Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ako gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala, grad će biti zeleniji i čišći. - If the mayor female does what she promised, the city will be greener and cleaner.

In Croatian, when you talk about a future condition introduced by Ako (if), the standard pattern is to use future II (also called the “complex future”) in the if‑clause, and future I in the main clause.

Ako gradonačelnica bude radila… → future II
…grad će biti zeleniji i čišći. → future I

Using će raditi directly after Ako (✗ Ako će gradonačelnica raditi…) is considered non‑standard or at least very colloquial in Croatian. You’ll see it in speech (and in Serbian), but in Croatian textbooks and formal writing you should avoid it.

So:

✅ Ako gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala, grad će biti…
✅ Ako gradonačelnica radi što je obećala, grad će biti… (present instead of future II, also common)
✗ Ako će gradonačelnica raditi što je obećala, grad će biti… (not standard Croatian)

What tense is bude radila, and how is it formed?

Bude radila is future II (in Croatian: futur II or perfektni futur).

It’s formed like this:

present of biti (to be) in the budem‑series
- budem, budeš, bude, budemo, budete, budu
- the L‑participle of the main verb
- raditi → radio (masc.), radila (fem.), radilo (neut.), radili (pl.)

So for gradonačelnica (feminine singular):

(ona) bude radila = she will be doing / she should do (in an if/when clause about the future)

Future II in modern Croatian is mostly used:

in subordinate clauses about the future introduced by ako, kad, čim, dok etc.
- Ako bude radila…
- Kad budeš došao, nazovi me. – When you come, call me.

You almost never use future II in a main clause in everyday language.

Could I just say Ako gradonačelnica radi što je obećala instead of Ako gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala?

Yes, you can, and it’s very common in speech.

Ako gradonačelnica radi što je obećala, grad će biti zeleniji i čišći.

Using the present tense in the Ako‑clause is completely normal when talking about a future condition. The meaning is still “If the mayor does / will do what she promised…”.

Subtle nuance:

bude radila (future II) – more formal/literary, often used in written or careful speech, clearly marks a future condition.
radi (present) – more neutral/colloquial, also used for future conditions, especially in everyday conversation.

Both are correct; Ako bude radila… just sounds more “bookish” or carefully correct.

Why isn’t Ako će gradonačelnica raditi što je obećala correct in standard Croatian?

In standard Croatian, the future tense će + infinitive (future I) is not normally used inside an Ako‑clause when that clause expresses a condition about the future.

Instead, you use:

present tense:
- Ako gradonačelnica radi što je obećala…
or future II:
- Ako gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala…

Using Ako će gradonačelnica raditi… is influenced by other standards (e.g. Serbian) and by colloquial speech, but it is marked as non‑standard in Croatian grammars. So for exams, writing, and “safe” Croatian, stick to present or bude + L‑participle in the Ako‑clause.

What exactly does što je obećala mean, and what is što doing here?

Što je obećala literally means “what she (has) promised”.

Grammar points:

što is a relative/interrogative pronoun meaning what.
In this sentence it introduces a relative clause that functions as the object of radila:
- raditi što – to do what
Inside that clause:
- što is in the accusative (it’s the thing she promised)
- je obećala is the perfect of obećati (to promise), 3rd person singular feminine.

So the structure is:

radila [što je obećala]
- did / will do [what she promised]

You could make it more explicit (though it’s not necessary here) by saying:

ono što je obećala – that which she promised, the thing she promised.

Why is there no subject pronoun ona in što je obećala?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: you usually omit subject pronouns when they are clear from context and the verb ending.

In što je obećala:

The subject is still the mayor (gradonačelnica).
The verb obećala is feminine singular (ending ‑la) which already tells you the subject is she.
Because it’s clear, you don’t need ona:

Compare:

što je obećala – what she promised (normal)
što je ona obećala – what she promised (emphasis/contrast: she, not someone else)

So ona is omitted unless you want to stress she for contrast.

What tense is je obećala, and why do we need je?

Je obećala is the perfect tense of obećati (to promise).

It’s formed like this:

je – 3rd person singular present of biti (to be), used as an auxiliary
obećala – L‑participle of obećati for feminine singular

So:

(ona) je obećala = she promised / she has promised

The auxiliary je is required in the standard perfect tense. In speech, people often move it or even drop it:

što je obećala – standard
što obećala je – possible but less common word order
što obećala – colloquial, dropping je (not recommended in writing)

In correct written Croatian, always keep je in the perfect.

What case and gender are gradonačelnica and grad, and why are they in those forms?

Both gradonačelnica and grad are in the nominative singular, because they are the subjects of their clauses.

gradonačelnica
- gender: feminine
- nominative singular form of the noun meaning female mayor
- subject of the clause: gradonačelnica bude radila…
grad
- gender: masculine
- nominative singular of grad (city)
- subject of the main clause: grad će biti zeleniji i čišći

Croatian does not have articles (a/the), so grad here is understood as “the city” from context, not “a city”.

What is the difference between gradonačelnica and gradonačelnik?

gradonačelnik = male mayor (masculine noun)
gradonačelnica = female mayor (feminine noun)

The feminine form is built with the suffix ‑ica, which is a common way to form feminine professions/roles from masculine ones:

učitelj → učiteljica – teacher (m) → teacher (f)
student → studentica – student (m) → student (f)
gradonačelnik → gradonačelnica – mayor (m) → mayor (f)

Because the sentence says gradonačelnica, we know the mayor is female.

How do the comparatives zeleniji and čišći work, and what are their base forms?

The base (positive) forms are:

zelen – green
čist – clean

The forms in the sentence:

zeleniji – greener (comparative of zelen)
čišći – cleaner (comparative of čist)

They are comparative adjectives formed mostly by adding a suffix to the stem:

zelen → zeleniji
- stem: zelen‑
- - ‑iji → zeleniji
čist → čišći (irregular change)
- stem: čist‑
- consonant cluster st changes to šć
- - ‑i → čišći

So grad će biti zeleniji i čišći = the city will be greener and cleaner.

Why is čišći spelled with šć instead of st?

This is a regular sound change that happens in many Croatian comparatives (and some other forms):

The cluster st often changes to šć (or š
- ć) in the comparative.

Examples:

čist → čišći – clean → cleaner
gust → gušći – thick/dense → thicker/denser

So čist + comparative suffix doesn’t stay čist‑i but becomes čišć‑i. It looks irregular from an English point of view, but it’s a normal pattern in Croatian morphology.

Could I say više zelen or više čist instead of zeleniji and čišći?

No, not in standard Croatian.

The natural way to make “greener” and “cleaner” is:

zeleniji (not više zelen)
čišći (not više čist)

Croatian prefers synthetic comparatives (one‑word forms) for most adjectives, especially common, short ones. There are some cases where više + adjective is used, typically with:

adjectives that don’t form a normal comparative, or
participle‑like adjectives, e.g. više zainteresiran, više umoran.

But for basic adjectives like zelen and čist, always use zeleniji, čišći.

Can I change the word order and say Grad će biti zeleniji i čišći ako gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct:

Grad će biti zeleniji i čišći ako gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala.

Meaning stays the same; you just put the main clause first.

Punctuation:

When the Ako‑clause comes first:
- Ako gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala, grad će biti… → comma after the Ako‑clause.
When the main clause comes first:
- Grad će biti zeleniji i čišći ako gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala. → usually no comma before ako in Croatian.

So Croatian and English behave similarly here: the comma is more typical when the if‑clause comes first.

What is the difference between ako and kad in a sentence like this?

Both can introduce a clause about the future, but they differ in certainty:

ako = if – the condition is uncertain, hypothetical.
- Ako gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala…
- If she does what she promised (maybe she will, maybe she won’t).
kad (or kada) = when – the speaker assumes the event will happen; it’s about timing.
- Kad gradonačelnica bude radila što je obećala, grad će biti zeleniji i čišći.
- When she does what she promised, the city will be greener and cleaner (the speaker is more confident that she will).

So ako signals a real condition; kad signals a future time you expect to come.