Questions & Answers about Počet ćemo raditi kad dođeš.
What tense is Počet ćemo and how is it formed?
It’s the simple future (Futur I). Croatian forms Futur I with:
- the infinitive of the main verb, plus
- the clitic forms of htjeti: ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će.
So: početi + ćemo → počet ćemo = we will start.
Why is it počet and not početi here?
When the future clitic (ću/ćeš/će/ćemo/ćete/će) immediately follows the infinitive, the final -i of the infinitive drops:
- Correct: Počet ćemo (not Početi ćemo)
- Correct: Radit ću (not Raditi ću)
- Correct: Vidjet ćeš (not Vidjeti ćeš)
If the clitic does not immediately follow, keep the full infinitive:
- Mi ćemo početi raditi.
- Večeras ćemo početi.
Where does ćemo go in the sentence?
Clitics like ću/ćeš/će/ćemo/ćete/će sit in the “second position” of the clause (after the first stressed word/phrase):
- Počet ćemo raditi...
- Mi ćemo početi raditi... (here the clitic follows Mi)
- Kad dođeš, počet ćemo raditi. They cannot start a sentence by themselves.