Breakdown of Ako ne platite račun, dobit ćete kaznu.
ne
no, not
račun
bill
platiti
to pay
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
dobiti
to get / to win
ako
if
kazna
fine
Questions & Answers about Ako ne platite račun, dobit ćete kaznu.
Why do we use the present tense platite here when we are talking about the future?
In real conditional sentences with ako (if), Croatian often uses the present tense to describe a future condition, just like English does ('If you do not pay...'). Because it describes an action that needs to be completed for the consequence to happen, the perfective verb platiti is used here.
Why is the verb written as dobit instead of the full infinitive dobiti?
When you form the future tense and the infinitive ends in -ti, you must drop the final -i if it comes directly before the auxiliary verb (ću, ćeš, će, etc.). Since ćete comes right after it, dobiti becomes dobit.
Why is the order dobit ćete kaznu instead of ćete dobit kaznu?
The word ćete is an enclitic, which means it is a 'weak' word that cannot start a clause. Because the clause begins right after the comma, the main verb dobit steps into the first position so the enclitic ćete can safely take its required second position.
Both račun (bill) and kaznu (fine) receive an action. Why does kaznu change its ending while račun does not?
Both are in the accusative case because they are direct objects. Kazna is a feminine noun, and its ending changes from -a to -u in the accusative. Račun is a masculine inanimate noun (a non-living thing), and for these nouns, the accusative form is identical to the dictionary form.
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