Breakdown of Požuri se, inače ćemo kasniti.
htjeti
to want (intent, will)
kasniti
to be late
inače
otherwise
požuriti se
to hurry up (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Požuri se, inače ćemo kasniti.
Why is kasniti used here instead of the perfective zakasniti?
Both are grammatically correct, but they have a subtle difference in focus. Using the imperfective kasniti emphasizes the state or process of running late. If you used the perfective zakasniti, it would focus purely on the final event of arriving late.
Why is the future tense written as ćemo kasniti instead of kasnit ćemo?
The conjunction inače occupies the first position in the second clause. Because the auxiliary verb ćemo is an enclitic, it must take the second position in the clause immediately after inače, pushing the infinitive kasniti to the end.
Does the verb požuriti always need the reflexive pronoun se?
No, you will often hear both požuri and požuri se. They mean exactly the same thing. Adding se just makes it feel slightly more active, similar to saying 'hurry yourself up' in English, which is very common in everyday speech.
Could I use drugačije instead of inače to mean 'otherwise' here?
No. While drugačije does mean 'otherwise' in the sense of doing something differently, inače is the word you need when 'otherwise' means 'if not' or 'or else' to introduce a consequence.