Breakdown of Kad budemo imali više vremena, posadit ćemo još sadnica uz ogradu.
Questions & Answers about Kad budemo imali više vremena, posadit ćemo još sadnica uz ogradu.
Why does the sentence use budemo imali instead of ćemo imati?
Because after kad when you are talking about a future situation, Croatian normally uses future II in the subordinate clause.
So Croatian says:
- Kad budemo imali više vremena... = When we have more time...
not:
- Kad ćemo imati više vremena... in this meaning
A good rule of thumb:
- main future statement: usually future I
- clause with kad, ako, čim, nakon što referring to the future: often future II
Here the main clause is:
- posadit ćemo još sadnica uz ogradu
and the kad clause uses future II:
- kad budemo imali više vremena
This is one of the biggest differences from English future clauses.
What exactly is budemo imali grammatically?
It is future II of the verb imati (to have).
It is formed with:
- a form of biti: budem, budeš, bude, budemo, budete, budu
- plus the l-participle of the main verb
So here:
- budemo = we will / we are to
- imali = participle of imati
Together:
- budemo imali = when we will have / when we have
A useful note: the participle agrees in number and sometimes gender.
- budemo imali = masculine/mixed plural
- budemo imale = all-female plural
So if a group of women is speaking, you may hear:
- Kad budemo imale više vremena...
Why is it posadit ćemo and not posaditi ćemo?
This is the normal Croatian way of writing future I with many verbs ending in -ti.
From the infinitive posaditi, Croatian removes the final -i before adding the clitic form of htjeti:
- posaditi
- ćemo
- becomes posadit ćemo
This happens with many verbs:
- raditi → radit ću
- pisati → pisat ćemo
- gledati → gledat ćeš
So posadit ćemo is the standard Croatian form.
Why is the verb posaditi used here, not saditi?
This is about aspect, which is very important in Croatian.
- saditi = imperfective, focuses on the process or repeated action
- posaditi = perfective, focuses on a completed action
Here the meaning is a single completed future action:
- we will plant some more seedlings
So Croatian naturally uses the perfective verb:
- posadit ćemo
If you used saditi, it would sound more like:
- planting in general
- being engaged in planting
- repeated or ongoing planting
In this sentence, the idea is once we have more time, we’ll get the planting done, so posaditi is the better choice.
Why is it više vremena and not više vrijeme?
Because više (more) usually requires the following noun to be in the genitive.
The noun is:
- nominative singular: vrijeme = time
- genitive singular: vremena
So:
- više vremena = more time
This is very common in Croatian with quantity expressions:
- puno vode = a lot of water
- malo novca = little money
- više vremena = more time
Since time here is an uncountable idea, Croatian uses the genitive singular: vremena.
Why is it još sadnica and not još sadnice?
Because još here means more / additional, and in this quantity meaning Croatian often uses the genitive plural after it.
The noun is:
- nominative singular: sadnica = seedling / sapling
- nominative plural: sadnice
- genitive plural: sadnica
So:
- još sadnica = more seedlings
This works like other quantity expressions:
- puno sadnica = many seedlings
- nekoliko sadnica = several seedlings
- još sadnica = more seedlings
A small detail that can confuse learners: the genitive plural form sadnica looks the same as the nominative singular. But here it is definitely plural in meaning.
Why is it uz ogradu? What case is ogradu?
The preposition uz usually takes the accusative and means things like:
- along
- by
- next to
The noun is:
- nominative: ograda = fence
- accusative: ogradu
So:
- uz ogradu = along the fence / by the fence
That is why you see ogradu, not ograda.
Can I say kada instead of kad?
Yes. Kad and kada both mean when.
In this sentence:
- Kad budemo imali više vremena...
- Kada budemo imali više vremena...
Both are correct.
The difference is mostly style:
- kad = a bit shorter, very common in everyday speech
- kada = a bit fuller, sometimes slightly more formal or emphatic
So a learner can safely use either one.
Why is there no word for we in the sentence?
Because Croatian often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.
The verb already tells you the person and number:
- budemo imali = we will have
- posadit ćemo = we will plant
So Croatian does not need to say mi unless the speaker wants emphasis or contrast.
Compare:
Kad budemo imali više vremena, posadit ćemo još sadnica uz ogradu.
Normal, neutral.Kad budemo imali više vremena, mi ćemo posaditi još sadnica uz ogradu.
More emphatic: we will do it.
Can the word order change, or is this the only possible order?
The word order can change somewhat, but this version is very natural and standard:
- Kad budemo imali više vremena, posadit ćemo još sadnica uz ogradu.
Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but not completely free. You can move things for emphasis, for example:
- Posadit ćemo još sadnica uz ogradu kad budemo imali više vremena.
This means the same thing, just with the main clause first.
What usually stays important is:
- kad budemo imali remains together as the future clause
- uz ogradu stays as a prepositional phrase
- the future form posadit ćemo stays in its normal shape
So yes, the order can vary, but the original sentence is a very good neutral model to learn.
If the speakers are all women, would imali change?
Yes, it can.
In future II, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number. So:
- mixed group / default plural: budemo imali
- all-female group: budemo imale
That means both of these are possible:
- Kad budemo imali više vremena...
- Kad budemo imale više vremena...
In many grammar explanations, the masculine plural form is shown as the default, but in real Croatian an all-female group can definitely use imale.
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