Breakdown of Narezat ću jabuku i staviti je u jogurt.
Questions & Answers about Narezat ću jabuku i staviti je u jogurt.
Ću is the 1st person singular present form of htjeti (to want) used as an auxiliary to form the future tense. In Croatian, the future can be made as:
- infinitive + ću/ćeš/će/... → narezat ću = I will cut/slice
- or ću + infinitive → ja ću narezati (same meaning; slightly different word order)
It’s separate because the auxiliary is a separate word in this construction. Very often it sits in the second position in the clause (a common Croatian word-order tendency).
Both exist. Narezati is the full infinitive (to slice/cut up). Narezat is a common shortened infinitive form (often called the “short infinitive”), used in many standard and colloquial contexts. So:
- narezat ću ≈ narezati ću
- staviti ću is also heard, but the more standard form is stavit ću / staviti ću depending on style; many speakers prefer stavit ću.
You can treat narezat and narezati as the same verb for meaning and basic grammar.
Jabuku is the accusative singular of jabuka (apple). It’s accusative because it’s the direct object of narezati/narezati (to cut/slice).
- Nominative: jabuka (the apple as a subject)
- Accusative: jabuku (the apple as an object)
I means and, connecting two actions:
- Narezat ću jabuku (I will slice an apple)
- (i) staviti je u jogurt (and put it in yogurt)
Croatian often omits repeating things that are understood, so the second verb shares the same subject (I) and future-time meaning from context.
Je is a clitic pronoun meaning her/it in the accusative (3rd person singular feminine). It refers to jabuku (apple), because jabuka is feminine in Croatian. So staviti je = put it (the apple).
(If the noun were masculine, you’d typically use ga; if neuter, ga is also commonly used in many contexts, depending on reference and animacy patterns.)
Pronouns like je/ga/ju are clitics and usually have a fixed position: they tend to come early in the clause, often in the so‑called second position. In a structure with an infinitive, it’s very common to place the clitic right after the infinitive:
- staviti je u jogurt is natural and common.
You may also see:
- i stavit ću je u jogurt (with the auxiliary explicitly repeated)
- i ja ću je staviti u jogurt (more explicit, with emphasis on I)
But je staviti is generally not the default placement in this type of clause.
Croatian often avoids repetition. The future meaning is already established by narezat ću, and the second verb is coordinated with it via i, so it’s understood as:
- (Narezat ću...) i (staviti ću...)
If you want to be extra explicit, you can repeat it:
- Narezat ću jabuku i stavit ću je u jogurt. Both are correct; the unrepeated version is smoother.
With u:
- accusative is used for movement/putting into → u jogurt (into the yogurt)
- locative is used for location → u jogurtu (in the yogurt)
Here the verb staviti involves putting something into something, so Croatian uses u + accusative: u jogurt.
Yes, jogurt is masculine. In u jogurt it’s in the accusative singular, but for many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative looks the same as the nominative:
- nominative: jogurt
- accusative: jogurt
So it is “changed” grammatically, but the form happens to be identical.
In this sentence, staviti strongly suggests a “put into” action, so u jogurt (accusative) is the normal choice.
U jogurtu would normally describe where something is located (static):
- Jabuka je u jogurtu. = The apple is in the yogurt.
So the difference is less about “general vs specific” and more about movement vs location.
Narezati is a perfective verb (completed action). The prefix na- often adds a sense of doing an action to a result/completion (here: slicing something up / making cuts). The imperfective counterpart is typically:
- rezati = to cut (ongoing/repeated)
- narezati = to cut up / slice (as a completed action)
Because the sentence is about a completed step (“I’ll slice the apple”), narezati fits well.
No. Croatian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb/auxiliary already shows the person:
- Narezat ću... already means I will...
You might add ja for emphasis or contrast:
- Ja ću narezati jabuku... = I will slice the apple (implying someone else won’t / or contrasting with someone else).
Yes, Croatian word order is flexible, but clitics still follow strong placement rules. Common alternatives include:
- Jabuku ću narezati i staviti je u jogurt. (object fronted)
- Narezati ću jabuku i staviti ću je u jogurt. (auxiliary repeated)
- Narezati ću jabuku i u jogurt je staviti. (more marked/emphatic; sounds poetic or contrastive)
The original is very natural and neutral.