, nego/od), the content split što vs da, and paired correlatives like i…i, ili…ili, ne samo…nego i.
- biti and htjeti: The Two AuxiliariesA1 — The 'to be' and 'to want' verbs that power compound tenses.
- The Question Particle liA2 — The yes/no question particle li in second position, the fixed je li opener and tag, and how it competes with the clitic cluster against colloquial da li and pure intonation questions.