Breakdown of Sastanak će početi u šest sati.
Questions & Answers about Sastanak će početi u šest sati.
What does each word in “Sastanak će početi u šest sati” mean?
- Sastanak: meeting (masculine noun, subject)
- će: future-tense auxiliary (3rd person singular), a clitic
- početi: to start/begin (perfective infinitive)
- u: at/in (preposition)
- šest: six (cardinal number; here effectively accusative, same form as nominative)
- sati: hours (genitive plural, required after numbers 5+) Natural translation: The meeting will start at six o’clock.
How is the future tense formed here?
Croatian Future I is formed with the clitic auxiliary of “htjeti” (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će) + the infinitive:
- Sastanak će početi. = The meeting will start. If the infinitive comes before the auxiliary, it drops -i:
- Počet će sastanak. (same meaning) Note: In standard Croatian, write it as two words (počet će), not as one.
Why is “će” placed after “Sastanak”?
“Će” is a clitic and must appear in second position in the clause (after the first stressed word/phrase).
- Sastanak će početi u šest sati.
- U šest sati će sastanak početi.
- Počet će sastanak u šest sati. Forms like “Sastanak početi će…” are incorrect.
Can I say “Sastanak počinje u šest” instead?
Yes. Počinje (present of the imperfective verb “počinjati”) is commonly used for scheduled future events:
- Sastanak počinje u šest. It sounds perfectly natural (like English “The meeting starts at six”). With će početi you emphasize the start as a single event.
Is “Sastanak počne u šest” correct?
Grammatically possible but stylistically odd in this context. The present of a perfective verb (počne) often refers to the future in time clauses or instructions:
- Kad sastanak počne, zatvori vrata. (When the meeting starts, close the door.) For timetabled events, prefer počinje or će početi.
Do I have to include “sati”? Can I just say “u šest”?
You can omit it in everyday speech:
- u šest = at six
- u šest sati = at six o’clock (a bit more explicit/formal) With minutes, both are fine: u šest i deset or u šest sati i deset minuta.
Why is it “sati” and not “sat” or “sata”?
With counted nouns, Croatian changes the noun after numbers:
- 1: sat (u jedan sat)
- 2–4: sata (u dva/tri/četiri sata)
- 5+: sati (u pet/šest/sedam… sati) Hence: u šest sati.
What case does “u” take in time expressions like this?
For clock time and days, u generally takes the accusative (point in time):
- u šest (sati), u ponedjeljak For months/years, you’ll often see locative:
- u lipnju, u 2025. (godini) In “u šest sati,” the numeral phrase is governed by accusative, while sati is genitive plural because numbers 5+ require it.
How do I say “at 6 a.m.” or “at 6 p.m.”?
- u šest ujutro = at 6 a.m.
- u šest navečer / poslijepodne = at 6 p.m. (choose based on context) A very common alternative is 24‑hour style:
- u 18 sati = at 18:00 (6 p.m.)
How do I say “at 6:15” or “at 6:30”?
- 6:15: u šest i petnaest
- 6:30: u šest i trideset or very common: u pola sedam (literally “at half seven,” meaning 6:30) Note: Regional colloquials like “u četvrt na sedam” (6:15) exist, but the numeric forms above are understood everywhere.
How do I ask “When will the meeting start?” and “At what time will the meeting start?”
- Kad će sastanak početi?
- U koliko sati će sastanak početi? Colloquially, for the second one you’ll also hear: U koliko počinje sastanak?
How do I say the meeting will not start at six?
- Sastanak neće početi u šest (sati). To correct the time: Sastanak neće početi u šest, nego u sedam.
Can I change the word order?
Yes, Croatian allows several orders, but keep “će” in second position:
- Sastanak će početi u šest sati.
- U šest sati će sastanak početi.
- Počet će sastanak u šest sati. All mean the same; you choose based on what you want to emphasize or topicalize.
Why is it “u” and not “na” for “at six”?
Clock times use u (“at” a point in time): u šest.
Na is used in other phrases (e.g., location/surface or fixed expressions), but not for clock times. For example: na sastanku = “at the meeting” (location), not time.
How would I say it in the past: “The meeting started at six”?
- Sastanak je počeo u šest (sati). Agree the past participle with the subject’s gender/number:
- sastanak (masc. sg.) → počeo
- sjednica (fem. sg.) → počela
- predavanje (neut. sg.) → počelo
More from this lesson
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning CroatianMaster Croatian — from Sastanak će početi u šest sati to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions