Learn Hardcore Croatian: Večeras moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak. - Tonight I have to finish this difficult task.

Večeras moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak.
– Slight emphasis on when: This evening I have to finish…
Moram večeras završiti ovaj težak zadatak.
– Slightly more neutral; you’re just inserting the time into the middle of the sentence.

Other natural options:

Večeras moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak.
Moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak večeras.
Ovaj težak zadatak moram završiti večeras.

Croatian allows fairly flexible word order; what changes is usually emphasis / focus, not grammatical correctness. The most neutral-sounding for many speakers is the original: time first, then the rest.

Why is moram in the present tense if the action is in the future (tonight)?

In Croatian, using the present tense of a modal verb like morati + infinitive often refers to the near future:

Večeras moram završiti…
= I have to finish… tonight / I must finish… tonight.

You could also form an explicit future:

Večeras ću morati završiti ovaj težak zadatak.
= Tonight I will have to finish this difficult task.

But in everyday speech, present + infinitive is the most natural way to talk about an obligation that applies to later today / tonight / soon. It works very similarly to English I have to finish it tonight (present form, but future reference).

Why is it moram završiti and not moram završavam?

In Croatian, modal verbs like:

morati (must, have to)
moći (can, be able to)
smjeti (may, be allowed to)
htjeti (want to)
trebati (need to, should – when used as a modal)

are normally followed by the infinitive, not a conjugated verb:

Moram završiti. – I must finish.
Mogu završiti. – I can finish.
Smijem završiti. – I’m allowed to finish.

So moram završavam is incorrect, because you would be trying to use two finite (conjugated) verbs in a row. The pattern is:

[modal verb (conjugated)] + [main verb (infinitive)]
moram + završiti

Why is završiti (perfective) used instead of završavati (imperfective)?

Croatian verbs have aspect:

Perfective (završiti) – focuses on the completed action or the result: to finish (completely).
Imperfective (završavati) – focuses on the ongoing / repeated process: to be finishing, to keep finishing, to be in the middle of finishing.

In this sentence, you are talking about completing a specific task tonight, so you want the result:

Večeras moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak.
= Tonight I must finish (get it done, complete it).

If you used završavati, it would sound like you’re talking about a process or a repeated action, which is odd here:

Večeras moram završavati ovaj težak zadatak.
– Grammatically possible, but sounds like “Tonight I have to be in the process of finishing this difficult task” – very unnatural in this context.

For one clear, single completion, perfective (završiti) is the normal choice.

Could I say Moram da završim ovaj težak zadatak like in some other Slavic languages?

In standard Croatian, the normal form is without da:

✅ Moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak.

The construction moram da završim is characteristic of Serbian, not standard Croatian.

Some Croatians might use moram da + present in everyday speech (especially near the Serbian border or under Serbian influence), but if you’re aiming for standard Croatian, stick to:

moram + infinitive
Moram završiti, moram učiti, moram ići, etc.

What is the difference between moram and trebam here? Could I say Večeras trebam završiti ovaj težak zadatak?

You can say:

Večeras trebam završiti ovaj težak zadatak.

It’s grammatically correct, and many speakers use trebati as a modal, like English need to.

Subtle differences:

moram – stronger necessity/obligation, like English must / have to, often with a sense of external pressure (deadline, boss, rules).
trebam – can feel a bit softer: need to, sometimes closer to what I think I should do.

In practice, in everyday speech moram and trebam often overlap. For a school assignment or work task with a clear deadline, moram is very natural and maybe a bit stronger than trebam.

Why is it ovaj težak zadatak and not ovo težak zadatak or ovaj teško zadatak?

Croatian adjectives and demonstratives must agree with the noun in:

gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
number (singular, plural)
case

Here, zadatak (task, assignment) is:

masculine
singular
accusative (because it’s the direct object of završiti)

For an inanimate masculine singular noun in the accusative, the form of the demonstrative ovaj is also ovaj (same as in the nominative), and the adjective težak stays težak:

ovaj (this – masc. sg., nom/acc for inanimate)
težak (difficult – masc. sg., nom/acc for inanimate)
zadatak (task – masc. sg., nom/acc for inanimate)

So:

✅ ovaj težak zadatak

Incorrect combinations:

❌ ovo težak zadatak – ovo is neuter, but zadatak is masculine.
❌ ovaj teško zadatak – teško is neuter (or adverb); the adjective must match the masculine noun: težak.

If ovaj and težak look like nominative, how do we know ovaj težak zadatak is really in the accusative?

For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular has the same form as the nominative singular, for:

the noun: zadatak (nom/acc)
the adjective: težak (nom/acc)
the demonstrative: ovaj (nom/acc)

So formally:

Nominative: ovaj težak zadatak – this difficult task (is hard).
Accusative: vidim ovaj težak zadatak – I see this difficult task.

We know it’s accusative here because of the verb:

završiti is transitive and takes a direct object in the accusative.
The phrase after završiti is almost certainly its object, so grammatically it has to be accusative, even though the form looks the same.

For animate masculine nouns, you do see a difference:

Nominative: ovaj težak čovjek – this difficult man
Accusative: vidim ovog teškog čovjeka – I see this difficult man

That contrast doesn’t appear with zadatak because it’s inanimate.

Can I change the order inside the noun phrase, like težak ovaj zadatak?

Inside a noun phrase, the neutral, natural order is:

[demonstrative] + [adjective] + [noun]

So:

✅ ovaj težak zadatak

If you say težak ovaj zadatak, it’s not wrong, but it sounds marked and emphatic, something like:

This task, it’s a hard one
What a hard task this is

Examples:

Težak je ovaj zadatak.
– This task is hard. (bringing the adjective težak into focus.)

But as a simple object phrase after the verb, you normally keep:

…završiti ovaj težak zadatak.

That’s the default, unmarked order.

Could I drop ovaj and just say Večeras moram završiti težak zadatak? What changes?

Yes, you can say:

Večeras moram završiti težak zadatak.

Grammatically this is fine. The difference is in how specific the task is:

ovaj težak zadatak
– this difficult task, referring to a specific, known task (e.g. the homework or assignment you and your listener both know about).
težak zadatak
– a difficult task, non-specific or newly introduced in the conversation.

Since Croatian doesn’t have articles (a/the), speakers often use demonstratives (ovaj, taj, onaj) to signal that they mean a particular, already known thing – like English this/that or the.

What is the difference between večeras and noćas? Could I say Noćas moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak?

You can say:

Noćas moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak.

The nuance:

večeras – this evening / tonight in the evening sense, typically until you go to bed; often associated with the evening hours.
noćas – tonight in the nighttime sense, especially late at night; can suggest the late-night / after-dark period.

Overlap:

For something you plan to do after dinner but before midnight, both can work.
If you imagine yourself working at 2 a.m., noćas feels more natural.

So:

Večeras moram završiti…
– more neutral, “this evening, tonight.”
Noćas moram završiti…
– can hint at working late into the night.

Are there other natural word orders that change the emphasis?

Yes, Croatian uses word order to highlight different parts of the sentence. Some options, all correct but with slightly different focus:

Večeras moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak.
– Neutral, slight emphasis on večeras (when).
Večeras ovaj težak zadatak moram završiti.
– Stronger emphasis on this particular task and tonight:
Tonight, this difficult task is the one I must finish.
Ovaj težak zadatak moram završiti večeras.
– Emphasis on this difficult task (as opposed to other tasks).
Moram završiti ovaj težak zadatak večeras.
– Fairly neutral; the time is mentioned, but not foregrounded.

In everyday conversation, (1) and (4) are the most typical. The others are used when you want to contrast or stress a particular element (e.g. “Not tomorrow, tonight I must finish this one”).