Log inSign up

Ako bude hladno, nosit ću šal u džepu jakne.

Ako bude hladno, nosit ću šal u džepu jakne.
If it’s cold, I will carry a scarf in my jacket pocket.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Croatian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Croatian now

Questions & Answers about Ako bude hladno, nosit ću šal u džepu jakne.

Why does the sentence start with Ako and what does it do grammatically?

Ako means if and introduces a conditional clause. In Croatian, the conditional clause often comes first (as here), and it’s separated by a comma from the main clause:

  • Ako bude hladno, ... = If it gets cold / If it’s cold (in the future), ... Then the main clause gives the result:
  • ..., nosit ću šal u džepu jakne. = ..., I’ll carry/wear a scarf in my jacket pocket.
Why is it bude and not je or bit će?

Croatian commonly uses Ako + (budem/bude/budemo...) to talk about a future condition:

  • Ako bude hladno = If it’s cold (later/then) / If it turns out to be cold

Compare:

  • Ako je hladno, ... = more like If it’s (currently) cold / If it is cold (as a general fact), ...
  • Ako će biti hladno, ... is possible but usually sounds heavier/less natural than Ako bude hladno in everyday Croatian.

So bude here is the natural “future condition” pattern.

What tense is nosit ću? Why is it two words?

nosit ću is Future I (simple future): I will carry/wear.

It’s made from:

  • the infinitive (or stem) nositi → nosit-
    • the clitic form of htjeti (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će)

Croatian standard spelling normally keeps them separate:

  • nosit ću, radit ću, ići ću

(You may see merged spellings in some contexts/regions, but standard Croatian teaching typically uses the two-word form.)

Why is it nosit ću and not nosiću?

nosiću is associated more with Serbian/Bosnian spelling habits in some contexts; standard Croatian orthography prefers nosit ću (separate words) for Future I.

Also, Croatian often drops the final -i of the infinitive before ću in everyday usage:

  • nositi ću → more commonly nosit ću Both are understandable, but nosit ću is the usual choice.
Does nositi mean “to wear” or “to carry”? Which one is intended here?

nositi can mean both to wear and to carry, and context decides.

Here, with šal and u džepu jakne, it most naturally means to carry/keep (a scarf) in my jacket pocket.
If you wanted to emphasize “wearing it around the neck,” you might get additional context or wording, but this sentence strongly suggests keeping it in the pocket.

Why is hladno used instead of an adjective agreeing with something (like hladan/hladna/hladno)?

In Ako bude hladno, hladno is used impersonally, like English it’s cold. There’s no explicit subject noun, so Croatian uses the neuter form as a predicate:

  • (It) is cold → Hladno je / Bit će hladno / Ako bude hladno

This is a very common weather pattern.

Why is šal not changed—shouldn’t it be in a different case?

It is in a different case: it’s the direct object of nosit ću, so it’s in the accusative.
But šal is masculine inanimate, and for many masculine inanimate nouns the accusative singular = nominative singular, so it looks unchanged:

  • N (subject): šal
  • A (object): šal (same form)

If it were animate (like a person), you’d usually see a different accusative form.

Why is it u džepu and not u džep?

Because of the motion vs. location rule with u:

  • u + accusative = motion into (put into):
    Stavit ću šal u džep. = I’ll put the scarf into my pocket.
  • u + locative = location (in):
    Nos(it) ću šal u džepu. = I’ll keep/carry the scarf in (my) pocket.

This sentence describes where it will be while you carry it: in the pocket → locative → u džepu.

Why is jakne in the genitive—what does u džepu jakne literally mean?

jakne is genitive singular of jakna (“jacket”). The genitive here expresses possession/association:

  • džep (čega?) jakne = the pocket (of what?) of the jacket

So u džepu jakne is literally in the pocket of the jacket, i.e. in my jacket pocket.

Is the word order fixed? Could Nos(it) ću šal u džepu jakne ako bude hladno also work?

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible.

Both are grammatical:

  • Ako bude hladno, nosit ću šal u džepu jakne. (conditional first; very common)
  • Nos(it) ću šal u džepu jakne ako bude hladno. (main clause first; also common)

Putting the Ako clause first often highlights the condition, and the comma is typically used in that order.

What is ću exactly, and why does it have that special letter ć?

ću is the 1st-person singular future clitic meaning I will (from the verb htjeti = “to want,” historically used to form the future).

The letter ć is a Croatian letter pronounced like a “soft” ch/ty-like sound (distinct from č). It matters in spelling and pronunciation:

  • ću = I will
  • It’s always written with the diacritic in standard Croatian.
Could you replace Ako with Kad(a) here?

Yes, with a meaning shift:

  • Ako bude hladno, ... = If it’s cold (maybe; conditional)
  • Kad(a) bude hladno, ... = When it’s cold (expected/sooner or later; more definite)

So ako implies uncertainty; kad(a) implies it’s expected to happen.