Htela bih da kupim poklon danas, a cveće sutra.

Htela bih is a polite, softer way to say I would like.

• hoću = I want / I will
• htela bih = I would like

In this sentence, Htela bih da kupim... sounds natural and polite, like when making plans or saying what you would like to do.

Also, htela shows the speaker is female. A male speaker would say:

• Hteo bih da kupim poklon danas, a cveće sutra.

So:

• htela bih = feminine
• hteo bih = masculine

Bih is the conditional auxiliary, used to form the equivalent of would in English.

So:

• htela = wanted
• bih = would

Together, htela bih literally comes from something like I would have wanted, but in modern Serbian it functions as I would like.

This is a very common pattern:

• Hteo bih kafu. = I’d like a coffee.
• Htela bih da idem. = I’d like to go.

In Serbian, it is very common to use da + present tense where English uses an infinitive.

So:

• Htela bih da kupim = I would like to buy

Literally, it looks more like:

• I would like that I buy

But that is just how Serbian normally expresses this idea.

You will see this pattern all the time:

• Želim da idem. = I want to go.
• Moram da radim. = I have to work.
• Volim da čitam. = I like to read.

So da kupim is completely normal here.

This is about aspect, which is very important in Serbian verbs.

• kupiti → perfective
• kupovati → imperfective

Here, kupim comes from kupiti, the perfective verb, and it means buying something as a completed action.

So:

• Htela bih da kupim poklon danas. = I’d like to buy a gift today.

This focuses on the result: getting the gift bought.

By contrast:

• kupujem comes from kupovati/kupovati-like usage and suggests an ongoing, repeated, or process-oriented action.

In this sentence, the speaker means a single completed purchase, so kupim is the natural choice.

Yes, poklon is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of kupim (buy).

The reason it looks unchanged is that poklon is an inanimate masculine noun, and for those nouns:

• nominative singular = accusative singular

So:

• poklon = nominative
• poklon = accusative

That is why the form stays the same.

Compare with a masculine animate noun, where the accusative would change:

• Vidim čoveka. = I see the man.

But:

• Kupujem poklon. = I am buying a gift.

Cveće means flowers or flower(s) as a collective/mass noun, and in this sentence it also functions as the direct object.

Its form here is also the one you expect in this structure, so it appears as:

• cveće

A learner should especially notice that cveće is often treated as a singular neuter noun in grammar, even though in English it is often translated as flowers.

So:

• kupim cveće = buy flowers

This is very natural Serbian.

Because Serbian often omits repeated words when they are understood from context.

The full version would be:

• Htela bih da kupim poklon danas, a cveće sutra.

This means:

• I’d like to buy a gift today, and flowers tomorrow.

But more literally, the second part stands for:

• a cveće [da kupim] sutra

The verb is omitted because it would be repetitive. English does this too sometimes:

• I want to buy a gift today, and flowers tomorrow.

So this ellipsis is completely normal.

Here a connects two contrasted or separated pieces of information:

• poklon danas
• cveće sutra

It often translates as and, but not always exactly. It can also feel like while, whereas, or but depending on context.

In this sentence, a is something like:

• ...a gift today, and flowers tomorrow
• or ...a gift today, while the flowers tomorrow

So yes, and is a good translation here, but a often carries a slight sense of contrast or distinction between the two parts.

You might hear i in some contexts, but a is better here.

Why?

Because the sentence is not just adding two items. It is separating them by time:

• poklon danas
• cveće sutra

That slight contrast makes a the natural conjunction.

• i = plain and
• a = and / while / whereas, with a contrastive feel

So the given sentence sounds more natural with a.

This word order is natural because it groups each object with its time expression:

• poklon danas
• cveće sutra

That makes the contrast very clear:

• gift → today
• flowers → tomorrow

You could rearrange some parts in Serbian, because word order is fairly flexible, but the original version is smooth and natural.

For example, this is also understandable:

• Htela bih danas da kupim poklon, a sutra cveće.

But the original sentence is nice because it balances the two halves neatly.

Yes. Htela bih shows that the speaker is female.

A male speaker would say:

• Hteo bih da kupim poklon danas, a cveće sutra.

This is because the past-participle-like form agrees with the speaker’s gender in this construction.

So this is an important thing to notice in Serbian:

• htela bih = female speaker
• hteo bih = male speaker

It mainly expresses a wish/intention in a polite way: I’d like to buy...

Depending on context, it can suggest:

• a desire
• a plan
• a polite statement of intention

So it does not sound as firm as:

• Kupiću poklon danas. = I will buy a gift today.

Instead, it sounds softer:

• Htela bih da kupim... = I’d like to buy...

That can imply a plan, but grammatically it is framed as a wish or preference.

You could say:

• Htela bih da kupim poklon danas, a da kupim cveće sutra.

However, this sounds repetitive and less natural.

A more natural full version would be:

• Htela bih da kupim poklon danas, a cveće da kupim sutra.

But even that is usually less elegant than simply omitting the repeated verb:

• Htela bih da kupim poklon danas, a cveće sutra.

So the original sentence is the most natural everyday version.