dogovarati se / dogovoriti se (to arrange / agree)

Dogovoriti se / dogovarati se ("to arrange, agree, make plans") is the verb that runs everyday life: you use it to settle on a time, agree on a price, sort out who does what, and make plans with friends. In its everyday meaning it is reflexive (with se) and reciprocal — two or more parties reach an agreement with each other. Its government is the reason it earns a full page: you agree on something (o + locative), with someone (s + instrumental), often that… (a da-clause). And when the deal is struck, you seal it with the one-word exclamation Dogovoreno! ("Deal! / Agreed!").

Aspect

The contrast is process versus result. Dogovaramo se = we're still working it out, negotiating, going back and forth. Dogovorili smo se = we've reached an agreement, it's settled. This is a suffix-formed aspect pair: the perfective dogovoriti is the base, and the imperfective lengthens the stem to dogovar-a- (note the o → a in the second syllable).

Present tense

Dogovoriti se is a regular i-class verb (dogovorim se); dogovarati se is a regular a-class verb (dogovaram se).

The perfective present dogovorim se is not a "now" tense; it reads as a future or condition: Čim se dogovorimo, javim ti ("As soon as we agree, I'll let you know"). For the negotiation in progress use dogovaramo se.

The l-participle

Dogovoriti se is regular -iti: dogovorio / dogovorila. Dogovarati se: dogovarao / dogovarala.

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle + se. As with all reflexives, the third person se je contracts to se: dogovorili su se (they agreed), and singular dogovorio se (he agreed), not *dogovorio se je.

Future I (futur prvi)

Both drop the final -i: dogovorit ću se, dogovarat ću se.

Imperative

The perfective Dogovori se! ("Sort it out! / Agree on it!") is the everyday request. The plural Dogovorimo se! ("Let's agree!") is how you propose settling something jointly. The imperfective dogovaraj se! leans toward "keep negotiating".

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle + se, for polite proposals and hypotheticals.

Other forms

• Passive participle / Dogovoreno!: dogovoren, dogovorena, dogovoreno ("agreed, arranged"). The neuter Dogovoreno! stands alone as an everyday exclamation — "Deal! / Agreed! / It's settled!" — when two people close an arrangement. In the transitive use it also describes the thing arranged: Sastanak je dogovoren za utorak ("The meeting is arranged for Tuesday"). The imperfective gives dogovaran.
• Verbal adverb: imperfective dogovarajući se ("[while] negotiating / arranging"). The perfective has no present adverb.

Key uses and government

1. Agree on something: o + locative

What you agree on — a date, a price, the details — goes in o + locative (o nečemu). This is the "about/on" o that pairs with thinking and talking verbs, and it always governs the locative case.

In speech you will also hear oko + genitive ("around/about") for the same idea — dogovoriti se oko cijene — which is very common and fully natural in conversation.

2. Agree with someone: s(a) + instrumental

The party you agree with goes in s(a) + instrumental (s nekim). Use sa before words beginning with s, š, z, ž (and clusters) for euphony: sa zaposlenicima. See the instrumental forms.

3. Agree that…: a da-clause

The content of the agreement is most naturally a da-clause with the present tense, since it describes what the parties will do. See da vs the infinitive.

4. Transitive dogovoriti: arrange a thing (no se)

Without se, dogovoriti is transitive and takes a plain accusative object — you arrange a meeting, a time, the terms. Here it is one person organising something, not two parties reaching mutual agreement. See the accusative direct object.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• dogovarati se (impf, dogovaram se) = negotiating/in progress; dogovoriti se (pf, dogovorim se) = reach agreement — note the o → a stem-vowel change in the imperfective.
• Government of the reflexive: agree on = o
  • locative (colloquial oko
    • genitive); with = s(a)
      • instrumental; content = a da-clause.
• The reflexive se is obligatory in the "mutually agree" sense; the third-person se je contracts to se.
• Without se, transitive dogovoriti
  • accusative = "arrange a thing": dogovoriti sastanak.
• Dogovoreno! ("Deal! / Agreed!") seals an arrangement. Future drops -i: dogovorit ću se.