Beyond time and cause, Croatian subordination covers condition (if…), concession (although…), comparison (like / as if / than), and content clauses (the fact that…). It also has a set of correlatives — paired words like „both…and," „either…or," „not only…but also" — that bracket two elements. Most of this maps cleanly onto English, but two points repay close attention: the split between ako and da for „if," and the subtle but real difference between što and da when both translate „that."
Condition: ako (real) vs da (unreal)
Croatian splits „if" by how likely the condition is. ako introduces a real, open condition — something that may well happen. da introduces an unreal, hypothetical one — contrary to fact, paired with the conditional.
Ako padne kiša, ostat ćemo doma.
If it rains, we'll stay home. — real, open condition with 'ako'.
Da imam vremena, pomogao bih ti.
If I had time, I'd help you. — unreal condition with 'da' + conditional 'pomogao bih'.
Da sam znao, ne bih došao.
If I'd known, I wouldn't have come. — unreal past condition.
So ako + indicative/future is „if (and it might)," while da + the conditional is „if (but it isn't / wasn't)." This da is the same wishing/unreal da you met on the da page — here it heads a counterfactual.
Concession: iako, mada, premda, makar
For „although / even though" — a clause that grants a fact yet runs against the main clause — Croatian offers three near-synonyms: iako, mada, premda. They are interchangeable in meaning; iako is the most common in speech, premda a touch more literary. makar leans toward „even if / no matter."
Iako je padala kiša, otišli smo na izlet.
Although it was raining, we went on the trip.
Premda je umoran, nastavlja raditi.
Even though he's tired, he keeps working. — 'premda' (slightly literary).
Doći ću makar padao snijeg.
I'll come even if it snows. — 'makar' = 'even if'.
Comparison: kao, kao da, nego/od
kao means „like / as" and compares two things directly. Add da and you get kao da „as if," which introduces a whole clause of seeming or pretence.
Pjeva kao anđeo.
She sings like an angel. — direct comparison with 'kao'.
Izgleda kao da pada kiša.
It looks as if it's raining. — 'kao da' + clause = 'as if'.
Ponaša se kao da se ništa nije dogodilo.
He acts as if nothing happened.
For „than" in comparisons of inequality, Croatian uses nego (with a following clause or phrase) or od (with a bare genitive). Viši je od mene „he's taller than me" uses od + genitive; Bolje je da odeš nego da ostaneš „it's better to leave than to stay" uses nego between two clauses.
Stariji je od mene tri godine.
He's three years older than me. — 'od' + genitive 'mene'.
Radije bih ostao kod kuće nego išao van.
I'd rather stay home than go out. — 'nego' between two options.
The content split: što (factual) vs da (non-factual)
Here is the insight of the page. Both što and da can translate English „that," but they are not interchangeable. The division is about factuality:
- što introduces a fact — something that is real and realised, typically the object of an emotional reaction (gladness, gratitude, surprise, regret). „I'm glad that you came" — and you really did come.
- da introduces a report, an opinion, a desire, or an unrealised situation — „I think that he's coming," where his coming is asserted, not presupposed.
| Trigger | Clause word | Why |
|---|---|---|
| drago mi je, hvala, žao mi je, čudno je | što | reacts to a fact that is presupposed true |
| mislim, kažem, nadam se, želim, čini se | da | reports / asserts / wishes — not presupposed |
Drago mi je što si došao.
I'm glad (that) you came. — 'što' because your coming is a real, presupposed fact.
Hvala što si mi pomogao.
Thank you for helping me. — 'što' after thanks: the help really happened.
Mislim da dolazi sutra.
I think (that) he's coming tomorrow. — 'da' because it's a reported opinion, not a settled fact.
The minimal pair makes it vivid. Drago mi je da dolaziš and Drago mi je što dolaziš are both heard, but the careful distinction is: što when you're reacting to the established fact of someone's arrival, da when the arrival is still in the realm of the asserted-but-not-yet-real. After verbs of emotion about a known fact, prefer što.
Correlatives: paired conjunctions
Correlatives come in two parts bracketing the two coordinated elements. They build on the coordinating conjunctions covered on the coordinating conjunctions page.
| Correlative | Meaning |
|---|---|
| i… i… | both… and… |
| ili… ili… | either… or… |
| ni… ni… | neither… nor… |
| ne samo… nego i… | not only… but also… |
| što… to… | the more… the more… |
Govori i hrvatski i talijanski.
She speaks both Croatian and Italian. — 'i… i…'.
Ne samo da kasni, nego se i ne ispričava.
Not only is he late, but he doesn't even apologise. — 'ne samo… nego i…'.
Što više čitam, to bolje razumijem.
The more I read, the better I understand. — the 'što… to…' proportional correlative.
The što… to… pattern (literally „what… that…") is the Croatian equivalent of English „the more X, the more Y." Both clauses take a comparative, and the order is fixed: što heads the first, to the second.
Common Mistakes
❌ Da padne kiša, ostat ćemo doma.
Incorrect for a real condition — a possible rain takes 'ako', not unreal 'da'.
✅ Ako padne kiša, ostat ćemo doma.
If it rains, we'll stay home.
❌ Hvala da si došao.
Incorrect — thanks reacts to a real fact, so 'što': 'Hvala što si došao'.
✅ Hvala što si došao.
Thank you for coming.
❌ Drago mi je da si zdrav. (when reacting to a known fact)
Dispreferred — for reacting to an established fact, 'što' is the careful choice.
✅ Drago mi je što si zdrav.
I'm glad you're healthy.
❌ Viši je nego mene.
Incorrect — 'than + noun' uses 'od' + genitive: 'viši od mene'. 'nego' joins clauses/options.
✅ Viši je od mene.
He's taller than me.
Key Takeaways
- Condition: ako for real, open conditions (Ako padne kiša…); da
- conditional for unreal, contrary-to-fact ones (Da imam vremena, pomogao bih…).
- Concession: iako / mada / premda „although" (interchangeable; premda a bit literary); makar „even if."
- Comparison: kao „like/as," kao da „as if" (Izgleda kao da pada kiša); „than" = nego (clauses/options) or od
- genitive (stariji od mene).
- što vs da for „that": što = factual / realised (after emotion: drago mi je što, hvala što); da = reported / desired / unrealised (mislim da, želim da). If „the fact that" fits, use što.
- Correlatives: i…i „both…and," ili…ili „either…or," ni…ni „neither…nor," ne samo…nego i „not only…but also," što…to „the more…the more."
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- The Subordinator daA2 — The workhorse conjunction da — 'that' for reported speech, 'so that' for purpose, the infinitive-replacing da + present, commands, and wishes — always with the indicative.
- 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.
- Coordinating ConjunctionsA1 — i, te, pa, a, ali, nego/već, ili, niti…niti — distinguishing i (and) from a (and-whereas) from ali (but), plus the comma rules and the negation requirement on nego/već.
- Conditional I (kondicional prvi)A2 — The 'would' form: bih/bi + l-participle.
- Emphatic and Modal ParticlesB1 — The flavour particles of spoken Croatian — pa, baš, ma, ta, zar, bar/barem, čak, tek, već — small mood-setters that colour an utterance, with zar marking incredulous questions and Zar ne? as the all-purpose tag.