Learn Hardcore Croatian: Sutra ću pogledati svoje stare fotografije. - Tomorrow I will look at my old photographs.

In sentences, these short forms (ću, ćeš, će...) usually stand in the second position in the clause (they are clitics), which is why you see Sutra ću pogledati, not Sutra ja ću pogledati (though the latter is possible with some emphasis).

Why is there no word for “I” (like ja) in the sentence?

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb form already shows the person.

pogledati by itself is infinitive, but the auxiliary ću clearly marks 1st person singular (I).

So Sutra ću pogledati... is naturally understood as “Tomorrow I will look…”.

You can add ja for emphasis or contrast:

Ja ću sutra pogledati svoje stare fotografije.
= I (as opposed to someone else) will look at my old photos tomorrow.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Pogledat ću sutra svoje stare fotografije?

Yes. Several word orders are correct, with slightly different emphasis:

Sutra ću pogledati svoje stare fotografije.
Neutral; emphasis on tomorrow at the beginning.
Pogledat ću sutra svoje stare fotografije.
Still neutral; focus a bit more on the action, then time.
Svoje ću stare fotografije sutra pogledati.
Possible, but sounds more stylized or emphatic.

One important rule: the clitic ću must stay in second position in its clause. These are all fine:

Sutra ću pogledati...
Pogledat ću sutra...
Ja ću sutra pogledati...

But ✗ Pogledati ću sutra... is considered non‑standard in writing (you’ll hear it in speech, but it’s not recommended in standard Croatian).

What is the difference between pogledati and gledati here?

This is about aspect:

gledati – to watch / to look at (imperfective)
Focus on duration, process, or repeated action.
pogledati – to look at, to have a look (perfective)
Focus on a single, completed action, like “take a look (once)”.

In the future tense, perfective verbs (like pogledati) are very common when you mean “I will (once, completely) do this”.

Sutra ću gledati svoje stare fotografije.
Sounds more like “I’ll be looking at / I’ll spend time looking at my old photos.”
Sutra ću pogledati svoje stare fotografije.
“I’ll (at some point) have a look at my old photos” – completed event.

Why is fotografije and not fotografija?

The base noun is:

fotografija – photograph (feminine, singular)
fotografije – photographs (feminine, plural nominative/accusative)

In the sentence, fotografije is a direct object of pogledati, so it must be in the accusative.

For feminine nouns ending in -a, the nominative plural and accusative plural are often identical:

nominative plural: fotografije – (the) photographs
accusative plural: (vidim) fotografije – I see photographs

So svoje stare fotografije is accusative plural feminine = “(my) old photographs” as the object.

What case is svoje stare fotografije, and how do the words agree?

Svoje stare fotografije is in the accusative plural feminine, acting as the direct object of pogledati.

Agreement:

fotografije – noun, fem. plural acc.
stare – adjective, fem. plural acc., agrees with fotografije
svoje – possessive adjective (reflexive), fem. plural acc., also agrees with fotografije

All three words match in gender (feminine), number (plural), and case (accusative).

Why is it svoje and not moje? Can I say moje stare fotografije?

You can say moje stare fotografije (“my old photos”), and it is correct.

However, svoje is the reflexive possessive and is preferred whenever the owner is the subject of the sentence. The (understood) subject here is “I”, so:

Sutra ću pogledati svoje stare fotografije.
= Tomorrow I will look at my (own) old photos.

Using svoje clearly links the photos to the subject’s own possession.

Summary:

moje – “my” (doesn’t automatically say whose relative to the subject)
svoje – “one’s own” (owned by the subject)

In many situations, svoje sounds more natural and idiomatic.

Does stare mean “old” in age or “from a long time ago”? Could it also mean “former”?

In this context, stare fotografije usually means:

photographs that are old in time, i.e. taken a long time ago.

It does NOT normally mean “former photos” in the sense of “no longer valid” or “previous” (as English former boss). It’s more like:

stari prijatelj – an old friend (often: friend from long ago)
stare fotografije – old photos (from the past)

So you can understand it as “old / past / from earlier times”.

Where can sutra go in the sentence? Is it always at the beginning?

Sutra (tomorrow) is an adverb of time and is quite flexible. All of these are acceptable:

Sutra ću pogledati svoje stare fotografije.
Ja ću sutra pogledati svoje stare fotografije.
Ja ću pogledati svoje stare fotografije sutra.

The most common positions are at the beginning or just after the clitic group (like ću). Changing position usually affects only rhythm or slight emphasis, not the core meaning.

How do you pronounce ću and why is there a little mark under the c?

Ću is pronounced approximately like “choo” in English “chew”, but shorter and sharper.

ć represents a palatalized “tch” sound, similar to /t͡ɕ/.
It is not the same as č, which is a slightly harder /t͡ʃ/ (like “ch” in chocolate).

So:

ću ≈ tchyu (one syllable, short)
In IPA: /t͡ɕu/

Is there any difference between Sutra ću pogledati svoje stare fotografije and Sutra ću pogledati moje stare fotografije in meaning?

Both are grammatical and would usually be understood the same way in everyday conversation: “Tomorrow I’ll look at my old photos.”

However, nuance:

svoje stare fotografije
– standard, preferred; clearly means my own photos (the subject’s).
moje stare fotografije
– still “my old photos”, but less tightly linked to the subject grammatically; in some contexts it could be slightly more contrastive (my photos vs. someone else’s).

Most teachers and grammars will tell you:
Use svoje whenever the possessor is the subject.