Breakdown of Hoćeš li mi posuditi bilježnicu? Vratit ću ti ju.
li
question particle
ju
her (accusative clitic)
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
mi
to me
posuditi
to lend
ti
to you (sg.)
bilježnica
notebook
vratiti
to return
Questions & Answers about Hoćeš li mi posuditi bilježnicu? Vratit ću ti ju.
Why are ti and ju in that exact order in Vratit ću ti ju?
Croatian has strict rules for the order of "clitics" (short unstressed words). After the future tense word ću, we have two pronoun clitics. The rule is that the dative pronoun (here, ti meaning 'to you') must always come before the accusative pronoun (here, ju meaning 'it').
Why is the final 'i' missing from Vratit?
When an infinitive verb ending in -ti (like vratiti) comes directly before a future tense clitic (like ću), you must drop the final -i. If the word order were reversed, you would keep it: Ja ću ti ju vratiti.
Why does the second sentence use ju for 'it'?
The pronoun 'it' refers back to bilježnicu (notebook), which is a feminine noun, so we need a feminine pronoun. You probably learned that the short accusative word for 'her/it' is je. However, ju is a common alternative. It's often used to avoid confusion with the verb je (is), and many native speakers use it naturally here.
Does posuditi mean 'to lend' or 'to borrow'?
It actually means both! In Croatian, the same verb is used for giving or taking a loan. You rely on the context and the dative pronouns to know which is happening. Here, asking 'will you posuditi to me (mi)?' clearly means 'lend'.
In the first sentence, why does li come before mi?
The question particle li is the absolute first in the clitic pecking order. Whenever li is used, it always takes the very front spot in the clitic cluster, pushing pronoun clitics like mi ('to me') further down the line.
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