Continuous Plans and Intentions
Use the imperfective aspect for future actions that take time, span a duration, or happen repeatedly (what you "will be doing"). Time expressions like cijelo popodne (all afternoon), cijeli dan (all day), or dugo (for a long time) often signal this aspect.
| I will be preparing dinner all afternoon. | Cijelo popodne ću pripremati večeru. |
| Tomorrow we will be solving this problem all day. | Sutra ćemo cijeli dan rješavati ovaj problem. |
| The workers will be building this building for a long time. | Radnici će dugo graditi ovu zgradu. |
Promises and Goals
To state a clear intention to complete an action, make a promise, or declare a goal, use the perfective aspect. This focuses on the final result rather than the ongoing process.
| I will quickly prepare dinner for the guests. | Brzo ću pripremiti večeru za goste. |
| That is my promise, we will solve the problem. | To je moje obećanje, riješit ćemo problem. |
Perfective verbs are also used when stating what you will or will not accomplish as a concrete goal:
| We will build a new hospital, that is our goal. | Izgradit ćemo novu bolnicu, to je naš cilj. |
Making an Effort and Succeeding
Use the imperfective verb truditi se for a continuous, ongoing effort.
| They will always try. | Oni će se uvijek truditi. |
For a specific, targeted effort to finish a task, use the perfective form potruditi se.
| We will make an effort to finish this project. | Potrudit ćemo se završiti ovaj projekt. |
Success inherently focuses on a completed result, so the verb uspjeti (to succeed) is always perfective.
| I know, we will definitely succeed. | Znam, sigurno ćemo uspjeti. |