Breakdown of Ako budem imala problem s dostavom, zvat ću ih odmah.
Questions & Answers about Ako budem imala problem s dostavom, zvat ću ih odmah.
In Croatian, it’s standard to separate a dependent clause introduced by ako (if) from the main clause with a comma:
- Ako budem imala… = the condition (dependent clause)
- zvat ću… = what will happen if the condition is met (main clause)
Because the condition refers to the future, Croatian often uses future II (also called futur drugi) in the ako-clause:
- ako + budem + past participle = if I end up having / if I have (in the future)
Ako imam problem… usually sounds like a present/general condition (if I have a problem (in general/now)), not specifically future.
Ako ću imati… is generally avoided in standard Croatian in this kind of conditional.
Budem is the present tense form of biti (to be) used as an auxiliary for future II:
- (ja) budem
- (ti) budeš
- (on/ona/ono) bude
- (mi) budemo
- (vi) budete
- (oni/one/ona) budu
Then it combines with the past participle (imala/imào/imàli…) to express future completion/occurrence in a subordinate clause.
Imala is the feminine singular past participle of imati (to have). It agrees with the speaker’s gender (and number):
- female speaker: budem imala
- male speaker: budem imao
- we (mixed/masc.): budemo imali
- we (all-female group): budemo imale
It’s not an infinitive here; it’s part of the future II structure.
With imati (to have), the object is in the accusative: imati + accusative.
For problem, nominative and accusative singular are the same form (problem), so you recognize it by the verb pattern rather than the ending.
S + instrumental often means with / regarding / involving and is very common for “issues”:
- problem s dostavom = a problem with the delivery
Here dostavom is instrumental singular of dostava (delivery). It frames delivery as the area/source of the problem.
Yes, and they’re all possible with slightly different flavors:
- problem s dostavom = neutral, very common (problem with delivery)
- problem u dostavi = literally a problem in the delivery process
- problem oko dostave = broader/vaguer, like complications around delivery
In everyday speech, s dostavom is often the default.
Croatian future I is normally:
- infinitive (without -i) + ću/ćeš/će…
So:
- zvati → zvat ću
- raditi → radit ću
Writing zvati ću is generally considered nonstandard in modern Croatian orthography.
Yes, both are correct. Croatian allows different word orders:
- zvat ću ih odmah = very common, neutral
- ja ću ih zvati odmah = also correct; often adds emphasis on I
- odmah ću ih zvati = emphasizes immediately
The ću clitic can appear after the infinitive in this common future construction, or before the main verb in other orders.
Ih means them (3rd person plural, accusative). It refers to whoever you would call (e.g., customer support, the company, the delivery service), depending on context.
Clitic pronouns like ih usually come very early in the clause (the “second position” tendency), so zvat ću ih odmah sounds natural. Other options exist but are less neutral.
Both can work:
- zvat ću ih (imperfective) can suggest calling (maybe more than once / the act of calling) and is common in speech.
- nazvat ću ih (perfective) often implies I’ll give them a call (once) and can sound very natural for a single call.
So you might also hear: Ako budem imala problem s dostavom, nazvat ću ih odmah.
Yes. Both are used:
- imati problem = to have a (specific) problem
- imati problema (s nečim) = often to have problems / to have trouble (with something) (a bit more general)
So Ako budem imala problema s dostavom… can sound like if I run into trouble with delivery (possibly not just one single issue).