Learn Hardcore Croatian: Nadam se da će ti ove nove riječi pomoći na ispitu i u budućem životu u gradu. - I hope that these new words will help you in the exam and in your future life in the city.

Nadam se literally = I hope (myself), but in English we just say I hope.
Nadam without se is wrong in standard Croatian in this meaning; it would sound incomplete.

So:

✅ Nadam se da će… = I hope that…
❌ Nadam da će… (ungrammatical in standard usage)

What is the role of "da" in "Nadam se da će…"? Is it like English "that"?

Yes. Da introduces a subordinate clause, very much like English "that".

Nadam se da će ti ove nove riječi pomoći…
= I hope *that these new words will help you…*

After nadam se, when you’re saying what you hope will happen, you essentially always use da + a finite verb:

Nadam se da će doći. – I hope (that) he/she will come.

You normally do not use an infinitive there, so "Nadam se pomoći" is not natural Croatian.

What does "će" mean, and how is the future tense formed in "će ti … pomoći"?

Će is the future tense auxiliary, similar to English "will".

The pattern is:

ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će
- infinitive

In the sentence:

će = 3rd person singular future auxiliary (will)
pomoći = infinitive (to help)

So (one) će pomoći = it/they will help.

Because "ove nove riječi" (these new words) is the subject, the meaning is:

Ove nove riječi će ti pomoći.
= These new words will help you.

Why is the word order "će ti ove nove riječi pomoći"? Could I say "ove nove riječi će ti pomoći"?

Both are correct; the difference is mostly word order preferences in subordinate clauses.

Given version (inside the "da" clause):
- da će ti ove nove riječi pomoći
- After da, the clitics (short unstressed words) move into second position:
  - će (auxiliary)
  - ti (short pronoun)
- Then comes the rest: ove nove riječi (subject) + pomoći (main verb).
Alternative main-clause style word order:
- Ove nove riječi će ti pomoći.
- Very natural, especially as a standalone sentence.

Inside a da-clause, it’s very typical (and strongly preferred) to put the clitics (će, ti, etc.) right after da or after the first accented word. So:

✅ Nadam se da će ti ove nove riječi pomoći.
❌ Nadam se da ove nove riječi će ti pomoći. (sounds wrong)

Why is "ti" used here, and what case is it?

Ti here is the short dative form of "you".

Full (stressed) form: tebi (dative)
Short (clitic) form: ti (dative)

The verb pomoći takes a dative object:

pomoći (kome? čemu?) – to help whom / to help to whom

So:

Ove nove riječi će ti pomoći.
= These new words will help *you (to you).*

You don’t use te, tvoj, etc. here; ti is exactly the right dative pronoun.

Why is it "ove nove riječi" and not "ovi novi riječi" or something else?

Because "riječ" (word) is feminine, and here it’s plural and nominative (subject).

Noun: riječ – feminine
Plural nominative: riječi

The demonstrative and the adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

ove – feminine plural nominative/accusative of ovaj/ova/ovo (this/these)
nove – feminine plural nominative/accusative of nov (new)
riječi – feminine plural nominative/accusative

Together, ove nove riječi = these new words (subject of the clause).

Forms like ovi novi riječi are wrong because ovi/novi are masculine plural forms.

Is "riječi" singular or plural here? The form looks the same in several cases.

In this sentence, "riječi" is plural.

Singular:
- Nominative: riječ – a word
- Genitive: riječi – of a word
Plural:
- Nominative: riječi – words
- Accusative: riječi – words (same as nominative for inanimate nouns)

Here ove nove riječi is the subject (these new words), so we interpret riječi as plural nominative, agreeing with ove and nove (also plural).

Why is it "na ispitu" and not "na ispit"?

Because "na ispitu" uses the locative case, which is used with na when you are talking about being at or during something (not movement towards it).

na + locative → location/time:
- na ispitu – at the exam / in the exam / during the exam
na + accusative → movement onto/into:
- ići na ispit – to go to the exam

So:

pomoći na ispitu = help (you) in/at the exam
If you said pomoći na ispit, it would sound like helping “onto/to the exam”, which is wrong here.

What’s the difference between "na ispitu" and "za ispit"?

They express different ideas:

na ispitu (locative)
- Literally: on/at the exam
- Meaning: during the actual exam situation
- pomoći ti na ispitu – help you during the exam
za ispit (accusative)
- Literally: for the exam
- Often about preparation/benefit for the exam
- učiti za ispit – to study for the exam
- riječi za ispit – words for the exam (useful for the exam)

In your sentence, na ispitu is correct because the idea is “help you during the exam”.

Why is it "u budućem životu" and not "u budući život"?

Because "u budućem životu" is locative, used with u when talking about being in a state or period, not moving into it.

u + locative → being in/inside:
- u budućem životu – in (your) future life
u + accusative → movement into:
- u budući život would mean something like into a future life (movement), which is not what is meant here.

Also, budućem agrees with životu in gender, number, and case:

život – masculine singular
Locative: u životu
Adjective budući → locative masculine singular: budućem

So u budućem životu = in (your) future life.

Why is "pomoći" in the infinitive form at the end, instead of a conjugated form like "pomognu"?

Because Croatian future tense with ću/ćeš/će… is normally formed with the auxiliary + infinitive:

će pomoći – will help
not će pomogne / će pomognu.

So:

Ove nove riječi će ti pomoći.
= These new words will help you.

Also, pomoći is perfective; it focuses on the result (that the help will succeed).
The imperfective form is pomagati (to be helping, to help repeatedly). In this context, the result is more important, so pomoći is natural.