Breakdown of Strah je velik, ali ja hoću pobijediti!
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ja
I
velik
big
ali
but (strong contrast)
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
pobijediti
to win
strah
fear
Questions & Answers about Strah je velik, ali ja hoću pobijediti!
Why do we use hoću here instead of the short form ću?
The full form hoću is used here to create the emphatic future tense. By using it instead of the short form ću, the speaker places strong emphasis on their determination, meaning "I WILL win!" Because hoću is also the present tense of "to want," it can also carry the meaning of "I want to win!" depending on the context.
Why is the pronoun ja included if Croatian usually drops subject pronouns?
Just like using the full form hoću, adding the pronoun ja (I) adds extra emphasis. The speaker is contrasting their strong personal determination against the feeling of fear.
Why is it velik instead of veliki?
If this is the future tense, why doesn't pobijediti drop its final -i?
The final -i of an infinitive is only dropped when the short future helping verb (ću, ćeš, etc.) attaches directly to the end of it, like in pobijedit ću. Because the full helping verb hoću comes before the infinitive here, pobijediti keeps its full form.
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