Regular Verbs Ending in -ati
In Croatian, verbs are grouped by their infinitive (dictionary form) endings. A very common group ends in -ati, like čitati (to read) or gledati (to watch).
To use these verbs in the present tense to describe daily routines or frequent actions, drop the -ati to find the verb stem, then add the appropriate ending based on who is performing the action.
| Pronoun | Ending | Example (čitati) |
|---|
| ja (I) | -am | čitam |
| ti (you informal) | -aš | čitaš |
| on / ona / ono (he/she/it) | -a | čita |
| mi (we) | -amo | čitamo |
| vi / Vi (you plural/formal) | -ate | čitate |
| oni / one / ona (they) | -aju | čitaju |
Because the verb ending clearly shows who is doing the action, Croatian speakers usually drop the subject pronoun (ja, ti, mi, etc.) unless they want to add emphasis.
Frequency and Routines
To talk about your habits, you will frequently use adverbs like uvijek (always), često (often), and ponekad (sometimes). These usually come right before the verb.
Negation and Multiple Actions
To make a sentence negative, simply place ne directly in front of the verb. When describing multiple actions happening at once, you can link verbs with i (and).
Just like with the verb "to be", remember that the formal "You" (Vi) uses the exact same verb form as the plural "you" (vi). For -ati verbs, this ending is -ate.