Vladati ("to rule, to govern") is the verb of power and dominion, and it belongs to a small, important set of Croatian verbs that take a bare instrumental object instead of an accusative. You don't rule a country (accusative); you rule with/over a country — vladati zemljom (instrumental). That single government fact unlocks three related senses: literal ruling (a monarch over a realm), the figurative "prevail / hold sway" (vlada tišina "silence reigns"), and "have command of" a skill or language (vladati jezikom). It is a formal, often political verb, and it sits in a family with upravljati ("manage, steer") and rukovati ("operate, handle"), all instrumental-governing.
Aspect
| Verb | Aspect | Present 1sg | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| vladati | imperfective | vladam | ongoing rule/dominion; a prevailing state; command of a skill |
| zavladati | perfective | zavladam | to come to rule, to take hold (the onset of dominion) |
In its core sense vladati is imperfective only: ruling and prevailing are ongoing states, and states are imperfective — see imperfective meaning. There is no everyday perfective for "to rule (and finish ruling)". For the onset — coming to power, a mood taking hold — Croatian prefixes it: zavladati (pf, "to take power, to set in"): Zavladao je mir ("Peace set in"), Nakon kralja zavladao je kaos ("After the king, chaos took over"). Treat vladati as the durative verb and reach for zavladati for the moment something takes hold.
Present tense
A regular a-class verb.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ja | vladam |
| ti | vladaš |
| on/ona/ono | vlada |
| mi | vladamo |
| vi | vladate |
| oni/one/ona | vladaju |
Kraljica je vladala zemljom više od šezdeset godina.
The queen ruled the country for more than sixty years — vladati + instrumental 'zemljom' (formal).
U dvorani vlada mrtva tišina dok govornik čeka.
A dead silence reigns in the hall as the speaker waits — figurative 'prevail' sense.
The l-participle
Regular a-class: masculine vladao (vocalised -l), feminine vladala.
| Gender / number | Form |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | vladao |
| feminine singular | vladala |
| neuter singular | vladalo |
| masculine plural | vladali |
| feminine plural | vladale |
| neuter plural | vladala |
Perfect tense (perfekt)
Clitic biti + l-participle. As an imperfective, the perfect describes a stretch of rule or a prevailing state in the past.
| Person | Masculine subject | Feminine subject |
|---|---|---|
| ja | vladao sam | vladala sam |
| ti | vladao si | vladala si |
| on / ona | vladao je | vladala je |
| mi | vladali smo | vladale smo |
| vi | vladali ste | vladale ste |
| oni / one | vladali su | vladale su |
Tom je zemljom stoljećima vladala ista obitelj.
The same family ruled that country for centuries — instrumental 'zemljom', fronted-object word order.
Među studentima je vladalo opće nezadovoljstvo.
A general discontent prevailed among the students — figurative 'prevail' sense, neuter subject.
Future I (futur prvi)
The infinitive vladati drops its final -i before the clitic: vladat ću.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ja | vladat ću |
| ti | vladat ćeš |
| on/ona/ono | vladat će |
| mi | vladat ćemo |
| vi | vladat ćete |
| oni/one/ona | vladat će |
Tko god pobijedi, vladat će podijeljenom zemljom.
Whoever wins will govern a divided country — future + instrumental 'zemljom'.
Imperative
The imperative vladaj, vladajmo, vladajte exists but is uncommon in the literal "rule!" sense — you rarely command someone to govern. It appears in rhetorical and idiomatic uses, including the reflexive vladati se ("to behave, to conduct oneself"): Vladaj se pristojno! ("Behave yourself!").
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ti | vladaj |
| mi | vladajmo |
| vi | vladajte |
Vladaj se kako treba dok smo u gostima.
Behave properly while we're visiting — reflexive 'vladati se' = to conduct oneself.
Conditional I (kondicional prvi)
bih-clitics + l-participle.
| Person | vladati (masc.) |
|---|---|
| ja | vladao bih |
| ti | vladao bi |
| on/ona/ono | vladao/vladala/vladalo bi |
| mi | vladali bismo |
| vi | vladali biste |
| oni/one/ona | vladali bi |
Da je preživio, vjerojatno bi vladao mudro i pravedno.
Had he survived, he would probably have ruled wisely and justly.
Other forms
- Passive participle: not used in the ordinary transitive way — because the object is instrumental, not accusative, vladati does not form a normal passive participle. (Compare the noun-derived adjective vladajući below.)
- Verbal adverb / adjective: vladajući ("ruling, governing"), now mostly an adjective: vladajuća stranka ("the ruling party"), vladajuća elita ("the ruling elite").
- Related nouns: vlada ("government" — the cabinet/executive), vladar / vladarica ("ruler, monarch"), vladavina ("rule, reign"): vladavina prava ("the rule of law"), za vrijeme njegove vladavine ("during his reign").
Vladajuća koalicija izgubila je većinu u parlamentu.
The ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament — adjective 'vladajuća' (political register).
Key uses and government
1. Literal rule: vladati + INSTRUMENTAL
The headline. To rule a place or polity, put the ruled thing in the instrumental — vladati zemljom / državom / carstvom / narodom ("rule a country / state / empire / people"). English uses a direct object, but Croatian construes ruling as exercising power with/over something, and the instrumental carries that. This puts vladati alongside instrumental-governing verbs such as upravljati ("manage, steer, drive"), rukovati ("operate, handle"), and raspolagati ("have at one's disposal"). See the broader government overview.
Car je vladao golemim carstvom od Atlantika do Perzije.
The emperor ruled a vast empire from the Atlantic to Persia — instrumental 'carstvom' (formal/historical).
Nemoguće je vladati narodom koji ti ne vjeruje.
It's impossible to rule a people that doesn't trust you — instrumental 'narodom'.
2. The figurative "prevail / hold sway": vlada…
Very commonly vladati is used impersonally, in the 3rd person, to say that a state of affairs prevails, reigns, obtains — vlada tišina ("silence reigns"), vlada nered ("chaos prevails"), vlada mišljenje da… ("the view prevails that…"). Here the prevailing thing is the grammatical subject (nominative), and the verb is intransitive. This is a staple of newspaper and report prose.
Vlada mišljenje da će cijene i dalje rasti.
The prevailing view is that prices will keep rising — 'vlada mišljenje da…' (journalistic).
Nakon presude gradom je zavladalo olakšanje.
After the verdict, relief took hold over the city — perfective 'zavladati', the onset of a prevailing mood.
3. "Have command of": vladati + INSTRUMENTAL (a skill or language)
The same instrumental gives a second figurative sense: to have command of, master a skill, a subject, or a language — vladati jezikom ("have a command of a language"), vladati materijom ("have a command of the subject matter"), vladati situacijom ("be in control of the situation"). This is a flattering, somewhat formal way to describe competence.
Izvrsno vlada engleskim i njemačkim jezikom.
She has an excellent command of English and German — vladati + instrumental 'jezikom' (formal).
Predavač je suvereno vladao gradivom i odgovorio na svako pitanje.
The lecturer had complete command of the material and answered every question — instrumental 'gradivom'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Kralj je vladao zemlju.
Case error — 'vladati' governs the INSTRUMENTAL, not the accusative: 'zemljom'.
✅ Kralj je vladao zemljom.
The king ruled the country.
❌ Dobro vladam engleski jezik.
Case error — 'have command of' is also instrumental: 'engleskim jezikom'.
✅ Dobro vladam engleskim jezikom.
I have a good command of English.
❌ U sobi je vladala tišinu.
Case error — in the 'prevail' sense the prevailing thing is the SUBJECT (nominative): 'tišina', not accusative 'tišinu'.
✅ U sobi je vladala tišina.
Silence reigned in the room.
❌ Vladaću zemljom mudro.
Future spelling — drop the -i before the clitic and keep them apart: 'vladat ću', not '*vladaću'.
✅ Vladat ću zemljom mudro.
I'll rule the country wisely.
❌ Moj sin se ne vlada dobro u školi — kontrolira razred.
Sense confusion — 'vladati se' is 'to behave'; 'rule/control' a class would be 'vladati razredom'.
✅ Moj se sin dobro vlada u školi.
My son behaves well at school.
Key Takeaways
- vladati (impf, regular a-class vladam) — the conjugation is easy; the government is the whole point.
- Government: INSTRUMENTAL for "rule" (vladati zemljom) and for "have command of" (vladati jezikom) — never the accusative.
- The figurative "prevail / reign" sense is intransitive, 3rd person, with the prevailing thing as subject: vlada tišina, vlada mišljenje da…; onset = perfective zavladati.
- Register is formal/political/historical; the reflexive vladati se means "to behave".
- Related: noun vlada ("government"), vladar ("ruler"), adjective vladajući ("ruling"). Future: vladat ću (never vladaću).
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