Sutra ću očistiti garažu, jer je pod još mokar od kiše.

Tomorrow I will clean the garage because the floor is still wet from the rain.

Breakdown of Sutra ću očistiti garažu, jer je pod još mokar od kiše.

• biti: to be
• sutra: tomorrow
• kiša: rain
• jer: because
• htjeti: will
• od: from
• mokar: wet
• pod: floor
• još: still
• garaža: garage
• očistiti: to clean

Questions & Answers about Sutra ću očistiti garažu, jer je pod još mokar od kiše.

Why is the future tense written as ću očistiti instead of something like ću čistiti or ću očistim?

Croatian forms the future tense with a future auxiliary (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će) plus an infinitive:

• ja ću očistiti – I will clean (and finish)
• ja ću čistiti – I will be cleaning / I will clean (focus on the activity, not completion)

There is no form like ću očistim in standard Croatian; you must use the infinitive, not a present-tense form, after ću.

In this sentence, očistiti (perfective) is used because the speaker is talking about completing the cleaning of the garage, not just doing the activity in progress.

What is the difference between čistiti and očistiti?

Both come from the same root, but they have different aspect:

• čistiti – imperfective: “to clean” as an ongoing or repeated action
  
  • Sutra ću čistiti garažu. – Tomorrow I’ll be cleaning the garage. (focus on the process)
• očistiti – perfective: “to clean (up), to finish cleaning”
  
  • Sutra ću očistiti garažu. – Tomorrow I’ll clean (and get it done).

In this sentence, očistiti is used because the focus is on getting the garage clean as a completed result.

Why is it garažu and not garaža?

Garaža is a feminine noun:

• nominative (dictionary form): garaža – “garage”
• accusative (direct object): garažu

In Sutra ću očistiti garažu, the garage is the direct object of clean:

• What will I clean? → the garage → garažu (accusative singular)

So the -u ending marks the accusative singular of a feminine noun.

Why is the word order Sutra ću očistiti garažu, and can it be different?

In Croatian, ću is a clitic (short unstressed word) and tends to appear after the first stressed word or phrase in the clause. Sutra (tomorrow) is that first element, so we get:

• Sutra ću očistiti garažu.

Other natural options:

• Ja ću sutra očistiti garažu.
• Garažu ću sutra očistiti.
• Očistit ću garažu sutra.

But something like *Sutra očistiti ću garažu is wrong, because ću should not be pushed to the very end of the verb phrase like that. Word order is flexible, but position of clitics like ću is restricted.

What exactly does pod mean here, and why isn’t it a preposition?

In this sentence pod is a noun meaning “floor”:

• pod – the floor (of a room/garage)

It’s easy to confuse because pod is also a preposition meaning “under” (e.g. pod stolom – under the table).
Here:

• jer je pod još mokar od kiše
  → because the floor is still wet from the rain

So pod here is not “under”, but “floor”.

Why is it pod još mokar and not something like pod je još mokar or pod je mokar još?

The basic structure is:

• (jer) je pod mokar – because the floor is wet

The word još (“still”) is an adverb of time and typically stands before the adjective it modifies:

• pod je još mokar is acceptable but sounds a bit heavier, with extra focus on je.
• pod je mokar još is unusual and sounds off; još naturally goes before mokar.
• pod još mokar is the normal, neutral order: “still wet”.

So jer je pod još mokar is a standard word order:
još directly modifies mokar (still wet).

What does još mean here, and how is it different from još uvijek?

In this context, još means “still” (continuing state):

• pod je još mokar – the floor is still wet

Još uvijek also means “still”, often with a slightly stronger or more explicit sense of “it hasn’t changed yet”:

• Pod je još uvijek mokar od kiše. – The floor is still (yet) wet from the rain.

In most everyday contexts, još and još uvijek are interchangeable, and još is shorter and very common.

Why is it mokar and not mokra or mokro?

Adjectives in Croatian must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

• pod is a masculine singular noun in the nominative case.
• The adjective “wet” in masculine singular nominative is mokar.

So we get:

• pod (m.) je mokar – the floor is wet

For comparison:

• voda (f.) je mokra – the water is wet (feminine)
• more (n.) je mokro – the sea is wet (neuter)

Because pod is masculine, mokar must also be masculine.

Why is there a comma before jer?

Jer is a subordinating conjunction meaning “because”, introducing a reason clause:

• Main clause: Sutra ću očistiti garažu – I’ll clean the garage tomorrow
• Subordinate clause: jer je pod još mokar od kiše – because the floor is still wet from the rain

In standard Croatian orthography, a comma normally precedes jer when it connects two clauses:

• Odlazim ranije, jer sam umoran. – I’m leaving early because I’m tired.

So the comma before jer follows this normal rule.

Could I say Očistit ću garažu sutra instead? What is the difference?

Yes, absolutely. Both are correct:

• Sutra ću očistiti garažu.
• Očistit ću garažu sutra.

Two points:

1. Infinitive contraction: In speech and informal writing, Croatian often drops the final -i of a perfective infinitive before ću:

   • očistiti ću → očistit ću This is common and standard in everyday language.

2. Word order / emphasis:

   • Sutra ću očistiti garažu. – slight emphasis on when (tomorrow).
   • Očistit ću garažu sutra. – slight emphasis on what will happen (I will get the garage cleaned), with sutra just added at the end as extra info.

Meaning-wise, both sentences say the same thing.

What does od kiše literally mean, and why is kiše in that form?

Od kiše literally means “from (the) rain” and expresses cause here: “wet from the rain”.

• od is a preposition that requires the genitive case.
• The noun kiša (“rain”) in genitive singular is kiše.

So:

• nominative: kiša – rain
• genitive: kiše – (of/from) rain

Therefore od kiše = “from rain”, used to show what caused the wetness.