Breakdown of Voda će biti čista ako budemo čuvali izvore.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
voda
water
čist
clean / pure
ću
will (future auxiliary)
čuvati
to keep
ako
if
izvor
source
Questions & Answers about Voda će biti čista ako budemo čuvali izvore.
Why do we use budemo čuvali instead of the regular future tense (čuvat ćemo) after ako?
This is the Future II tense (also called the exact future). In Croatian, when an 'if' (ako) or 'when' (kad) clause refers to a future event that is a condition for the main event, we use Future II. The regular future (će biti) goes in the main clause, and Future II goes in the ako clause.
How exactly is the Future II form budemo čuvali constructed in this sentence?
It is formed by combining the perfective present tense of the verb biti (to be) — which in the 'we' form is budemo — with the active past participle (the L-participle) of the main verb, čuvali.
Why does the word for sources, izvore, end in -e here?
The base word is izvor (source or spring), which is a masculine noun. Because it is the direct object being protected by us, it must be in the accusative case. The accusative plural ending for regular masculine nouns is -e.
What happens to the word order if I put the ako clause at the beginning of the sentence?
You can definitely swap them: Ako budemo čuvali izvore, voda će biti čista. The grammar stays exactly the same. Notice that the enclitic će still safely sits in the second position of its own clause, right after voda.
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