Learn Hardcore Croatian: Večeras ću leći ranije. - Tonight I will go to bed earlier.

Večeras – this evening / tonight
- from večer (evening) + -as (a time adverb ending)
ću – I will
- future-tense auxiliary, the 1st person singular of htjeti (to want), used to form the future tense
leći – to lie down, to go to bed (perfective infinitive)
ranije – earlier (comparative form of rano – early)

So the sentence is literally: This evening I will lie down earlier.
In normal English: Tonight I’ll go to bed earlier.

Why is ću used here to express the future, and where does it come from?

Croatian forms most future-tense sentences with:

present of htjeti (to want) + infinitive

In practice, the present-tense forms of htjeti become short clitic forms:

ja ću – I will
ti ćeš – you will (sg.)
on / ona / ono će – he / she / it will
mi ćemo – we will
vi ćete – you will (pl./formal)
oni / one / ona će – they will

In Večeras ću leći ranije.:

ću is the clitic future auxiliary = I will
leći is the main verb in the infinitive = lie down

Together: ću leći = will lie down / will go to bed.

Why does ću appear in the middle of the sentence instead of right after ja or at the end?

Croatian future clitic ću behaves like other clitics: it prefers the second position in the sentence (or clause).

In Večeras ću leći ranije.:

Večeras – first element
ću – goes immediately after the first element
leći ranije – rest of the predicate

If you explicitly add ja:

Ja ću večeras leći ranije. – ja is now the first element; ću follows it.

Compare a few natural variants:

Večeras ću leći ranije. – time word first
Ja ću večeras leći ranije. – subject first
Večeras ću ja leći ranije. – more emphasis on ja (“I will go to bed earlier tonight”)

But something like:

*Večeras leći ću ranije.

is very unnatural because the clitic ću doesn’t like staying at the end.

Could I change the word order? For example, is Večeras ću ranije leći. correct?

Yes, Večeras ću ranije leći. is correct and natural.

Both:

Večeras ću leći ranije.
Večeras ću ranije leći.

are acceptable. The difference is very subtle:

leći ranije – the adverb ranije is directly modifying leći as a whole.
ranije leći – feels like you’re slightly emphasising “earlier”: “Tonight I’ll earlier go to bed.”

In everyday speech, both are fine, and many speakers won’t feel a strong difference.

What you normally don’t do is split ću from its second position, e.g.:

*Večeras ranije ću leći. – possible but sounds marked / unusual in neutral speech.

Why is the subject pronoun ja (I) missing? Is the sentence still complete?

Yes, it’s complete and perfectly natural without ja.

Croatian is a pro-drop language: personal subject pronouns are usually omitted because the verb form already shows the person and number.

ću is only used with ja (I), so Večeras ću leći ranije. automatically means I will go to bed earlier.

You can add ja for emphasis, contrast, or formality:

Ja ću večeras leći ranije. – “I will go to bed earlier tonight (as opposed to someone else).”

In neutral statements, dropping ja is more common and sounds more natural.

What exactly is the difference between leći, ležati, and spavati?

These three verbs describe related but different actions/states:

leći – to lie down, to get into a lying position
- perfective (focus on the moment of lying down)
- Leći u krevet. – To lie down in bed / to go to bed.
ležati – to be lying (to lie in a horizontal position)
- imperfective (focus on the state, not the moment of going down)
- Ležim u krevetu. – I’m lying in bed.
spavati – to sleep
- Spavam. – I’m sleeping.

In Večeras ću leći ranije., the idea is: Tonight I will (go and) lie down earlier, i.e. I’ll go to bed earlier. The focus is on the action of going to bed, not on the state of lying or sleeping.

If you said:

Večeras ću spavati ranije. – sounds odd / unnatural.
Večeras ću ranije ići spavati. – more like “Tonight I’ll go to sleep earlier,” also okay, but longer.

Why is the verb leći (perfective) used with the future tense? Could I say Večeras ću ležati ranije instead?

In Croatian, future tense often pairs with perfective verbs when the focus is on a single, completed action.

leći – perfective: one-time act of lying down / going to bed
→ fits well with I will (once) go to bed earlier.
ležati – imperfective: describes a state or ongoing action of lying
- Večeras ću ležati. – “Tonight I’ll be lying (down),” focusing on the state, not on when you start.

Večeras ću ležati ranije. is odd, because ležati is not naturally compared with ranije (earlier). You normally lie for some time, not earlier or later in a day – that comparison normally applies to when you start the action, which is exactly what leći expresses.

So:

Večeras ću leći ranije. – correct and idiomatic.
Večeras ću ležati ranije. – grammatically possible but very unnatural / confusing.

What form is ranije, and what is the base form?

Ranije is the comparative form of the adverb rano:

rano – early
ranije – earlier
najranije – the earliest (superlative adverb)

Examples:

Ustajem rano. – I get up early.
Sutra ću ustati ranije. – Tomorrow I’ll get up earlier.
Najranije mogu doći u sedam. – The earliest I can come is at seven.

So in Večeras ću leći ranije., ranije means earlier (than usual / than before).

Could I just say Večeras ću leći rano instead of ranije? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Večeras ću leći rano. – Tonight I’ll go to bed early.

The difference:

rano – absolute: early in general.
→ You’re simply stating that your bedtime will be “early” by some general standard.
ranije – comparative: earlier than some reference point.
→ Usually means “earlier than I usually do” or “earlier than planned / than yesterday / than you.”

So:

Večeras ću leći rano. – I’ll go to bed early (maybe 9 pm).
Večeras ću leći ranije. – I’ll go to bed earlier than I normally do (even if that’s still not objectively early).

What’s the difference between večeras, noćas, and večer?

večeras – this evening, tonight
- used for the period in the evening, typically until relatively early night
- Večeras ću gledati film. – I’ll watch a movie tonight.
noćas – tonight (during the night)
- emphasises the night part (later than evening)
- Noćas ću dugo raditi. – Tonight I’ll work late into the night.
večer – evening (the noun itself)
- ove večeri – this evening (more formal / written)
- Lijepa večer. – A beautiful evening.

So Večeras ću leći ranije. sounds like: This evening I will go to bed earlier.
If you said Noćas ću leći ranije., it would sound more like “Tonight, in the night hours, I’ll lie down earlier,” which is less common for ordinary “bedtime” talk.

If the meaning is “I’ll go to bed earlier,” why not say ići u krevet or ići spavati?

You can, and people do:

Večeras ću ići ranije u krevet.
Večeras ću ranije ići spavati.

But leći is:

shorter and very natural in everyday speech
already implies “lie down in bed,” which in context usually means “go to bed to sleep”

Nuances:

ići u krevet – literally to go into bed, emphasises the movement towards the bed.
ići spavati – go to sleep, emphasises the start of sleeping.
leći – lie down / get into bed, a neutral, very common way to express “go to bed.”

In practice, Večeras ću leći ranije. is probably the most idiomatic way to say “Tonight I’ll go to bed earlier.”

How would I make this sentence negative? Where does ne go?

To make a negative future, ne attaches to the auxiliary ću and forms a single word:

ne + ću → neću

So:

Večeras neću leći ranije. – Tonight I won’t go to bed earlier.

Important:

*Večeras ću ne leći ranije. – incorrect
Večeras neću leći ranije. – correct

The rule: ne goes directly in front of the auxiliary (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete) and usually fuses with it in spelling:

neću, nećeš, neće, nećemo, nećete

How do I turn this into a yes–no question, like “Will you go to bed earlier tonight?” in Croatian?

You’d normally change:

The person (from ću → ćeš for ti),
And add li after the auxiliary.

Examples:

Statement:
Večeras ćeš leći ranije. – You will go to bed earlier tonight.
Question:
Hoćeš li večeras leći ranije? – Will you go to bed earlier tonight?

Here are two common patterns for yes–no questions:

Hoćeš li + infinitive ...?
- Hoćeš li večeras leći ranije?
Or just intonation with the same word order as a statement:
- Večeras ćeš leći ranije? (spoken, rising intonation)

But something like:

*Večeras ćeš li leći ranije?

is not correct; li must come immediately after the verb hoćeš (or after ćeš if used directly).

How would this sentence change with different subjects (you, he, we, they)?

Keep večeras, leći, ranije, and only change the auxiliary:

Ja – Večeras ću leći ranije. – I will go to bed earlier tonight.
Ti – Večeras ćeš leći ranije. – You (sg.) will go to bed earlier tonight.
On / ona / ono – Večeras će leći ranije. – He / she / it will go to bed earlier tonight.
Mi – Večeras ćemo leći ranije. – We will go to bed earlier tonight.
Vi – Večeras ćete leći ranije. – You (pl./formal) will go to bed earlier tonight.
Oni / one / ona – Večeras će leći ranije. – They will go to bed earlier tonight.

In all of these, the subject pronoun can be omitted in normal speech.

Is there any difference between Večeras ću leći ranije. and Večeras ću ići leći ranije.?

Večeras ću ići leći ranije. is understandable but feels clumsy and redundant, because:

ići = to go
leći already implies the action of going and lying down

So ići leći is like saying go go to bed or go to go lie down; speakers rarely say it.

Much more natural options:

Večeras ću leći ranije. – best, concise, idiomatic.
Večeras ću ranije ići u krevet. – “Tonight I’ll go to bed earlier.”
Večeras ću ranije ići spavati. – “Tonight I’ll go to sleep earlier.”

Use leći alone here; you don’t need ići in front of it.