Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra.

I will tell her my idea tomorrow.

Breakdown of Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra.

• sutra: tomorrow
• htjeti: will
• reći: to tell
• svoj: own
• ideja: idea
• joj: her

Questions & Answers about Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra.

Why is there no word for I in this sentence?

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns like ja (I) when the subject is clear from the verb form.

In Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra, the auxiliary ću is first person singular, so it already tells you the subject is I. Adding ja is possible but not necessary:

• Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra. – I will tell her my idea tomorrow. (neutral)
• Ja ću joj reći svoju ideju sutra. – I will tell her my idea tomorrow. (emphasis on I, e.g. not someone else)

So the sentence is complete and natural without ja.

Why is the future tense split as Reći ću and not just ću reći or a single word?

Croatian Future I is formed with:

• an auxiliary (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će)
• • the main verb in the infinitive (reći)

Both orders are possible inside the sentence:

• Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra.
• Ja ću joj reći svoju ideju sutra.

However, in standard Croatian the auxiliary ću normally does not stand alone at the very beginning of the sentence. So:

• Reći ću joj… – correct, natural
• Ja ću joj reći… – correct, natural
• Ću joj reći… – sounds incorrect/non‑standard in Croatian

So reći and ću are two separate words that together form the future, and their relative order depends on word order and emphasis, but you don’t merge them into one word.

What exactly does joj mean, and why is it joj and not njoj?

joj is the unstressed (clitic) dative singular form of the pronoun ona (she). It means to her.

• Reći ću joj… – I will tell her…

Case:
The verb reći (to say/tell) takes:

• a direct object in the accusative (what you say) → svoju ideju
• an indirect object in the dative (to whom) → joj

joj vs njoj:

• joj – short, unstressed form (clitic), used in the middle of the sentence in fixed clitic position, as in your sentence.
• njoj – stressed form, used:
  • at the beginning of the clause for emphasis:
    
    • Njoj ću reći svoju ideju, a ne tebi. – To her I’ll tell my idea, not to you.
  • after prepositions:
    
    • Pričao sam o njoj. – I talked about her.

So in Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra, joj is the correct, normal clitic form.

Why is it svoju ideju and not moja ideja or moju ideju?

There are two separate issues here:

1. Case and form of “idea”
   The noun ideja is feminine. As a direct object, it must be in the accusative singular, which for most feminine ‑a nouns ends in ‑u:

   • Nominative: ideja (idea)
   • Accusative: ideju (idea as object)

   So you cannot say moja ideja here; you need the accusative: moju ideju / svoju ideju.

2. svoj vs moj
   Both moju ideju and svoju ideju can mean my idea, but:

   • moj = my
   • svoj = one’s own (reflexive possessive, refers back to the subject)

   Standard Croatian prefers svoj when the owner is the subject of the same sentence:

   • Subject is I → Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra.
     = I will tell her my own idea tomorrow.

   moju ideju is understood and often used in speech, but svoju ideju is more precise and stylistically preferred here.

So the fully correct form with all agreement is:

• svoju ideju = fem., singular, accusative, agreeing with ideju.

Why does ideju end in ‑u instead of ‑a?

ideja is a feminine noun ending in ‑a. For most such nouns, the accusative singular (used for direct objects) ends in ‑u:

• Nominative: ideja – an idea
• Accusative: ideju – (I will tell) an idea

More examples:

• žena → ženu – Vidim ženu. – I see a woman.
• knjiga → knjigu – Čitam knjigu. – I’m reading a book.
• kuća → kuću – Gradim kuću. – I’m building a house.

So ideju is simply the normal accusative form of ideja as a direct object.

Can the word order change? For example: Sutra ću joj reći svoju ideju?

Yes, Croatian word order is quite flexible. These are all grammatical, but the focus/emphasis changes slightly:

• Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra.
  Neutral; mild emphasis on the action reći (will tell).

• Sutra ću joj reći svoju ideju.
  Emphasis on when: tomorrow I will tell her my idea (maybe not today).

• Reći ću joj sutra svoju ideju.
  Similar meaning; slightly more focus on sutra than on svoju ideju.

• Ja ću joj sutra reći svoju ideju.
  Extra emphasis on ja (I, not someone else), then sutra.

Clitics like ću and joj must stay in the “second position” in the clause (after the first stressed word or phrase), so you can move other elements around them, but clitics themselves have limited freedom.

Why is joj before svoju ideju and not after it, like Reći ću svoju ideju joj sutra?

Short pronouns like joj are clitics in Croatian. They must appear in a fixed slot close to the beginning of the clause, usually:

• after the first stressed word or phrase.

In your sentence:

• First stressed word: Reći
• Then comes the clitic cluster: ću joj
• Then the rest: svoju ideju sutra

So we get: Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra.

You cannot place joj freely at the end like in English:

• ✗ Reći ću svoju ideju joj sutra. – ungrammatical
• ✓ Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra.

This rule applies to other short pronouns as well (mi, ti, mu, je, ga, ih, etc.).

Can I leave out svoju and just say Reći ću joj ideju sutra?

Yes, you can. It’s grammatical:

• Reći ću joj ideju sutra.

Without svoju, you are just saying I will tell her the idea tomorrow. It doesn’t specify whose idea it is; context might suggest it’s yours, someone else’s, or just “the idea we were talking about.”

With svoju, you clearly say it’s your own idea:

• Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra. – I will tell her my (own) idea tomorrow.

So svoju adds clarity and nuance about ownership.

What’s the difference between reći, kazati, govoriti and pričati?

They are all related to speaking, but used differently:

• reći – to say, to tell (a specific message, often short)

  • Reći ću joj svoju ideju. – I’ll tell her my idea.

• kazati – very similar to reći; often interchangeable, slightly more formal/older‑fashioned in some areas:

  • Kazo/la sam mu istinu. – I told him the truth.

• govoriti – to speak, to talk (ongoing, repeated action, or in general):

  • Govorim hrvatski. – I speak Croatian.
  • Govorili smo sat vremena. – We talked for an hour.

• pričati – to tell a story, to narrate, to chat:

  • Pričala mi je o putovanju. – She told me about the trip.
  • Pričam bajku. – I’m telling a fairy tale.

In your sentence, reći is natural because you’re focusing on delivering one particular piece of information (your idea).

Is reći here already conjugated, or is it an infinitive form?

In Reći ću joj svoju ideju sutra, reći is the infinitive form (dictionary form):

• infinitive: reći – to say/tell
• auxiliary: ću – I will

Together they make the future: reći ću – I will say/tell.

If you conjugate reći in the present (imperfective counterpart is usually reći / kazati with govoriti used for “be speaking”), the forms would be different, but for the simple future you always keep reći as the infinitive plus the auxiliary.

How would you say “I told her my idea yesterday” using the same elements?

You’d need the past tense (perfect) instead of the future. One natural version:

• Jučer sam joj rekao svoju ideju. – said by a man
• Jučer sam joj rekla svoju ideju. – said by a woman

Breakdown:

• jučer – yesterday
• sam – auxiliary for 1st person singular past tense
• rekao / rekla – past participle of reći
• joj – to her (dative clitic)
• svoju ideju – my (own) idea (accusative)

Word order can also be Svoju sam joj ideju jučer rekao/rekla, etc., but Jučer sam joj rekao/rekla svoju ideju is a very typical structure.