Learn Hardcore Croatian: Dogovorimo se da dođemo ranije u kino, da nađemo dobra mjesta. - Let’s agree to come to the cinema earlier so that we find good seats.

dogovorimo = we agree / we arrange (1st person plural, present tense, perfective aspect)
se = reflexive pronoun, showing that the action is done mutually (we are agreeing among ourselves)

In Croatian, dogovoriti is almost always used with se when it means “to come to an agreement together”:

Dogovorimo se sutra. – Let’s agree tomorrow / Let’s make arrangements tomorrow.
Dogovorili smo se za 7 sati. – We agreed on 7 o’clock.

Without se, dogovoriti is usually about agreeing on something as a decision, not mutually:

Dogovoriti sastanak – to arrange a meeting (but not “with each other”, just “to set it up”)

So in your sentence, dogovorimo se is like English “let’s agree/decide”.

Why is dođemo in the present tense if the action is in the future?

In Croatian, the present tense of a perfective verb often refers to a future action, especially in suggestions, plans, and subordinate clauses.

doći = to come, to arrive (perfective)
dođemo = we come / we arrive (present form, often future meaning here)

Your sentence:

Dogovorimo se da dođemo ranije u kino...
Literally: We agree that we come earlier to the cinema...
Natural meaning: Let’s agree to arrive earlier at the cinema…

So although it’s grammatically “present”, in context it functions like future:

Sutra dođem kod tebe. – I’ll come to your place tomorrow. (perfective present ⇒ future)
Kad dođeš, nazovi me. – When you come, call me. (future meaning)

This is normal and very common in Croatian.

What is the role of da in da dođemo and why not da ćemo doći?

Here da introduces a subordinate clause that functions like English “that” or like a kind of subjunctive / purpose clause.

Dogovorimo se da dođemo ranije…
≈ Let’s agree (that we should) come earlier…

After verbs like dogovoriti se, htjeti, željeti, morati when expressing what should happen, Croatian very often uses:

da + present tense
da dođemo, da nađemo, da napravimo, etc.

Using da ćemo doći would give a different nuance:

Dogovorimo se da ćemo doći ranije u kino.
= Let’s agree that we will come earlier to the cinema.

This is grammatically possible, but:

sounds more formal and heavier, and
focuses on the statement of future fact (“we will come”) rather than on the action we’re agreeing to take.

In everyday speech, da + present (da dođemo) is much more natural here.

Why is it u kino and not u kinu?

The preposition u (in/into) takes different cases depending on whether it expresses:

Direction / movement (into somewhere) → Accusative
Location / position (in somewhere) → Locative

In your sentence:

u kino – accusative → to/into the cinema (movement, destination)
- dođemo u kino – we come to the cinema

If you were just describing where you are (no movement), you’d use locative:

u kinu – locative → in the cinema
- Sjedimo u kinu. – We are sitting in the cinema.
- Radim u kinu. – I work in a cinema.

So:

Idemo u kino. – We are going to the cinema.
Mi smo u kinu. – We are in the cinema.

Why is there a comma before da nađemo dobra mjesta?

In this sentence, there are two subordinate clauses introduced by da, both depending on dogovorimo se:

da dođemo ranije u kino
da nađemo dobra mjesta

They are like two objects of the main verb:

We agree (1) to come earlier to the cinema, (2) to find good seats.

In Croatian, when you have two coordinate subordinate clauses, you separate them with a comma, just like you would separate two items in a list:

Dogovorimo se da dođemo ranije u kino, da nađemo dobra mjesta.

This is similar to:

We agree to come earlier to the cinema, (and) to find good seats.

The second da is not optional here; each clause keeps its own da, and a comma marks the boundary between them.

Why is it dobra mjesta and not something like dobri mjesta?

The noun mjesto (place, seat) is neuter gender:

singular: mjesto
plural: mjesta

For neuter plural nouns, the adjective in the nominative and accusative plural ends in -a:

dobro mjesto – a good seat (neuter singular)
dobra mjesta – good seats (neuter plural)

Some patterns:

novo mjesto → nova mjesta (new place → new places)
veliko selo → velika sela (big village → big villages)

So:

dobra mjesta is correct agreement (adjective + noun both neuter plural).
dobri mjesta would be wrong, because dobri is a masculine plural form, but mjesta is neuter plural.

What is the difference between dođemo and idemo here? Could I say da idemo ranije u kino?

Yes, you can say da idemo ranije u kino, but there is a slight difference in nuance:

doći = to arrive, to come (focus on reaching the place)
ići = to go (focus on the movement / going process)

In this context:

da dođemo ranije u kino
– that we arrive earlier at the cinema
– emphasizes the arrival time.
da idemo ranije u kino
– that we go earlier to the cinema
– emphasizes starting to go earlier, leaving earlier.

Both are understandable and acceptable, but for talking about being there earlier so we can get good seats, doći is a bit more natural.

Can I change the word order and say da ranije dođemo u kino or da dođemo u kino ranije?

Yes, both of these are grammatically correct, and Croatian allows this kind of word order flexibility:

da dođemo ranije u kino – neutral, very common
da ranije dođemo u kino – slightly emphasizes earlier more
da dođemo u kino ranije – also fine, emphasis still on earlier

The differences are very subtle. All three would be understood as:

…that we (should) come to the cinema earlier.

In spoken language, da dođemo ranije u kino is probably the most natural and straightforward version, but the others are not wrong.

What about da bismo našli dobra mjesta? Is it different from da nađemo dobra mjesta?

Both are possible, but they differ in style and nuance:

da nađemo dobra mjesta
- da + present
- very common and natural in everyday speech
- expresses purpose/goal: so that we find good seats
da bismo našli dobra mjesta
- da + conditional (“bismo”) + past participle
- feels more formal or careful, somewhat “better-style” or textbook Croatian
- also expresses purpose: so that we would find good seats

Examples:

Dođimo ranije, da nađemo dobra mjesta.
Dođimo ranije, da bismo našli dobra mjesta.

In many everyday situations, speakers prefer da nađemo, which sounds more spontaneous and conversational. Da bismo našli may appear more in written, formal, or carefully edited language, or when someone wants to sound a bit more precise or elegant.

Why is se placed after dogovorimo and not at the beginning (se dogovorimo)?

Se is a clitic (an unstressed short word) in Croatian. Clitics have very strict word order rules:

They must stand in the second position in a sentence or clause.
They cannot start the sentence.

In Dogovorimo se da dođemo…:

Dogovorimo is the first word.
se must come right after it, in the second position.

So:

Dogovorimo se… ✅
Se dogovorimo… ❌ (sounds wrong in standard Croatian)

If something came before the verb, se would move accordingly:

Mi se dogovorimo… – We agree…
- Mi (1st position), se (2nd), dogovorimo (3rd)

The position of se is grammatical and not optional; you always have to respect the clitic placement rules.