Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ako dođeš prekasno na probu, propustit ćeš sredinu predstave. - If you come too late to the rehearsal, you will miss the middle of the play.

In Croatian, after ako (if) you normally use the present tense, even when talking about the future. The main clause then takes the future tense.

Ako dođeš prekasno na probu – literally “If you come too late to rehearsal” (present form, but future meaning)
propustit ćeš sredinu predstave – “you will miss the middle of the show” (future)

Using Ako ćeš doći is usually considered non‑standard or at least stylistically poor in cases like this. The rule of thumb:

If‑clause (ako/ako ne): present tense, often with a perfective verb
Result clause: future tense

So Ako dođeš… propustit ćeš… is the natural, correct pattern.

What is the difference between ako dođeš and kad dođeš?

Both can be translated as if/when you come, but they differ in nuance:

ako dođeš – if you come (it’s not certain you will)
- more hypothetical/conditional
kad dođeš – when you come (speaker assumes you will come)
- more certain, like English when

In this sentence, ako dođeš prekasno na probu focuses on the condition: IF you happen to come too late, then you’ll miss the middle of the show. With kad, it would sound more like when you (inevitably) come too late…, which doesn’t really fit the intended warning.

Why is it dođeš and not dolaziš?

The choice is about aspect:

doći (present dođem, dođeš, dođe…) – perfective, focuses on a single, completed event: the act of arriving
dolaziti (present dolazim, dolaziš…) – imperfective, focuses on a process or repeated action: coming, arriving in general

Here we care about a single, concrete arrival time (on this particular occasion), so perfective dođeš is natural:

Ako dođeš prekasno… – If you (should) arrive too late (this time)

Ako dolaziš prekasno na probu would sound more like a habit: If you regularly come late to rehearsal…, which is a different meaning.

What’s the difference between kasno and prekasno?

Both are adverbs of time:

kasno = late
prekasno = too late (excessive, past the acceptable time)

Examples:

Došao si kasno. – You came late.
Došao si prekasno. – You came too late (and because of that, something negative happened or couldn’t be done).

In the sentence, prekasno adds the idea that your lateness causes a problem (you will miss part of the show).

Why is it na probu and not something like u probu or za probu?

The preposition na is typically used for:

events and activities: na probu (to rehearsal), na koncert (to a concert), na sastanak (to a meeting)
surfaces: na stol (onto the table)

Here, proba = rehearsal, an event, so Croatian says:

ići na probu – to go to rehearsal
doći na probu – to come to rehearsal

u probu would be wrong here (you don’t go into a rehearsal), and za probu would mean something else (for the rehearsal in a purpose sense, not direction/motion).

Why is it na probu and not na probi?

This is about cases and movement vs. location:

na
- accusative = movement towards a place or event
na
- locative = being at a place or event

proba (rehearsal, fem. sg.):

nominative: proba
accusative: probu
locative: probi

So:

Idem na probu. – I’m going to rehearsal. (movement → accusative)
Sam na probi. – I am at rehearsal. (location → locative)

In the sentence, dođeš prekasno na probu clearly expresses going to the rehearsal, so accusative probu is used.

What exactly does proba mean in this context, and what is its gender?

Here proba means rehearsal (for a show, performance, concert, etc.).

Grammar details:

Gender: feminine
Singular forms:
- Nominative: proba – rehearsal
- Accusative: probu – (to) rehearsal (with na)
- Locative: probi – (at) rehearsal (with na)

Examples:

Imamo probu u šest. – We have rehearsal at six.
Kasnim na probu. – I’m late for rehearsal.
Sad smo na probi. – We are at rehearsal now.

Why is it propustit ćeš and not ćeš propustiti? Are both correct?

Yes, both are grammatically correct, but they differ in style and word order:

propustit ćeš – infinitive (with dropped -i) + future auxiliary
ćeš propustiti – future auxiliary first, then full infinitive

Rules and tendencies:

In standard Croatian, the future tense (futur I) is formed with:
- a clitic auxiliary (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će)
- - the infinitive of the main verb
The clitic auxiliary normally stands in “second position” in the clause, after the first stressed element.
When the infinitive ends in -ti and the auxiliary follows it, the final -i of the infinitive is often dropped in writing:
- propustiti ću → propustit ću
- propustiti ćeš → propustit ćeš

In your sentence, both:

Ako dođeš prekasno na probu, propustit ćeš sredinu predstave.
Ako dođeš prekasno na probu, sredinu predstave ćeš propustiti.

are acceptable. The first is more typical and neutral here. The second moves ćeš into a more prototypical second position in its clause and slightly emphasizes sredinu predstave.

What is the infinitive of propustit and what does it mean exactly?

The full infinitive is propustiti.

propustiti (perfective) = to miss, to fail to catch/see/experience something, or to let something/someone pass depending on context

In this sentence, it means to miss (part of a performance):

propustit ćeš sredinu predstave – you will miss the middle of the show.

Because it ends in -ti, with a following future auxiliary, the -i is dropped in writing: propustit ćeš.

Why is it sredinu predstave, with two different endings? Which cases are these?

This is a noun + noun structure where:

sredinu – accusative singular of sredina (middle, center)
predstave – genitive singular of predstava (show, play, performance)

Case roles:

sredinu is the direct object of propustit ćeš, so it takes the accusative.
predstave is in the genitive to express “of the show”, just like English uses of.

Literal structure:

propustit ćeš sredinu predstave = “you will miss the middle (of the show)”

So:

sredina → sredinu (acc.)
predstava → predstave (gen.)

Why is predstave in the genitive case here?

Croatian often uses the genitive to show a relationship similar to English “of X”:

sredina predstave → the middle of the show
početak filma → the beginning of the movie
kraj godine → the end of the year

So, predstava becomes predstave in the genitive singular to mean “of the show”.

This is a very common pattern:
[noun in nominative] + [another noun in genitive] = X of Y
Here: sredina + predstave → the middle of the show.

Could the word order be Ako prekasno dođeš na probu, propustit ćeš sredinu predstave? Is that still correct?

Yes, that word order is correct and natural:

Ako dođeš prekasno na probu…
Ako prekasno dođeš na probu…

Both mean the same thing. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, especially with adverbs like prekasno. Moving prekasno before or after the verb doesn’t change the core meaning here; it may only slightly shift focus or rhythm in speech.

So both are fine for everyday use.

Is there any difference in meaning between Ako dođeš prekasno… and Ako budeš došao prekasno…?

There’s a nuance:

Ako dođeš prekasno… – the most natural, standard way to say this. Present tense of a perfective verb in the if-clause, future meaning.
Ako budeš došao prekasno… – grammatically possible, but:
- sounds more formal, heavier, or overly explicit in most everyday contexts
- sometimes used to emphasize the future aspect or to sound more solemn/official

In normal spoken and written Croatian, you strongly prefer:

Ako dođeš prekasno na probu, propustit ćeš sredinu predstave.

The budeš došao form is usually reserved for specific stylistic or emphatic reasons.