putovati (to travel) | Croatian Grammar

Putovati ("to travel") is the core verb of the travel domain, and it teaches one of the most productive sound-patterns in Croatian conjugation in the bargain: the -ova- → -uje- swap. The infinitive putovati looks like it should give *putovam, but the present is putujem — drop -ova-, add -uje-, exactly as kupovati → kupujem. Beyond the conjugation, two government patterns do all the work: the destination takes u or na + the accusative (motion to), and the means of transport takes the bare instrumental (vlakom, avionom). Learn Putujem vlakom u Italiju and you have the whole verb.

Aspect

Putovati is imperfective — travel is a durative activity, the journey as a process. Its perfective partner is otputovati ("to set off, to depart on a journey"), formed with the prefix ot-, which adds the sense of a single bounded departure. Putujem = I'm travelling / I travel; otputovao sam = I left (went away on a trip).

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
putovati	imperfective	putujem	be travelling; travel (habit); be on a journey
otputovati	perfective	otputujem	set off / depart (a single act of leaving)

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The present is putujem, never *putovam. Any -ovati verb does this: drop -ova-, add -uje- — compare kupovati → kupujem, darovati → darujem. See aspect pair formation.

Present tense (the -uje- stem)

The infinitive's -ova- is replaced by -uje- in the present.

Person	Form	Meaning
ja	putujem	I travel / I'm travelling
ti	putuješ	you travel
on/ona/ono	putuje	he/she/it travels
mi	putujemo	we travel
vi	putujete	you travel
oni/one/ona	putuju	they travel

Svako ljeto putujemo u Dalmaciju autom.

Every summer we travel to Dalmatia by car. — 'u' + accusative destination, instrumental 'autom' for the means.

The l-participle

The l-participle is built on the -ova- stem (not the present -uje-): masculine putovao.

Gender / number	Form
masculine singular	putovao
feminine singular	putovala
neuter singular	putovalo
masculine plural	putovali
feminine plural	putovale
neuter plural	putovala

The masculine singular putovao shows the vocalised -l (-ao) on the -ova- stem — a common point of confusion, since the present uses -uje- but the past uses -ova-.

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle.

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	putovao sam	putovala sam
ti	putovao si	putovala si
on / ona	putovao je	putovala je
mi	putovali smo	putovale smo
vi	putovali ste	putovale ste
oni / one	putovali su	putovale su

Prošle godine putovali smo vlakom kroz pola Europe.

Last year we travelled by train across half of Europe. — imperfective past + instrumental 'vlakom'.

Otputovala je u Beč prije tjedan dana.

She left for Vienna a week ago. — perfective 'otputovati', a single departure, 'u' + accusative 'Beč'.

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive drops its final -i before the clitic: putovat ću.

Person	Form
ja	putovat ću
ti	putovat ćeš
on/ona/ono	putovat će
mi	putovat ćemo
vi	putovat ćete
oni/one/ona	putovat će

Sljedeći mjesec putovat ćemo u Japan.

Next month we'll travel to Japan. — Future I; note the present-for-future alternative below.

Imperative

The -uje- stem gives the imperative putuj, putujmo, putujte — built on the present stem, not the infinitive.

Person	Form	Meaning
ti	putuj	travel!
mi	putujmo	let's travel
vi	putujte	travel! (pl./formal)

Putuj sigurno i javi se kad stigneš!

Travel safely and let me know when you arrive! — imperative 'putuj' on the present stem.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

The bih-clitics + l-participle.

Person	Form (masc.)
ja	putovao bih
ti	putovao bi
on/ona/ono	putovao / putovala / putovalo bi
mi	putovali bismo
vi	putovali biste
oni/one/ona	putovali bi

Putovao bih svijetom da imam vremena i novca.

I'd travel the world if I had the time and money. — conditional + instrumental 'svijetom' (travel through/around).

Other forms

Present verbal adverb: putujući ("[while] travelling") — Mnogo je naučio putujući po Aziji ("He learned a lot travelling around Asia"). Built on the present -uje- stem.
Derived noun: putovanje ("a trip, a journey, travel") — sretan put! ("have a good trip!"), poslovno putovanje ("a business trip"). Closely related: put ("a way, a road, a journey"), putnik / putnica ("a traveller, a passenger" — m./f.), putovnica ("a passport").
Passive participle: none — putovati is intransitive (no accusative object; destinations come via prepositions).

Naše putovanje u Grčku bilo je nezaboravno.

Our trip to Greece was unforgettable. — the noun 'putovanje'.

Key uses and government

1. Destination: u / na + accusative

The place you travel to takes u or na + the accusative — motion toward a goal. The choice between u (into, for enclosed places, most countries and cities) and na (onto, for open/surface places, islands, events, and a fixed set of nouns like more, otok, planina) follows the general Croatian u/na split for direction. See the accusative direct object and direction.

Putujemo u Italiju, a onda na Siciliju.

We're travelling to Italy, and then to Sicily. — 'u' for the country, 'na' for the island; both + accusative.

Ovog vikenda putujem na more.

This weekend I'm travelling to the seaside. — 'na more' (fixed 'na' phrase) + accusative.

2. Means of transport: the bare instrumental

How you travel takes the bare instrumental — no preposition. Vlakom (by train), avionom (by plane), autom / kolima (by car), brodom (by boat), autobusom (by bus), biciklom (by bike). This is the instrumental of means: the vehicle is the instrument through which you travel. English needs "by"; Croatian carries it in the ending. See the instrumental forms.

Brže je putovati avionom nego autobusom.

It's faster to travel by plane than by bus. — bare instrumentals 'avionom', 'autobusom', no preposition.

Putuju biciklom od grada do grada.

They travel by bike from town to town. — instrumental 'biciklom'.

3. The present-for-future

For a planned, scheduled trip, Croatian readily uses the present tense with a future meaning — Sutra putujem ("I'm travelling tomorrow / I leave tomorrow") — exactly as English uses the present continuous for arranged plans. With a time adverb like sutra, u petak, idući tjedan, the present putujem is the most natural choice, often preferred over the full Future I.

Sutra putujem u Zagreb na sastanak.

Tomorrow I'm travelling to Zagreb for a meeting. — present 'putujem' with future meaning (scheduled plan).

4. putovati vs ići vs voziti

Putovati is specifically to travel — to make a journey, usually over distance. For plain "go" you use ići (Idem u dućan "I'm going to the shop"); for "drive (a vehicle) / give someone a ride" you use voziti (Vozim auto "I drive a car"). You putuješ vlakom (you travel by train, as a passenger) but you voziš auto (you drive the car yourself). See ići and voziti.

Ne volim voziti na duge staze, radije putujem vlakom.

I don't like driving long distances, I'd rather travel by train. — 'voziti' (drive) vs 'putovati' (travel as passenger).

Common Mistakes

❌ Putovam u Split.

Wrong stem — '-ovati' verbs take the '-uje-' present: 'putujem'.

✅ Putujem u Split.

I'm travelling to Split.

❌ Putujemo s vlakom.

No preposition for the means of transport — use the bare instrumental: 'putujemo vlakom'. ('s vlakom' would mean accompanying a train.)

✅ Putujemo vlakom.

We're travelling by train.

❌ Putujem u moru.

Wrong case + preposition — direction to the sea is 'na more' + accusative, not 'u' + locative.

✅ Putujem na more.

I'm travelling to the seaside.

❌ Putuvajte sigurno!

Wrong imperative — built on the present '-uje-' stem: 'putujte'.

✅ Putujte sigurno!

Travel safely!

❌ Sutra putovam u Beč.

Two errors at once: wrong stem and the verb itself — the natural scheduled-future is the present 'putujem': 'Sutra putujem u Beč'.

✅ Sutra putujem u Beč.

Tomorrow I'm travelling to Vienna.

Key Takeaways

putovati (impf, present putujem — -ova- → -uje-); perfective otputovati ("set off").
Watch the stem split: present and imperative use -uje- (putujem, putuj), but the past l-participle uses -ova- (putovao).
Destination = u / na + accusative; means of transport = bare instrumental (vlakom, avionom), no preposition.
Croatian uses the present for a scheduled future: Sutra putujem = "I'm travelling tomorrow".
The noun is putovanje ("a trip"); keep putovati (travel) apart from ići (go) and voziti (drive).

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