Također ćemo doći ranije ako bude gužva.

We will also come earlier if there is a crowd.

Breakdown of Također ćemo doći ranije ako bude gužva.

• biti: to be
• htjeti: will (future auxiliary)
• doći: to come
• ako: if

Questions & Answers about Također ćemo doći ranije ako bude gužva.

Why is the clitic ćemo placed before doći here? I often see Doći ćemo.

Croatian clitics (like ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će) prefer the “second position” in a clause. Because the adverb Također is in first position, the clitic goes right after it: Također ćemo doći…. If you remove Također, the most neutral order is Doći ćemo ranije…. Both Također ćemo doći… and Doći ćemo također… are grammatical, but the second puts extra emphasis on “also.”

Can I start the sentence with Ćemo as in Ćemo doći ranije…?

No. Clitics cannot stand in first position in Croatian. You need something before them (an adverb, a subject, etc.), or you can place the main verb first: Doći ćemo…, Mi ćemo doći…, or Također ćemo doći….

Why is it ako bude and not ako će biti?

In if-clauses and time-clauses referring to the future, Croatian does not use će in the subordinate clause. Instead, it typically uses:

• the present of a perfective verb: ako bude,
• or Futur II with another verb: ako budemo kasnili. So you say: Doći ćemo ranije ako bude gužva, not ✳ako će biti gužva.

Could I say Ako je gužva instead of ?