Learn Hardcore Croatian: Danas ću naručiti čaj i sir u restoranu. - Today I will order tea and cheese in the restaurant.

Ću is the clitic future auxiliary (from the verb htjeti, “to want”) used to build the future tense. You use a short form of htjeti + an infinitive:

(ja) ću naručiti = I will order
(ti) ćeš naručiti = you will order
(on/ona/ono) će naručiti = he/she/it will order
(mi) ćemo naručiti = we will order
(vi) ćete naručiti = you (pl.) will order
(oni/one/ona) će naručiti = they will order

Why is ću placed after Danas?

Because ću is a clitic. In Croatian, clitics like ću usually appear in “second position” in the clause—after the first stressed word or phrase. Here, the first element is Danas (“today”), so the clitic follows it: Danas ću naručiti…

Can I put ću after the verb instead?

Yes. If ću follows an infinitive, Croatian drops the infinitive’s final -i:

Correct: Naručit ću čaj i sir.
Also correct: Danas ću naručiti čaj i sir.
Incorrect: “naručiti ću” (don’t keep the -i when ću follows).

Can I reorder the parts of the sentence?

Yes; Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and you can move elements for emphasis as long as clitics stay in second position. Examples:

U restoranu ću danas naručiti čaj i sir. (emphasizes the place)
Čaj i sir ću danas naručiti u restoranu. (emphasizes the items) All are grammatical; the differences are subtle emphasis and flow.

Why is it u restoranu and not u restoran?

The preposition u takes:

Accusative for motion toward a place: u restoran = “into/to the restaurant.”
Locative for being inside a place: u restoranu = “in/at the restaurant.” Your sentence describes where the ordering happens, so it uses locative: u restoranu.

What case are čaj and sir in, and why don’t they change?

They’re accusative singular as direct objects of naručiti. For inanimate masculine nouns like čaj and sir, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative: čaj, sir (no ending change).

Do I need articles like “a” or “the”?

No. Croatian has no articles. Definiteness/indefiniteness is understood from context. Čaj can mean “tea” or “a tea” depending on the situation.

How do I pronounce č and ć in this sentence?

č (in čaj, naručiti) is a hard “ch,” like in “chocolate.”
ć (in ću) is a softer, more palatal “ch/ty,” somewhat like the “t” in “nature” in some accents. So roughly: Dá-nas chu narú-chiti chai i seer u resto-rá-nu.

Can I drop the subject pronoun “ja”?

Yes. Croatian usually omits subject pronouns because the verb form shows the person. Ja ću naručiti… is fine for emphasis, but normally you’d just say Danas ću naručiti…

How do I make the sentence negative (“I won’t order”)?

Use ne + the future clitic (which fuses to neću in 1st person):

Danas neću naručiti čaj i sir. Other persons: nećeš, neće, nećemo, nećete, neće.

Why use naručiti and not naručivati/naručujem?

Naručiti is perfective (a single, completed act: “to order (once)”), which fits a specific intention today.
Naručivati / naručujem is imperfective (ongoing/habitual: “to be ordering / to order regularly”). Use it for habits or an action in progress.

Is “Danas naručujem čaj i sir” also possible?

It’s grammatical, but it suggests you’re currently in the process of ordering or talking about a habitual action. To express a plan/intention for later today, Danas ću naručiti… is clearer.

Can I say “ću da naručim” like in some other ex-YU varieties?

Not in standard Croatian. Croatian uses the infinitive with the future auxiliary: ću naručiti. The ću da + present structure is characteristic of Serbian; avoid it in Croatian.

Why u and not na (na restoranu)?

Use u for being “in/inside” enclosed places (u kući, u školi, u restoranu).
Na is for surfaces, open areas, or events (na stolu, na plaži, na koncertu). “Na restoranu” would be “on the restaurant” (on its roof, for instance), so it’s not what you want.

Should it be sir or sira if I mean “some cheese”?

For ordering a menu item, sir is normal (“cheese” as a dish/serving). If you mean an unspecified amount, Croatian often uses a partitive genitive: (malo) sira = “(some) cheese.” Similarly, čaj vs (malo) čaja. In a restaurant, you’re likely to say čaj (a tea) and specify the cheese type if needed (e.g., svježi sir, sirna plata).

How can I say this more politely to a waiter?

Common polite options:

Molim vas, htio/htjela bih naručiti čaj i sir. (“I’d like to order…”; htio = male, htjela = female)
Mogu li naručiti čaj i sir, molim?
Donesite mi, molim vas, čaj i sir. (“Bring me…” formal imperative)

Is poručiti a synonym of naručiti?

In Croatian, the standard verb for ordering in a restaurant is naručiti. Poručiti can be understood but is more typical/standard in Serbian or in specific contexts (e.g., “to send a message/instruction”). In Croatian restaurants, stick with naručiti.

Anything else to watch out for with numbers and quantities?

“Two teas” is dva čaja; “two cheeses (servings/types)” is dva sira.
If you want exactly one: jedan čaj, jedan sir (though for tea, just čaj usually implies one serving).