Learn Hardcore Croatian: Kad budem imala vremena poslijepodne, nazvat ću vas. - When I have time in the afternoon, I will call you. female speaker

It’s Future II (also called the future perfect). In Croatian, time and conditional clauses introduced by words like kad (when), čim (as soon as), and ako (if) often use Future II to refer to a future situation that must be fulfilled before or at the moment of the main action. Here, “having time” is the condition that enables the call.

Time clause (Future II): kad budem imala (vremena) = when/once I have (time)
Main clause (Future I): nazvat ću = I will call

Can I say Kad ću imati vremena…?

Not in a subordinate clause. In Croatian, you generally do NOT use Future I in time clauses. Use:

Kad budem imala vremena… (Future II), or
Kad imam vremena… (Present; see nuance below).

You can say Kad ću imati vremena? only as an independent direct question: “When will I have time?”

Can I use the Present instead of Future II in the kad-clause?

Often yes. Croatian commonly uses the Present in future-time clauses:

Kad dođem, nazvat ću vas. = When I come, I’ll call you.

With stative verbs like imati (to have), Present can sound habitual (“whenever I have time”). If you mean a specific future occasion (e.g., later today), Kad budem imala vremena is very natural and clear. To make a one-time future clear with Present, you can add a time expression: Kad danas popodne imam vremena, nazvat ću vas—still many speakers would prefer Future II here.

Why is it imala and not imao?

The past participle agrees with the subject’s gender and number in Future II.

Female speaker: budem imala
Male speaker: budem imao
Plural (mixed or all-male): budemo imali
Plural (all-female): budemo imale

How do I form Future II like budem imala?

Use the present of biti (be) + past participle of the main verb:

ja budem
- imala/imao
ti budeš
- imala/imao
on/ona/ono bude
- participle
mi budemo
- participle
vi budete
- participle
oni/one budu
- participle

Examples:

Čim budeš stigao/stigla, javi se. (As soon as you arrive, get in touch.)
Kad budemo završili, idemo. (When we’ve finished, we’ll go.)

Why is it nazvat ću, not nazvati ću?

Future I is formed with the auxiliary ću/ćeš/će… + the infinitive. When the auxiliary comes after the verb, the infinitive typically drops the final -i:

After: nazvat ću, vidjet ću, napisat ću
Before: ću nazvati, ću vidjeti, ću napisati

So, nazvat ću and ću nazvati are both correct; nazvati ću is incorrect.

Where exactly can I put ću and the object pronoun?

Neutral: Nazvat ću vas.
With subject emphasis: Ja ću vas nazvati.
With object emphasis: Vas ću nazvati.

Avoid starting a clause with ću alone; clitics don’t begin sentences. Also avoid ću nazvati vas in neutral word order—place the object either immediately after the verb (neutral) or front it for emphasis.

Why vas and not vam?

Because nazvati takes a direct object in the accusative (answering “whom?”):

nazvati koga → nazvat ću vas/te/ga/je…

Use dative (vam, ti) with verbs like telefonirati (to telephone) or with javiti se (to get in touch with):

Telefonirat ću vam.
Javit ću vam se.

Is vas formal? Should it be capitalized?

vas is the accusative of vi (you plural) and is also used for polite singular address. Informal singular is te: Nazvat ću te.
Capitalizing Vas is a courtesy in letters/emails. In regular prose, use lowercase vas.

What’s the difference between nazvati and zvati?

nazvati is perfective: one completed call (“I’ll give you a call once”): Nazvat ću vas.
zvati is imperfective: ongoing/repeated calling (“I’ll be calling you / I call you”): Zvat ću vas.

For “I’ll call you (once),” prefer nazvati.

Why vremena and not vrijeme?

After imati (to have) in the meaning “to have time,” Croatian uses the partitive genitive: imati vremena. It implies “(enough) time.”

Nemam vremena. = I don’t have time. You can add a complement with za (+ accusative): Imam vremena za vas/kavu.

Is poslijepodne one word, and are there variants?

Yes, poslijepodne can function as an adverb (“in the afternoon”) or as a noun (“the afternoon”). Common variants:

poslijepodne (more formal/standard)
popodne (very common, more colloquial) You typically don’t say u poslijepodne for “in the afternoon”; just use poslijepodne/popodne by itself, or specify: danas poslijepodne (this afternoon).

Can I use Ako budem imala… instead of Kad budem imala…?

That changes the meaning:

Kad = when (it will happen at some point)
Ako = if (it may or may not happen)

So Ako budem imala vremena is less certain than Kad budem imala vremena.

Do I need the comma, and can I swap the clause order?

If the subordinate clause comes first, use a comma: Kad budem imala vremena, nazvat ću vas.
If the main clause comes first, no comma: Nazvat ću vas kad budem imala vremena.

Both orders are fine; word order mainly affects flow and emphasis.