Learn Hardcore Croatian: Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit. - Tonight I will make a plan for the exam.

ću is the 1st person singular of the verb htjeti (to want), used here as the auxiliary for the future tense.
Because the person (I) is clear from ću, Croatian normally omits the pronoun ja.

You can add ja for emphasis or contrast:

Večeras ću ja napraviti plan za ispit. – Tonight *I will make a plan for the exam (not someone else).*

In neutral sentences, you simply leave ja out.

What exactly does večeras mean? Is it “this evening” or “tonight”? Are there similar words I should know?

Večeras literally means “this evening / tonight”, and it usually covers the time from early evening until bedtime. In practice it is often translated as tonight.

Related words and nuances:

večer – evening (the noun)
večeras – this evening / tonight (an adverb, “when?”)
noćas – tonight, but focusing more on the night-time portion (late night)
danas navečer – this evening (more literally: “today in the evening”)

So:

Večeras idem u kino. – I’m going to the cinema tonight.
Noćas nisam dobro spavao. – I didn’t sleep well last night (during the night).

In your sentence, večeras is perfectly natural and common.

Why is ću in the second position: Večeras ću napraviti...? Could I say Večeras napraviti ću plan za ispit?

Croatian has a strong tendency to place certain short unstressed words (called clitics) in the second position in the sentence or clause. ću is one of these clitics.

That’s why the natural order is:

Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit.

Putting ću after napraviti (Večeras napraviti ću…) is incorrect in standard Croatian.

Correct alternatives:

Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit.
Ja ću večeras napraviti plan za ispit. (emphasis on I)
Napravit ću večeras plan za ispit. (verb + clitic together; see next question)

In all of these, the clitic ću ends up in or very close to that “second position” slot of the clause.

What is the difference between ću napraviti and napravit ću?

Both forms express the same future tense meaning.

ću napraviti – auxiliary ću comes first, followed by the full infinitive.
- Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit.
napravit ću – the infinitive drops the final -i and the auxiliary ću comes right after it.
- Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit.
- Večeras napravit ću plan za ispit. (less usual word order, but grammatically possible)
- More natural: Napravit ću večeras plan za ispit.

Rules and tendencies:

When ću (or ćeš, će, etc.) comes before the infinitive, you use the full infinitive: ću napraviti.
When it comes after the verb, the infinitive usually loses -i in writing: napravit ću, not napraviti ću.

Both versions are standard; the choice often depends on rhythm and word order in the sentence.

Why is the verb napraviti used here? Could I say Večeras ću raditi plan za ispit or praviti plan?

Napraviti is a perfective verb meaning “to make, to create, to complete” a single whole action. It fits well with “make a plan” as a finished task:

Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit.
→ I’ll complete / finish making a plan tonight.

Alternatives and nuances:

raditi plan – literally “to work on a plan” (more about the process than completing it).
- Večeras ću raditi na planu za ispit. – Tonight I’ll work on the plan for the exam.
praviti plan – also “make a plan”, but napraviti plan is more common and sounds a bit more neutral/standard in many regions.

So you can say raditi or praviti, but napraviti plan strongly suggests you intend to get the whole plan done.

What case is plan, and why does it look the same as the dictionary form?

plan is a masculine inanimate noun.

In the sentence Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit., plan is the direct object: What will I make? → (a) plan.

Case: accusative singular
Form: plan

For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular is identical to the nominative singular:

(Nominative) Plan je dobar. – The plan is good.
(Accusative) Napravit ću plan. – I’ll make a plan.

So it looks the same as the dictionary form even though the case function is different.

Why is it za ispit and not za ispita or something else? What case is ispit here?

The preposition za usually takes the accusative case when it means “for (the purpose of)”.

In plan za ispit, za + ispit (accusative) expresses purpose/goal: a plan *for the exam*.

ispit – masculine noun, accusative singular → same form as nominative.
za ispit = for the exam (purpose).

za ispita would be genitive singular, and it would mean something else, like “during the exam” in some contexts (e.g. za ispita je šutio – he was silent during the exam), not “for the exam” as in your sentence.

So in this meaning (“for the exam”), the correct pattern is za + accusative → za ispit.

Is there a difference between plan za ispit and plan ispita?

Yes, they suggest different things:

plan za ispit – a plan for the exam, usually meaning:
- your study plan (how you will prepare), or
- in general, a plan intended for use for that exam.
plan ispita – the plan/outline of the exam itself, e.g. how the exam is structured:
- topics, sections, order of tasks, etc.

So your original sentence:

Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit.
→ most naturally means “Tonight I will make a *study plan / plan for preparing for the exam.”*

If you wanted to say you’ll write the official structure of the exam itself, you could say:

Večeras ću napraviti plan ispita.

Could I move večeras to the end: Napravit ću plan za ispit večeras? Does word order change the meaning?

Yes, that is grammatically fine:

Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit.
Napravit ću plan za ispit večeras.

Both mean the same thing in most contexts: Tonight I’ll make a plan for the exam.

Word order in Croatian is relatively flexible and is often used for emphasis or information structure rather than changing the core meaning.

Rough nuances:

Večeras ću napraviti… – gently emphasizes when first (tonight).
Napravit ću plan za ispit večeras. – starts by emphasizing what you’ll do, and only then adds when.

But in everyday speech, both are natural and interpreted the same.

Could I use the present tense instead of ću napraviti, like Večeras radim plan za ispit to mean future?

You can use the present tense in Croatian to talk about the near future, especially when the time is clear from context (večeras, sutra, etc.).

So:

Večeras radim plan za ispit.
– literally: Tonight I am doing / I do a plan for the exam.
– understood as: I’m making a plan for the exam tonight.

Differences:

Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit. – neutral, clearly future, with a sense of a completed action.
Večeras radim plan za ispit. – more colloquial, sounds a bit like an already scheduled/decided activity for tonight.

Both are acceptable; the future tense with ću is more straightforward as a beginner-safe choice.

How do you pronounce ću and večeras?

Pronunciation guidelines:

ću
- Written: ću
- Sound: roughly like “chu” in English “choose”, but shorter.
- IPA: [t͡ʃu]
večeras
- Syllables: ve–če–ras
- Approximate sounds:
  - ve – like “ve” in “very”
  - če – like “che” in “check”
  - ras – like “rus” (with a rolled or tapped r; s like in “see”)
- Stress: depends on dialect, but often on the second syllable: veČEras.

Overall: Večeras ću ≈ Veh-CHER-as chu.

Is there any word for “a” or “the” in napraviti plan? How do I know if it’s “a plan” or “the plan”?

Croatian does not have separate words for “a” and “the” like English does. The noun plan has no article in the sentence:

napraviti plan – could be translated as:
- “make a plan”
- “make the plan”

Which English article you choose depends on context, not on Croatian grammar.

Examples:

If you are mentioning it for the first time:
Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit. → Tonight I’ll make *a plan for the exam.*
If someone already knows which specific plan you mean:
Večeras ću napraviti plan za ispit koji smo jučer spominjali.
→ Tonight I’ll make *the plan for the exam that we mentioned yesterday.*

Could I say Večeras ću napraviti plan učenja za ispit if I want to be more specific, like “study plan”?

Yes, that’s a very natural way to say “study plan for the exam”:

Večeras ću napraviti plan učenja za ispit.
→ Tonight I’ll make a study plan for the exam.

Other close options:

plan za učenje za ispit – plan for studying for the exam
plan pripreme za ispit – plan of preparation for the exam

Your original sentence is still fully understandable as a study plan, but adding učenja or pripreme just makes it more explicit.