odlučivati / odlučiti (to decide) | Croatian Grammar

Odlučiti ("to decide") is the verb of settling a question — and it teaches two things at once. First, its imperfective partner odlučivati runs on the -uje- present (odlučujem), the same -ivati → -uje- swap that powers a whole class of verbs. Second, odlučiti has an unusually rich government: it takes a bare infinitive or a da-clause ("decide to do"), governs o + locative ("decide about / on something"), and turns reflexive in odlučiti se za + accusative ("opt for, settle on"). On top of that sits the near-universal collocation donijeti odluku ("to make a decision"), which often replaces the verb altogether in careful or formal style.

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
odlučiti	perfective	odlučim	one decision, the moment it's made
odlučivati	imperfective	odlučujem	deciding repeatedly; being the one who decides; an ongoing deliberation

The split is between reaching a decision and the act/habit of deciding. Odlučio sam ostati ("I decided to stay") is the moment of resolution; Ovdje ja odlučujem ("I'm the one who decides here") states a standing role. This is a suffixal pair built from the perfective with the -iva- suffix; see forming aspect pairs by suffixation.

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The present stem swap is the thing to drill: odlučivati → odlučujem, odlučuješ, odlučuje…, never *odlučivam. Every -ivati verb does the same — drop -iva-, add -uje-: compare pokazivati → pokazujem, zahvaljivati → zahvaljujem.

Present tense

Odlučiti is a regular i-class verb; odlučivati uses the -uje- present.

Person	odlučiti (pf)	odlučivati (impf)
ja	odlučim	odlučujem
ti	odlučiš	odlučuješ
on/ona/ono	odluči	odlučuje
mi	odlučimo	odlučujemo
vi	odlučite	odlučujete
oni/one/ona	odluče	odlučuju

As with all perfectives, odlučim is not a "right now" present — it reads as "once I decide / if I decide". For deliberation in progress you need odlučujem.

Još uvijek se odlučujem između dva fakulteta.

I'm still deciding between two universities. — in progress, imperfective reflexive.

Čim odlučim, javit ću ti.

As soon as I decide, I'll let you know. — perfective present, future reading.

The l-participle

Both are regular: masculine odlučio (vocalised -l), odlučivao.

Gender / number	odlučiti	odlučivati
masculine singular	odlučio	odlučivao
feminine singular	odlučila	odlučivala
neuter singular	odlučilo	odlučivalo
masculine plural	odlučili	odlučivali
feminine plural	odlučile	odlučivale
neuter plural	odlučila	odlučivala

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. The everyday "I decided" is the perfective odlučio sam / odlučila sam.

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	odlučio sam	odlučila sam
ti	odlučio si	odlučila si
on / ona	odlučio je	odlučila je
mi	odlučili smo	odlučile smo
vi	odlučili ste	odlučile ste
oni / one	odlučili su	odlučile su

Na kraju smo odlučili ostati još jednu noć.

In the end we decided to stay one more night. — one decision, perfective.

O tome je godinama odlučivala samo uprava.

For years only the management decided on that. — imperfective: a standing arrangement.

Future I (futur prvi)

Odlučiti → odlučit ću (drops -i); odlučivati → odlučivat ću. Never odlučiti ću.

Person	odlučiti	odlučivati
ja	odlučit ću	odlučivat ću
ti	odlučit ćeš	odlučivat ćeš
on/ona/ono	odlučit će	odlučivat će
mi	odlučit ćemo	odlučivat ćemo
vi	odlučit ćete	odlučivat ćete
oni/one/ona	odlučit će	odlučivat će

Sutra ćemo odlučiti tko ide na put.

Tomorrow we'll decide who's going on the trip.

Imperative

The perfective odluči! ("decide!") urges someone to commit; the reflexive odluči se! ("make up your mind!") is the everyday nudge. The imperfective odlučuj is rare.

Person	odlučiti (pf)	odlučiti se (pf, refl.)
ti	odluči	odluči se
mi	odlučimo	odlučimo se
vi	odlučite	odlučite se

Odluči se već jednom, zatvaraju za deset minuta!

Make up your mind already, they close in ten minutes!

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle — for hypotheticals and softened statements.

Person	Form (masc.)
ja	odlučio bih
ti	odlučio bi
on/ona/ono	odlučio/odlučila/odlučilo bi
mi	odlučili bismo
vi	odlučili biste
oni/one/ona	odlučili bi

Da sam na tvom mjestu, odlučio bih se za jeftiniju opciju.

If I were in your place, I'd opt for the cheaper option.

Other forms

Passive participle: odlučen, odlučena, odlučeno ("decided, settled"). The most common form is the neuter odlučeno in the impersonal passive Odlučeno je da… ("It has been decided that…"). Note also the related adjective odlučan ("decisive, resolute") — a different word, no -en-.
Verbal adverb: the imperfective odlučujući ("[while] deciding") exists but is uncommon; you'll meet it mostly as the participial adjective odlučujući ("decisive, deciding", as in odlučujući glas "the deciding vote").

Odlučeno je da sjednica počinje u devet.

It has been decided that the session begins at nine. — impersonal passive 'odlučeno je da'.

Key uses and government

1. The core frame: odlučiti + infinitive (or da-clause)

The everyday construction is odlučiti + a bare infinitive — "decide to do". The da-clause (Odlučio sam da odem) is also heard, but the western standard prefers the infinitive when the subject is the same; see da + present vs the infinitive.

Odlučili su prodati kuću i preseliti se na selo.

They decided to sell the house and move to the countryside. — perfective + infinitive.

Odlučila sam da se ove godine neću pravdati nikome.

I've decided that this year I won't justify myself to anyone. — 'da'-clause, useful when the verb is reflexive/negated.

2. odlučiti o + locative — "decide about / on something"

When the decision is about a matter (a topic, a question, someone's fate), odlučiti governs o + locative: odlučiti o sudbini ("decide someone's fate"), odlučiti o pobjedniku ("decide the winner"). This is the slot where English "about/on" maps onto a Croatian case.

O tome ćemo odlučiti na sljedećem sastanku.

We'll decide on that at the next meeting. — 'o' + locative.

Jedan jedini gol odlučio je o naslovu.

A single goal decided the title. — 'o' + locative: decided *about* the title.

3. The reflexive: odlučiti se za + accusative — "opt for, settle on"

To say you chose between options and committed, use the reflexive odlučiti se — alone ("make up one's mind") or with za + accusative ("opt for"). The se makes the decision personal and final.

Nakon dugog razmišljanja odlučili smo se za more, ne za planinu.

After much thought we opted for the seaside, not the mountains. — 'odlučiti se za' + accusative.

Teško se odlučujem, uvijek mi se sve sviđa.

I find it hard to make up my mind, I always like everything. — imperfective reflexive 'odlučujem se'.

For how se attaches and behaves, see the reflexive 'se'; for the accusative object after za, see the accusative direct object.

4. The collocation: donijeti odluku — "make a decision"

In formal and written Croatian, the verb is often replaced by the light-verb collocation donijeti odluku ("to bring/make a decision") — note donijeti, not napraviti or uzeti. The decision-about phrase becomes donijeti odluku o + locative.

Sud je donio odluku o razvodu.

The court made a decision on the divorce. — 'donijeti odluku o' + locative, the formal collocation.

Common Mistakes

❌ Odlučivam između dva posla.

Wrong stem — '-ivati' verbs take the '-uje-' present: 'odlučujem'.

✅ Odlučujem između dva posla.

I'm deciding between two jobs.

❌ Odlučili smo o more.

Two errors — 'odlučiti o' governs the locative ('o moru'), and 'opt for' is the reflexive 'odlučiti se za' + accusative ('za more').

✅ Odlučili smo se za more.

We opted for the seaside.

❌ Napravili smo odluku.

Wrong light verb — a decision is 'donijeta', not 'made/done': use 'donijeti odluku'.

✅ Donijeli smo odluku.

We made a decision.

❌ Odlučiti ću sutra.

The infinitive drops -i before the future clitic: 'odlučit ću', never '*odlučiti ću'.

✅ Odlučit ću sutra.

I'll decide tomorrow.

❌ Odlučeno je o da idemo.

Garbled — the impersonal passive is just 'Odlučeno je da…' (no stray 'o' before 'da').

✅ Odlučeno je da idemo.

It's been decided that we're going.

Key Takeaways

odlučiti (pf, odlučim, odlučio) = reach a decision; odlučivati (impf, odlučujem, odlučivao) = deciding habitually / being the decider — note the -ivati → -uje- swap.
Core government: bare infinitive or da-clause ("decide to"); o + locative ("decide about/on"); reflexive odlučiti se za + accusative ("opt for").
The formal go-to is the collocation donijeti odluku ("make a decision") — donijeti, never napraviti.
Passive participle odlučen; the impersonal Odlučeno je da… is everyday formal style. Don't confuse it with the adjective odlučan ("decisive").
Future drops -i: odlučit ću (never odlučiti ću).

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