ići (to go) | Croatian Grammar

Ići ("to go") is the all-purpose verb of motion — going to work, going home, going to the cinema, "let's go". It is irregular in two famous ways: a suppletive present built on the stem id- (which looks nothing like the infinitive), and a suppletive past built on iš- (išao, išla). Once you have those two stems memorised, ići is straightforward, and — good news for anyone arriving from Russian — Croatian has no manner-of-motion pairs (no separate "go on foot" vs "go by vehicle" verbs that conjugate differently). One verb covers it.

Aspect

Ići is imperfective: it describes motion in progress, repeated, or general ("I go to work every day"). It does not have a single perfective partner — instead, Croatian forms directional perfectives by prefixing, each one specifying a direction:

otići ("to leave, go away") — paired imperfective odlaziti
doći ("to come, arrive") — paired imperfective dolaziti
poći ("to set off") — paired imperfective polaziti
ući ("to enter"), izaći ("to go out"), proći ("to pass")

So ići itself is the imperfective base, and you choose a prefixed perfective when you want to mark a single completed arrival or departure. See the prefixed members on doći and otići.

Present tense

The present stem is suppletive: id- has no visible link to the infinitive ići. The endings are the regular e-class set. (Compare English go / went, where the past is a wholly different root.)

Person	Form	Meaning
ja	idem	I go / I'm going
ti	ideš	you go
on/ona/ono	ide	he/she/it goes
mi	idemo	we go
vi	idete	you go
oni/one/ona	idu	they go

The same id- stem reappears in every prefixed compound, with a regular jotation at the seam: doći → dođem, otići → odem, ući → uđem, izaći → izađem, proći → prođem. Learn idem once and these all become reachable.

Idem na posao u osam.

I go to work at eight.

Kamo ideš tako rano?

Where are you off to so early?

Idemo li mi to uopće stići na vrijeme?

Are we even going to make it on time?

💡

The present of ići is idem, not idjem or ićem. The infinitive ić- stem and the present id- stem are unrelated — a textbook case of suppletion. Don't try to derive one from the other; memorise both.

The l-participle

The past stem is its own suppletive form, iš-. The masculine singular išao shows the vocalised -l; the rest keep š + l.

Gender / number	Form
masculine singular	išao
feminine singular	išla
neuter singular	išlo
masculine plural	išli
feminine plural	išle
neuter plural	išla

So ići has three stems to know: ić- (infinitive), id- (present), iš- (past). The prefixed perfectives also use a suppletive -šao past: otišao, došao, izašao, ušao, prošao.

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. This is the everyday past of "went".

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	išao sam	išla sam
ti	išao si	išla si
on / ona	išao je	išla je
mi	išli smo	išle smo
vi	išli ste	išle ste
oni / one	išli su	išle su

Jučer smo išli na izlet u Plitvice.

Yesterday we went on a trip to Plitvice.

Nisam išla na predavanje, bila sam bolesna.

I didn't go to the lecture, I was ill. — feminine speaker.

A subtlety of aspect: išao sam u dućan (imperfective) leans toward "I was going / I went and the point is the trip itself", whereas the perfective otišao sam u dućan states a single completed departure. For shopping-and-back, native speakers often use bio sam u dućanu ("I was at the shop"). See aspect and verbs of motion.

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive ends in -ći, so it stays full before the clitic: ići ću (no vowel dropped, exactly like moći ću).

Person	Infinitive first	Clitic first
ja	ići ću	… ću ići
ti	ići ćeš	… ćeš ići
on/ona/ono	ići će	… će ići
mi	ići ćemo	… ćemo ići
vi	ići ćete	… ćete ići
oni/one/ona	ići će	… će ići

Sutra ćemo ići na more, vrijeme će biti super.

Tomorrow we'll go to the seaside, the weather will be great.

Imperative

The imperative is built on the present id- stem: idi, idimo, idite. In casual speech the borrowed hajde / ajde ("come on, let's go") is extremely common as an encouragement.

Person	Form	Meaning
ti	idi	go!
mi	idimo	let's go
vi	idite	go! (pl./formal)

Idi kući, kasno je.

Go home, it's late.

Hajde, idemo, zakasnit ćemo!

Come on, let's go, we'll be late! — colloquial 'hajde' + present 'idemo' as a hortative.

Note that the negative imperative of ići uses the special nemoj construction: Nemoj ići! ("Don't go!"), not Ne idi! — see negative commands.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle — for polite suggestions and hypotheticals.

Person	Form (masc.)
ja	išao bih
ti	išao bi
on/ona/ono	išao/išla/išlo bi
mi	išli bismo
vi	išli biste
oni/one/ona	išli bi

Išao bih s vama, ali moram raditi.

I'd go with you, but I have to work.

Other forms

Present verbal adverb: idući ("going") — also frozen as the adjective idući "next, coming" (idući tjedan "next week"). A useful double life to know.
Passive participle: none — ići is intransitive (no direct object), so it cannot be made passive.

Idući put nazovi prije nego dođeš.

Next time, call before you come. — frozen adjective 'idući'.

Key uses and government

1. Destination: ići u / na + accusative

Motion toward a place takes a two-case preposition with the accusative. U ("to/into") for most enclosed places and towns; na ("to/onto") for open spaces, islands, events, and a fixed list of nouns (see u vs na and accusative for motion). The same prepositions take the locative for static location — the case switch is what distinguishes "going to" from "being at".

Idem u školu.

I'm going to school. — 'u' + accusative for motion.

Idemo na koncert u petak.

We're going to a concert on Friday. — 'na' for an event.

Ljeti idu na otok kod bake.

In summer they go to the island to their grandma's.

2. kući / doma — the home exceptions

"Going home" is the irregular adverb kući (an old dative), not u kuću; u kuću would mean "into the [physical] house".

Idem kući, vidimo se sutra.

I'm going home, see you tomorrow.

3. ići + infinitive of purpose

Like English "go [to] do something", ići readily takes a following infinitive of purpose.

Idem kupiti kruh, trebaš li još što?

I'm going to buy bread, do you need anything else?

Common Mistakes

❌ Mi goimo u kino.

Incorrect — 'ići' is suppletive; the present stem is 'id-': idemo.

✅ Idemo u kino.

We're going to the cinema.

❌ Jučer sam išo na posao.

Incorrect — the masculine l-participle is 'išao' (with -ao), not 'išo' in writing.

✅ Jučer sam išao na posao.

Yesterday I went to work.

❌ Idem u kući.

Incorrect — motion 'going home' is the adverb 'kući'; 'u kući' (locative) means 'inside the house'.

✅ Idem kući.

I'm going home.

❌ Idem u škola.

Incorrect — motion to a place needs the accusative, so 'školu', not the nominative 'škola'.

✅ Idem u školu.

I'm going to school.

❌ Ne idi!

Marginal — the standard negative command of 'ići' is the 'nemoj' construction.

✅ Nemoj ići!

Don't go!

Key Takeaways

Ići is imperfective; directional perfectives are prefixed (otići, doći, poći, ući, izaći).
Three stems: infinitive ić-, present id- (idem), past iš- (išao, išla).
Future stays full: ići ću. Imperative: idi, idimo, idite (negative Nemoj ići!); colloquial hajde.
Destination = u / na
- accusative; "home" = the adverb kući.
There are no manner-of-motion verb pairs as in Russian — ići covers going on foot and by vehicle alike.

Now practice Croatian

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Croatian→