hteti (to want) | Serbian Grammar

Хтети has two related but grammatically distinct present paradigms. Full хоћу, хоћеш... means “want, intend, be willing,” while clitic ћу, ћеш... builds Future I. The fused negative нећу... serves both systems, so its meaning depends on the complement and context.

Core Forms

Person	full lexical present	future clitic	negative
ја	хоћу	ћу	нећу
ти	хоћеш	ћеш	нећеш
он / она / оно	хоће	ће	неће
ми	хоћемо	ћемо	нећемо
ви	хоћете	ћете	нећете
они / оне / она	хоће	ће	неће

Form	Shape
infinitive	хтети
l-participle	хтео, хтела, хтело; хтели, хтеле, хтела
perfect	хтео сам / хтела сам; хтео је / хтела је; хтели су
Future I of lexical “want”	хтећу, хтећеш, хтеће, хтећемо, хтећете, хтеће
conditional	хтео бих / хтела бих; хтео би / хтела би; хтели бисмо...

The first-person present is хоћу, not a regular form built from the infinitive. Ijekavian Serbian has infinitive хтјети and masculine l-participle хтио, while the present remains хоћу.... This page uses Ekavian.

Хтети has no productive everyday lexical imperative. The forms немој, немојмо, немојте function synchronically as standard negative-imperative support: немој да идеш “don’t go.” Do not treat them as an ordinary lexical imperative paradigm of хтети, and do not invent commands such as хоћи!.

Wanting a Thing or an Action

A desired thing is a direct accusative object.

Хоћу карту у једном смеру до Новог Сада.

I want a one-way ticket to Novi Sad.

Деца хоће још једну причу пре спавања.

The children want one more story before bed.

This direct frame is normal among family and friends, but хоћу + noun can sound abrupt in a shop or formal interaction. A conditional with желети is conventionally softer: желео/желела бих.... The difference is pragmatic, not a rule that direct хоћу is always rude.

An action usually appears in да + present in everyday Serbian. The finite verb identifies its own subject.

Хоћу да завршим ово пре ручка.

I want to finish this before lunch.

Хоћемо да нам објасните зашто је рачун већи.

We want you to explain to us why the bill is higher. (plural/polite addressee)

The infinitive is also standard when its understood subject is the same as that of хтети: хоћу завршити. It is common in concise writing and some regional styles, while да + present is the productive conversational baseline in much of Serbia. A different subject requires a finite clause; Serbian does not copy English I want you to leave as an object plus infinitive.

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In хоћу да одем, the full form expresses desire or intention. In отићи ћу, the clitic marks Future I. Keeping the full and clitic series separate prevents most errors with this verb.

Intention, Willingness, and Refusal

Хтети is broader than private desire. It can signal an intention to act, willingness to cooperate, or refusal under negation.

Хоћу да ти помогнем, али прво морам да завршим позив.

I’m willing to help you, but first I have to finish this call.

Рачунар неће да се укључи после ажурирања.

The computer won’t turn on after the update.

With an inanimate subject, неће да + present personifies resistance and means that something will not work or respond. This is ordinary (informal) language, not a literal claim that the computer has wishes.

Past хтео/хтела је да... can report an earlier wish or intention. Context determines whether the action happened.

Хтела је да дође раније, али јој је отказан воз.

She wanted to come earlier, but her train was canceled.

To say “almost happened,” Serbian often uses умало да or замало да rather than making хтети carry that meaning.

The Future Auxiliary

Clitic ћу, ћеш, ће, ћемо, ћете, ће combines with an infinitive to make Future I. It needs an early host or follows the infinitive according to Serbian spelling and word-order rules.

Сутра ћу позвати сервис и заказати поправку.

Tomorrow I’ll call the service center and schedule a repair.

Разговараћемо о условима кад добијемо коначну понуду.

We’ll discuss the terms when we receive the final offer.

In разговараћемо, the infinitive ending -ти is removed and the auxiliary is joined. Infinitives in -ћи remain separate: доћи ћу, моћи ћеш. The dedicated Future I page gives the full spelling system; this reference keeps the focus on what belongs to хтети.

The negative future is fused: нећу позвати, нећеш доћи. Compare the two patterns:

Нећу путовати овог викенда јер радим у суботу.

I won’t travel this weekend because I’m working on Saturday.

Нећу да путујем без путног осигурања.

I refuse / don’t want to travel without travel insurance.

The infinitive example is a straightforward future negative. Нећу да + present often foregrounds refusal or unwillingness, although conversational context can also make it a future statement. Intonation and the reason supplied usually resolve the ambiguity.

Polite and Hypothetical хтео бих

The conditional softens a wish, request, or question. The l-participle agrees with the speaker; бих does not encode gender.

Хтела бих да променим термин за следећу среду.

I’d like to move the appointment to next Wednesday. (female speaker)

Да ли бисте хтели да седнете ближе прозору?

Would you like to sit closer to the window? (polite/plural)

Желео/желела бих is often more ceremonious; хтео/хтела бих remains fully polite. For a fuller semantic comparison, see hteti and želeti.

Aspect and Lexical Network

Хтети is imperfective and has no single perfective partner that preserves every meaning. Пожелети presents the onset of a desire or one act of wishing; одлучити means decide; пристати means agree/consent. Choose among them by meaning rather than treating one as a mechanical completion of хтети.

Кад је видео старе фотографије, пожелео је да поново посети село.

When he saw the old photographs, he suddenly wanted to visit the village again.

Micro-dialogue

„Хоћеш ли кафу?“ — „Хоћу, али без млека.“ — „Добро, направићу је одмах.“ — „Хтела бих и чашу воде, молим те.“

‘Do you want coffee?’ — ‘Yes, but without milk.’ — ‘All right, I’ll make it right away.’ — ‘I’d also like a glass of water, please.’ (female speaker in the last turn)

Full хоћеш/хоћу handles desire and the short answer; направићу is Future I; conditional хтела бих softens an additional request.

Practice Tasks

Task 1: Full form or clitic?

Write one sentence meaning “I want to call Ana” with хоћу да, then one meaning “I will call Ana” with ћу + infinitive. Explain how the form of хтети changes the meaning.

Task 2: Same or different subject?

Translate “We want to leave” and “We want you to leave.” Use да + present in both and change the dependent verb from first-person plural to second-person plural.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ћу кафу без млека.

Incorrect — future clitic ћу cannot stand first or independently mean ‘I want.’

✅ Хоћу кафу без млека, а касније ћу наручити доручак.

I want coffee without milk, and I’ll order breakfast later.

❌ Хоћу тебе да пошаљеш уговор.

Incorrect — the subject of the desired action belongs inside the finite да-clause, not as an accusative object of хтети.

✅ Хоћу да ми пошаљеш уговор до петка.

I want you to send me the contract by Friday.

❌ Не хоћу више да расправљам о томе.

Incorrect — the present negative is the fused form нећу.

✅ Нећу више да расправљам о томе вечерас.

I don’t want to discuss that anymore tonight.

❌ Хоћу да резервисати сто за двоје.

Incorrect — after да, use a finite present form, not the infinitive.

✅ Хоћу да резервишем сто за двоје у осам.

I want to reserve a table for two at eight.

Key Takeaways

Full хоћу... expresses desire, intention, or willingness; clitic ћу... builds Future I.
Нећу... is fused and can negate either future or volition, with the complement clarifying the reading.
A desired noun is accusative; actions use да + present or a same-subject infinitive.
Хтео/хтела бих is a polite conditional request.
Хтети has no ordinary productive imperative or one perfective partner covering all its meanings.

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