Kartica će isteći sledećeg meseca.

Kartica means card. In this sentence, it usually refers to something like a bank card, credit card, debit card, ID card, or another card with an expiration date.

Grammatically, kartica is:

• feminine
• singular
• in the nominative case (because it is the subject of the sentence)

Će isteći means will expire.

This is the Serbian future tense:

• će = a future-tense auxiliary
• isteći = the infinitive to expire / to run out

So the structure is:

• Kartica = the card
• će isteći = will expire

Together: The card will expire.

Isteći is the infinitive form, and after će Serbian commonly uses the infinitive to form the future:

• kartica će isteći = the card will expire

You may also see forms like:

• Isteći će sledećeg meseca.

That still means the same thing.

By contrast, ističe is present tense:

• Kartica ističe. = The card is expiring / expires.

In practice, Serbian sometimes uses the present tense for scheduled or near-future events, but će isteći is the clear, standard future form here.

The verb isteći literally comes from an idea like to run out or to come to an end. In everyday usage, it often means:

• to expire
• to lapse
• to run out

So with things like:

• cards
• documents
• subscriptions
• deadlines

isteći is a very natural verb.

Examples:

• Pasoš će isteći uskoro. = The passport will expire soon.
• Rok će isteći sutra. = The deadline will expire tomorrow.

Because Serbian often uses the genitive case to express time when something happens, especially with expressions like:

• ovog meseca = this month
• sledećeg meseca = next month
• prošle godine = last year

So:

• sledeći mesec = next month (basic dictionary-like/nominative form)
• sledećeg meseca = next month / during next month (genitive time expression)

In this sentence, sledećeg meseca is the correct form.

Because that would sound unnatural for this meaning.

To say next month, Serbian normally prefers the genitive time expression:

• sledećeg meseca

Using u sledećem mesecu is more like in the next month in a very literal, unusual sense, and it is not the normal way to say next month.

So the natural choice is:

• Kartica će isteći sledećeg meseca.

It is the genitive singular.

Breakdown:

• sledećeg = genitive singular masculine/neuter form of sledeći (next / following)
• meseca = genitive singular of mesec (month)

Why masculine? Because mesec is a masculine noun.

So:

• nominative: sledeći mesec
• genitive: sledećeg meseca

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The given sentence:

• Kartica će isteći sledećeg meseca.

You could also say:

• Kartica sledećeg meseca će isteći.
• Sledećeg meseca će kartica isteći.
• Isteći će sledećeg meseca. (if the subject is already understood from context)

However, the original version is very natural and neutral.

A useful thing to notice is that će is a clitic, so it often appears near the beginning of its clause, typically in second position.

Because će is a clitic, and clitics in Serbian usually go in the second position of the sentence or clause.

So:

• Kartica = first element
• će = second-position clitic

That is why:

• Kartica će isteći sledećeg meseca.

This is very typical Serbian syntax.

No. You may also hear:

• idućeg meseca

So both can mean next month:

• sledećeg meseca
• idućeg meseca

Both are understandable and common, though usage can vary by region and personal preference.

Also, in some varieties, especially outside standard Serbian spelling, you may see:

• sljedećeg meseca

That is just a different reflex of the old vowel sound (ije/je instead of e), not a change in meaning.

Yes. Isteći is a perfective verb.

That matters because perfective verbs in Serbian usually describe:

• a completed event
• a single whole action
• a change that reaches its endpoint

Expiration is naturally an endpoint event: a card reaches the moment when it is no longer valid.

So isteći fits very well.

Its imperfective partner is isticati or, in many everyday contexts, the present form ističe is used to talk about the process or regular statement:

• Kartica ističe uskoro. = The card expires soon / is about to expire.

But for a straightforward future completion, će isteći is exactly what you want.

A rough guide:

• će sounds approximately like cheh, but with a softer ć sound than English ch
• isteći is roughly ee-STEH-tee with that same soft ć at the end

A few notes:

• ć is softer than č
• č is closer to the hard ch in church
• ć is produced a little farther forward and sounds softer

So:

• će ≠ če
• isteći ≠ isteči

English speakers often need practice hearing and producing that difference.

Usually kartica means card, not ticket.

For ticket, Serbian more often uses:

• karta

So:

• Kartica će isteći sledećeg meseca. = The card will expire next month.

If you meant a ticket, the noun would usually be different.

Grammatically, yes, that helps explain the form, because it is genitive. But in real English translation, you should simply say:

• next month

So a literal grammatical breakdown is useful for learning:

• sledećeg meseca = of the next month

But the natural meaning is:

• next month

It is neutral and completely natural. It would work in:

• banking
• customer service
• everyday conversation
• written notices
• reminders

For example, a bank app or clerk could say:

• Kartica će isteći sledećeg meseca.

So this is a very useful real-life sentence pattern.