truditi se / potruditi se (to make an effort) | Croatian Grammar

Truditi se / potruditi se ("to make an effort, to try hard") is the verb of sustained, invested effort — not the single attempt (that's pokušati) but the ongoing work of trying. It is inherently reflexive (there is no *truditi without se), and its real value is the polite, can-do flavour it carries: Potrudit ću se ("I'll do my best") is one of the most useful phrases in the language. This page covers the aspect pair, the three ways it governs a complement (da-clause, oko + genitive, infinitive), and the line between it and pokušati ("attempt"), which English speakers blur.

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
truditi se	imperfective	trudim se	be making an effort; try hard (ongoing)
potruditi se	perfective	potrudim se	make a (concerted, bounded) effort; do one's best

A clean prefixal aspect pair: the perfective potruditi se is the imperfective truditi se plus the prefix po-. The split is the usual one. The imperfective describes effort in progress or as a standing habit — Trudim se ("I'm trying / I make an effort"). The perfective bounds it: Potrudio sam se ("I made an effort / I did my best [on that]"), and especially the future Potrudit ću se ("I'll do my best"). For the general logic of aspect pairs, see aspect overview.

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The most idiomatic use of the perfective is the promise: Potrudit ću se. = "I'll do my best." It commits you to a concerted, bounded effort. The imperfective Trudim se. instead reports an effort already under way ("I'm trying").

Present tense

Both are regular i-class verbs (trudim se, potrudim se). The perfective present, as ever, is not a "now" tense — it shows up in conditionals and subordinate clauses.

Person	truditi se (impf)	potruditi se (pf)
ja	trudim se	potrudim se
ti	trudiš se	potrudiš se
on/ona/ono	trudi se	potrudi se
mi	trudimo se	potrudimo se
vi	trudite se	potrudite se
oni/one/ona	trude se	potrude se

Trudim se da budem strpljiviji s djecom.

I'm trying to be more patient with the children. — imperfective + da-clause.

Ako se svi potrudimo, gotovi smo do mraka.

If we all make an effort, we'll be done by dark. — perfective present in an 'ako'-clause.

The l-participle

Built on the stem trudi- / potrudi-: masculine trudio se / potrudio se, feminine trudila se / potrudila se.

Gender / number	truditi se	potruditi se
masculine singular	trudio se	potrudio se
feminine singular	trudila se	potrudila se
neuter singular	trudilo se	potrudilo se
masculine plural	trudili se	potrudili se
feminine plural	trudile se	potrudile se
neuter plural	trudila se	potrudila se

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle, with se in the cluster; the third person drops je before se (potrudio se, not *potrudio se je).

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	potrudio sam se	potrudila sam se
ti	potrudio si se	potrudila si se
on / ona	potrudio se	potrudila se
mi	potrudili smo se	potrudile smo se
vi	potrudili ste se	potrudile ste se
oni / one	potrudili su se	potrudile su se

Vidi se da su se jako potrudili oko večere.

You can tell they put a lot of effort into the dinner. — perfective + 'oko' + genitive 'večere'.

Cijeli sam se mjesec trudio da naučim padeže.

I spent the whole month trying to learn the cases. — imperfective, sustained effort + da-clause.

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive drops its final -i before the clitic: potrudit ću se, trudit ću se.

Person	truditi se	potruditi se
ja	trudit ću se	potrudit ću se
ti	trudit ćeš se	potrudit ćeš se
on/ona/ono	trudit će se	potrudit će se
mi	trudit ćemo se	potrudit ćemo se
vi	trudit ćete se	potrudit ćete se
oni/one/ona	trudit će se	potrudit će se

Potrudit ću se da stignem na vrijeme, obećavam.

I'll do my best to make it on time, I promise. — the polite future 'potrudit ću se'.

Imperative

The perfective potrudi se! is the normal request for a concerted effort ("make an effort! / do try!"); the imperfective trudi se! leans toward "keep trying".

Person	truditi se (impf)	potruditi se (pf)
ti	trudi se	potrudi se
mi	trudimo se	potrudimo se
vi	trudite se	potrudite se

Potrudi se malo više, znam da možeš bolje.

Make a bit more of an effort, I know you can do better. — perfective imperative.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle, with se in the cluster — for polite offers and hypotheticals.

Person	Form (masc.)
ja	potrudio bih se
ti	potrudio bi se
on/ona/ono	potrudio/potrudila/potrudilo bi se
mi	potrudili bismo se
vi	potrudili biste se
oni/one/ona	potrudili bi se

Potrudio bih se još više da znam da to nešto mijenja.

I'd try even harder if I knew it made any difference.

Other forms

The noun trud ("effort, toil"): uložiti trud ("to put in effort"), Hvala na trudu ("Thanks for the effort"). High-frequency and worth pairing with the verb.
Passive participle: none — the verb is intrinsically reflexive and cannot be passivised.
Present verbal adverb: trudeći se ("[while] making an effort"), literary: Trudeći se da ne probudi dijete, hodala je na prstima ("Trying not to wake the child, she walked on tiptoe").

Hvala ti na trudu, stvarno cijenim to što si učinio.

Thank you for the effort, I really appreciate what you did. — the noun 'trud'.

Key uses and government

1. truditi se + da-clause — "try to / make an effort to"

The most common complement is da + a clause. Croatian generally prefers the da-clause here over the bare infinitive, especially when the effort is sustained. The choice between da and an infinitive is surveyed at da vs infinitive.

Trudim se da svaki dan pročitam barem nešto na hrvatskom.

I make an effort to read at least something in Croatian every day. — 'da'-clause.

2. truditi se oko + genitive — "put effort into something"

To name the thing you work on, use oko + genitive: truditi se oko nečega ("put effort into something"), truditi se oko nekoga ("make an effort for someone"). The preposition oko governs the genitive throughout.

Toliko se trudila oko tog projekta, a nitko to nije primijetio.

She put so much effort into that project, and nobody noticed. — 'oko' + genitive 'projekta'.

3. truditi se + infinitive — "try to (do)"

A bare infinitive is also fine, especially in more concise or written style: Trudim se ostati miran ("I try to stay calm"). It is interchangeable with the da-clause but a touch more compact.

Trudim se ne misliti na to previše.

I try not to think about it too much. — bare infinitive complement.

4. truditi se vs pokušati — sustained effort vs single attempt

This is the distinction English speakers miss. Truditi se is the invested, ongoing effort — "try hard, make an effort, strive". Pokušati is the attempt — "try (to do), have a go", a single bounded action that either works or doesn't. You can truditi se for years; you pokušaš once and either succeed (uspjeti) or fail. When the English "try" means "give it a shot", it's pokušati; when it means "make an effort, put yourself into it", it's truditi se. See pokušati.

Pokušao sam otvoriti vrata, ali su zaključana.

I tried to open the door, but it's locked. — single attempt: 'pokušati', NOT 'truditi se'.

Trudim se biti bolji prijatelj, ali ide sporo.

I'm trying to be a better friend, but it's slow going. — sustained effort: 'truditi se'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Trudim da budem bolji.

Missing reflexive — the verb is 'truditi se'; the 'se' is obligatory: 'Trudim se da budem bolji'.

✅ Trudim se da budem bolji.

I'm trying to be better.

❌ Trudim se za taj projekt.

Wrong preposition — to name what you work on, use 'oko' + genitive, not 'za' + accusative: 'oko tog projekta'.

✅ Trudim se oko tog projekta.

I'm putting effort into that project.

❌ Trudio sam otvoriti vrata.

Wrong verb (and missing 'se') — a single attempt is 'pokušati': 'Pokušao sam otvoriti vrata'. 'Truditi se' is sustained effort.

✅ Pokušao sam otvoriti vrata.

I tried to open the door.

❌ Potrudiću se.

Spelling — the future is two words and the infinitive drops its -i: 'Potrudit ću se', never '*potrudiću se' or '*potruditi ću se'.

✅ Potrudit ću se.

I'll do my best.

❌ Trudila se oko njega cijeli život.

This is actually correct! ('oko' + genitive 'njega' = 'for him'.) The trap is writing the accusative 'oko njega' as '*oko ga' — clitics never follow a preposition.

✅ Trudila se oko njega cijeli život.

She made an effort for him her whole life.

Key Takeaways

truditi se (impf, trudim se) = ongoing/sustained effort; potruditi se (pf, potrudim se) = a concerted, bounded effort — Potrudit ću se = "I'll do my best".
Inherently reflexive — the se is obligatory in every tense.
Government: da-clause (trudim se da…), oko + genitive for the thing (oko nečega), or a bare infinitive.
truditi se (make an effort) ≠ pokušati (make a single attempt) — strive vs have-a-go.
The noun is trud ("effort"): Hvala na trudu. Future spelling: potrudit ću se (two words, no -i).

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