Večeras ću probati novu juhu s povrćem i medom.

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Breakdown of Večeras ću probati novu juhu s povrćem i medom.

• i: and
• večeras: tonight
• s: with
• htjeti: will
• juha: soup
• povrće: vegetable
• med: honey
• probati: to try

Questions & Answers about Večeras ću probati novu juhu s povrćem i medom.

Why does the sentence start with Večeras instead of Ja (like Ja ću probati…)?

Croatian often drops the subject pronoun (like ja, ti) because the verb form already shows who is doing the action.

• Večeras ću probati novu juhu… = Ja ću večeras probati novu juhu…
• Both are correct and mean the same.
• Starting with Večeras simply emphasizes when it will happen (this evening).

Using ja is possible but not necessary unless you want to stress I (and not someone else).

What is ću exactly, and why is it in that position?

Ću is the short (clitic) future form of the verb htjeti (to want), used as an auxiliary to form Future I.

Future forms:

• ja ću
• ti ćeš
• on/ona/ono će
• mi ćemo
• vi ćete
• oni/one/ona će

In Večeras ću probati…:

• ću
  • infinitive probati = I will try

As a clitic, ću usually stands in the second position in the clause:

• Večeras ću probati…
• Ja ću večeras probati…
• Večeras ću ja probati…

Putting ću later, like Večeras probat ću is possible but marked/unusual in everyday speech.

Why is it probati and not some other verb like pokušati?

Both probati and pokušati can mean to try, but:

• probati here means to taste / to try (food or drink).

  • probati novu juhu = to taste a new soup

• pokušati means to attempt (to do something), not to taste.

  • pokušati riješiti problem = to try to solve a problem

So for food, probati is the natural choice.

Why is it novu juhu and not nova juha?

Because nova juha is the subject form (nominative), while here soup is the direct object of probati, so it must be in the accusative case.

• Nominative (subject):
  
  • nova juha = a new soup (as subject)
• Accusative (direct object):
  
  • probati novu juhu = to try a new soup

Grammar:

• juha is a feminine noun.
• Feminine accusative singular ending often changes -a → -u:
  • nova juha → novu juhu

What gender and case is juhu, and why does it end in -u?

Juhu is:

• Gender: feminine
• Number: singular
• Case: accusative

Base form (dictionary form): juha (feminine, nominative singular)

As a direct object, it takes the accusative:

• vidim juhu = I see the soup
• želim juhu = I want soup
• probati juhu = to try soup

The typical feminine -a noun:

• Nominative: juha
• Accusative: juhu

Why is it s povrćem i medom and not s povrće i med?

Because after the preposition s (with), Croatian uses the instrumental case, not the nominative.

So:

• povrće (vegetables, neuter nominative) → povrćem (instrumental)
• med (honey, masculine nominative) → medom (instrumental)

Meaning:

• s povrćem i medom = with vegetables and honey

Pattern:

• s + instrumental = with + something/someone

What is the difference between s and sa? Could I say sa povrćem i medom?

Both s and sa mean with, and in many contexts they are interchangeable.

• s povrćem i medom
• sa povrćem i medom

Both are correct.

General rules:

• s is the basic form.
• sa is used:
  • before words starting with s, z, š, ž (for easier pronunciation)
  • sometimes to avoid awkward consonant clusters
  • sometimes just stylistically

Here, s povrćem i medom is more typical, but sa is not wrong.

Why is povrćem singular if it means vegetables?

In Croatian, povrće is a mass noun (uncountable) and is grammatically neuter singular, even though in English we say vegetables (plural).

Forms:

• Nominative: povrće (vegetables)
• Instrumental: povrćem (with vegetables)

So s povrćem literally means with vegetable (mass/uncountable), but in English that is translated as with vegetables.

What is the case and function of medom?

Medom is:

• Gender: masculine
• Number: singular
• Case: instrumental

Base form: med (honey, nominative singular)

With s:

• s medom = with honey

Instrumental is used here to express what is included in or accompanying the soup.

Could I say od povrća i meda instead of s povrćem i medom? What is the difference?

Yes, you could say:

• nova juha s povrćem i medom
• nova juha od povrća i meda

Difference:

• s povrćem i medom = soup with vegetables and honey, focusing on what is in/served with the soup.
• od povrća i meda = soup made of/from vegetables and honey, focusing more on the ingredients it is made from.

Both can be natural, but s povrćem i medom sounds like you are describing what is in the soup as you eat it.

Why is there no ja in the sentence? How do we know it means I?

Croatian is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb form shows the subject.

From ću probati we know:

• ću = first person singular future → I will

So:

• Ja ću probati novu juhu…
• Večeras ću probati novu juhu…

Both clearly mean I will try a new soup this evening, even when ja is not used.

Is probati here a one-time action or something repeated? Is there an aspect difference?

Probati is perfective: it presents the action as a single, complete event.

• Večeras ću probati novu juhu…
  = At some point this evening, I will (for the first time) try this new soup.

The imperfective form would be probavati, which suggests repeated or ongoing trying:

• Često probavam nove juhe. = I often try new soups.

In your sentence, you are talking about one specific occasion this evening, so the perfective probati is correct.