Breakdown of Kad završim ovaj zadatak, poslat ću ga učiteljici.
Questions & Answers about Kad završim ovaj zadatak, poslat ću ga učiteljici.
Why does the sentence start with kad? Is that the same as kada?
Yes. Kad and kada both mean when.
- kad is the shorter, very common form
- kada is a little fuller and can sound slightly more formal or emphatic in some contexts
In this sentence, Kad završim ovaj zadatak... is completely natural.
Why is završim in the present tense if the meaning is future?
This is a very common Croatian pattern.
After words like kad meaning when, Croatian often uses the present tense of a perfective verb to talk about a future completed action.
So:
- Kad završim ovaj zadatak = When I finish this task
- literally it looks like When I finish/am-finished this task
- but in natural English, it is translated as future time
This is normal in Croatian. English does something a bit similar too: we say When I finish this task, I’ll send it, not When I will finish this task.
What form is završim exactly?
Završim is:
- 1st person singular
- present tense
- of the verb završiti = to finish
So it means I finish or, in this kind of sentence, when I finish.
The ending -im is typical for many verbs in this conjugation.
Why is it ovaj zadatak and not some other form?
Because ovaj zadatak is the direct object of završim.
- ovaj = this
- zadatak = task / assignment
Here, zadatak is a masculine inanimate noun. In Croatian, the accusative singular of masculine inanimate nouns is usually the same as the nominative singular.
So:
- nominative: ovaj zadatak
- accusative: ovaj zadatak
That is why the form does not change here.
Why is the future written as poslat ću instead of just one word?
Croatian forms the simple future, often called future I, with:
- the infinitive of the verb
- plus a short form of htjeti = to want, which functions as a future auxiliary
So the full idea is:
- poslati ću → in standard spelling this becomes poslat ću
When the infinitive comes before the auxiliary ću, the final -i of the infinitive is usually dropped in writing:
- poslati + ću → poslat ću
- raditi + ću → radit ću
- pisati + ću → pisat ću
So poslat ću means I will send.
Could I also say ću poslati?
Yes.
Both patterns are possible:
- Poslat ću ga učiteljici
- Ja ću ga poslati učiteljici
- Ću ga poslati is not normally used by itself at the beginning without something before the clitic
A very important point: ću is a clitic, so it usually does not stand in the first position of a clause.
That is why:
- Poslat ću ga... is good
- Ja ću ga poslati... is good
- Ću poslati ga... is not the normal word order
Also note:
- if the infinitive comes first: poslat ću
- if ću comes before the infinitive: ću poslati
What is ga, and why is it there?
Ga is the short pronoun meaning him or it in the accusative singular.
Here it refers back to zadatak, which is masculine singular, so:
- zadatak = task
- ga = it
So:
- poslat ću ga = I will send it
Croatian often uses these short object pronouns instead of repeating the noun.
Why is ga placed after ću?
Because Croatian short pronouns and short auxiliary forms follow special clitic order rules.
In poslat ću ga:
- ću is the future auxiliary clitic
- ga is the object clitic
These short unstressed words tend to cluster together in a fixed order. In this sentence, ću ga is the natural sequence.
So:
- poslat ću ga = natural
- poslat ga ću = not natural
- ga ću poslat may appear in marked or special contexts, but it is not the basic form learners should copy first
Why is it učiteljici?
Because učiteljici is in the dative case, which is used for the recipient after verbs like send.
You are sending something to the teacher, so Croatian uses the dative:
- base form: učiteljica = teacher (female)
- dative singular: učiteljici = to the teacher
So:
- poslat ću ga učiteljici = I will send it to the teacher
If the teacher were male, you would have:
- učitelj → učitelju
Why is učiteljica feminine here? Does that matter?
Yes, it matters grammatically.
Učiteljica means a female teacher. If the teacher is a woman, this is the correct noun. Croatian marks gender clearly in many nouns.
Compare:
- učitelj = male teacher
- učiteljica = female teacher
Because the noun is feminine, its dative singular is:
- učiteljici
So the gender affects the noun form.
What is the difference between slati and poslati?
This is about aspect, which is very important in Croatian.
- slati = to be sending / to send repeatedly / to send in general → imperfective
- poslati = to send once / to send successfully as a completed action → perfective
In this sentence, poslati is used because the speaker means one completed future action:
- finish the task
- send it
So poslat ću ga is the natural choice.
Why is there a comma after zadatak?
Because Kad završim ovaj zadatak is a subordinate time clause placed before the main clause.
Croatian normally separates that clause with a comma:
- Kad završim ovaj zadatak, poslat ću ga učiteljici.
This is similar to English:
- When I finish this task, I’ll send it to the teacher.
If the main clause came first, the punctuation pattern could differ depending on style, but in this sentence the comma is expected.
Could the word order be different?
Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not completely free.
Possible natural versions include:
- Kad završim ovaj zadatak, poslat ću ga učiteljici.
- Kad završim ovaj zadatak, ja ću ga poslati učiteljici.
- Kad završim ovaj zadatak, učiteljici ću ga poslati.
These all mean roughly the same thing, but the emphasis changes slightly.
The version you were given is a very neutral, natural one, so it is a good model to learn first.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning CroatianMaster Croatian — from Kad završim ovaj zadatak, poslat ću ga učiteljici to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions