Questions & Answers about Ispričat ću ti priču sutra.
Why is ću after ispričat and not before it, like English “I will tell”?
In Croatian, the future tense is formed with:
- a form of htjeti (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će)
- plus the infinitive of the main verb (ispričati – to tell (a story))
When the auxiliary (ću) comes after the infinitive, the infinitive usually drops its final -i in writing:
- ispričati ću → ispričat ću (standard spelling)
So:
- Ispričat ću = I will tell
Word order-wise, Croatian doesn’t require ću to come directly after the subject like English does. Instead, ću is a clitic, and clitics tend to appear very early in the sentence (so-called “second position”). In this sentence, the verb comes first, then the clitics:
- Ispričat (main verb) + ću ti (clitics) + priču sutra (rest of the sentence)
Why isn’t ja (I) used in the sentence?
Croatian is a pro-drop language: it usually omits subject pronouns because the verb form already shows who the subject is.
- Ispričat ću ti priču sutra.
The ću form already says it’s 1st person singular → “I will”.
You can add ja for emphasis or contrast: