Večeras ću leći ranije.

tonight

Breakdown of Večeras ću leći ranije.

• htjeti: will
• ranije: earlier
• leći: to lie down

Questions & Answers about Večeras ću leći ranije.

What does each word in Večeras ću leći ranije. literally mean?

Word by word:

• 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.: