The Infinitive | Croatian Grammar

The infinitive (infinitiv) is the form you meet first: it is the headword in every dictionary, the shape you learn each verb in, and the form Croatian uses to name an action without tying it to a person or a time. This page covers what the infinitive looks like, when you reach for it, and two facts that quietly surprise learners who assume the infinitive is a fixed, untouchable block — that it loses its final vowel in the future tense, and that it can be swapped out for a whole da + present clause.

What the infinitive looks like

Every Croatian infinitive ends in one of two ways: -ti or -ći. The -ti ending is overwhelmingly the common one, covering the great majority of verbs:

Infinitive	Meaning
raditi	to work, to do
čitati	to read
vidjeti	to see
putovati	to travel
govoriti	to speak

A much smaller — but very high-frequency — set ends in -ći. These are verbs whose stem historically ended in k or g, which fused with the old infinitive ending to give -ći:

Infinitive	Meaning
ići	to go
moći	to be able, can
reći	to say
peći	to bake, to roast
pomoći	to help

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If a Croatian verb does not end in -ti or -ći, it is not in the infinitive. Those two endings are the only two there are — there is no third pattern hiding somewhere.

For an English speaker the infinitive feels familiar in one way and strange in another. Familiar, because English has a citation form too — "to work," "to read." Strange, because Croatian packs "to" into the verb as an ending rather than putting a separate word in front. There is no Croatian word for the "to" of "to work"; raditi already means "to work" all by itself.

Volim čitati prije spavanja.

I like to read before sleeping. — the infinitive 'čitati' as the complement of 'volim'.

Moramo ići, već je kasno.

We have to go, it's already late. — the -ći infinitive 'ići'.

The most everyday job of the infinitive is to follow a modal verb (morati "must," moći "can," htjeti / željeti "want") or a phase verb (one that marks the start, continuation, or end of an action: početi "begin," prestati "stop," nastaviti "continue"). The first verb is conjugated; the second stays in the infinitive.

Moram raditi do osam.

I have to work until eight. — conjugated 'moram' + infinitive 'raditi'.

Želim ići na more ovog ljeta.

I want to go to the seaside this summer. — 'želim' + infinitive 'ići'.

Počinjem učiti hrvatski.

I'm starting to learn Croatian. — phase verb 'počinjem' + infinitive 'učiti'.

Ne mogu vjerovati da je već petak.

I can't believe it's already Friday. — modal 'mogu' + infinitive 'vjerovati'.

The logic is the same as English "I must work," "I want to go," "I'm starting to learn." Only the conjugated verb changes for person; the infinitive is the constant, naming the action that the first verb frames. More on the modals themselves is on obligation: morati and trebati.

Use 2: building the future tense

Croatian forms its main future tense (the futur prvi) from the infinitive plus a clitic form of htjeti (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će). Here is the fact that catches everyone: a -ti infinitive drops its final -i before that clitic, in both spelling and pronunciation.

Radit ću cijeli dan.

I'll work all day. — note 'radit ću', NOT 'raditi ću'; the -i is gone.

Sutra ćemo putovati u Zagreb.

Tomorrow we'll travel to Zagreb. — here the clitic comes first, so the full infinitive 'putovati' is kept.

So raditi + ću is written radit ću, čitati + ćeš is čitat ćeš, and so on. When the clitic follows the infinitive, the -i drops; when the clitic stands before the infinitive (because something else fills the front of the sentence), the infinitive keeps its full form — putovat ću but ćemo putovati. The -ći infinitives, by contrast, never lose anything: ići + ću is ići ću, fully intact.

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The dropped -i is a spelling rule, not a typo. Radit ću is correct and raditi ću is wrong. The full picture of when the -i drops is on the future tense page.

Ići ću s tobom ako želiš.

I'll go with you if you want. — the -ći infinitive 'ići' keeps its full form before the clitic.

Use 3: the infinitive as a complement

Beyond modals, the infinitive serves as a plain verbal complement after many verbs and even after some adjectives and impersonal expressions — much like the English "to"-infinitive in "It's hard to say" or "I forgot to call."

Teško je reći tko ima pravo.

It's hard to say who's right. — infinitive after the impersonal 'teško je'.

Zaboravio sam nazvati mamu.

I forgot to call mum. — infinitive complement after 'zaboraviti'.

Naučili smo kuhati od bake.

We learned to cook from grandma. — infinitive after 'naučiti'.

The big alternation: infinitive vs. da + present

Here is the fact that most surprises learners: in very many of the situations above, the infinitive can be replaced by a clause built from da + a conjugated present-tense verb. The two are often interchangeable in meaning:

Moram raditi. = Moram da radim.

I have to work. — the infinitive 'raditi' and the clause 'da radim' carry the same meaning.

Želim ići. = Želim da idem.

I want to go. — both versions mean the same thing.

The difference is not grammatical but regional and stylistic. The bare infinitive (moram raditi) is the form preferred in standard Croatian and in the western and coastal areas. The da + present construction (moram da radim) is more frequent toward the east and in casual speech, and it is the dominant pattern in Serbian. As a learner of Croatian, you should make the infinitive your default — it is always correct and always natural in Croatian — but you must be able to recognise the da + present version, because you will hear it constantly.

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For producing Croatian, prefer the infinitive: Hoću jesti rather than Hoću da jedem. But do not flag da + present as an "error" — it is simply the other regional option. The full comparison is on da vs. the infinitive.

Što hoćeš jesti za večeru?

What do you want to eat for dinner? — the infinitive 'jesti', the Croatian-preferred option.

Common Mistakes

❌ Raditi ću sutra.

Incorrect — before the following clitic 'ću', the infinitive drops its final -i.

✅ Radit ću sutra.

I'll work tomorrow. — the future-tense -i drop.

❌ Moram to raditi i da završim danas.

Incorrect — don't mix the two constructions; pick the infinitive OR the da-clause, not both in one breath.

✅ Moram to napraviti danas.

I have to get this done today. — a single, clean infinitive complement.

❌ Želim za ići kući.

Incorrect — there is no Croatian 'for/to' particle before the infinitive; the infinitive carries 'to' by itself.

✅ Želim ići kući.

I want to go home. — bare infinitive, no extra word.

❌ Želim da kupim kruh.

Non-Croatian as a default — Croatian prefers the bare infinitive after 'želim', not a da-clause.

✅ Želim kupiti kruh.

I want to buy bread. — the infinitive 'kupiti' is the natural Croatian choice.

Key Takeaways

The infinitive ends in -ti (the vast majority: raditi, čitati, vidjeti) or -ći (a small frequent set: ići, moći, reći, peći, pomoći).
It follows modal and phase verbs (moram raditi, počinjem učiti) and serves as a general verbal complement (teško je reći).
In the future tense, a -ti infinitive loses its final -i when the clitic follows it: radit ću, not raditi ću. The -ći infinitives never change.
The infinitive alternates with da
present
(moram raditi = moram da radim); the infinitive is the Croatian-preferred default, the da-clause is more eastern/colloquial.

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