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25.Modal Verbs — The Six Verbs and Their Pattern

Modal verbs are little helper verbs that color a second verb: can, want, must, may, need. Croatian has six of them — and the basic pattern is just like English: modal verb + infinitive.

Your goal

After this lesson you'll know the six Croatian modal verbs (moći, znati, htjeti, morati, smjeti, trebati) and how to form them in the present tense. You'll know one thing: after every modal verb comes the plain infinitive. The contrasts (moći vs znati, ne moram vs ne smijem) come in A1.2, and the future tense with “ću” comes in A2.

I.The six modal verbs — overview

CroatianEnglish
moćican (possible, doable)
znatican (have learned)
htjetiwant / will (future)
moratimust / have to
smjetimay (be allowed to)
trebatineed / should
The six modal verbs — meaning.

II.The basic pattern: +

Just like English: a plus the plain infinitive — the dictionary form in -ti or -ći.

CroatianEnglish
Moram raditi.I have to work.
Mogu doći sutra.I can come tomorrow.
Hoću jesti.I want to eat.
Smijem ostati.I may stay.
Trebam novac.I need money.
Znam plivati.I can swim (learned).
Six modal verbs — one pattern.
Word order

English keeps the verb right next to the modal: “I have to work today.” Croatian lets the words move around more — “Moram danas dugo raditi” puts other words between the modal and the infinitive. What matters: the modal verb is conjugated, and the infinitive never changes.

III.moći — can (possible, doable)

With moći you say that something is possible — in this situation, doable right now, or as a way to ask permission. The is irregular: the switches g ↔ ž.

CroatianEnglish
ja moguI can
ti možešyou can
on / ona / ono možehe / she / it can
mi možemowe can
vi možeteyou (plural) can
oni / one / ona moguthey can
moći — present tense. Stem “mo-,” the endings change (g↔ž). Note: ja and oni have the same form.
CroatianEnglish
Sutra može padati kiša.It can rain tomorrow.
Ne mogu te čuti.I cannot hear you.
Mogu li ući?Can I come in?
Možete li mi pomoći?Can you help me?
moći — examples.
Može! — a word you'll hear all the time

The third-person singular “može” has taken on a life of its own as an everyday way to say yes — like “Sure!” or “Works for me!”

CroatianEnglish
Idemo na kavu? — Može!Want to grab a coffee? — Sure!
Vidimo se u sedam? — Može.See you at seven? — Works for me.

IV.znati — can (a learned skill)

English has just one word, “can,” for both. Croatian draws a sharp line between moći (possible right now) and znati (a skill you've learned). znati really means to know, but it covers everything you've learned — languages, sports, instruments, driving. You'll learn the full contrast with moći in A1.2.

CroatianEnglish
ja znamI can / know
ti znašyou can / know
on / ona / ono znahe / she / it can / knows
mi znamowe can / know
vi znateyou (plural) can / know
oni / one / ona znajuthey can / know
znati — present tense, regular a-class. Stem “zn-,” endings built with -a-.
CroatianEnglish
Znam plivati.I can swim. (learned)
Znaš li voziti?Can you drive? (learned?)
Jure zna svirati klavir.Jure can play the piano.
Ne znaju govoriti hrvatski.They cannot speak Croatian.
znati — examples.

V.htjeti — want

htjeti means want. Here in A1.1 you only learn the long forms — htjeti as a . The short forms (ću, ćeš …) for the tense and the negative form neću come in A1.3.

CroatianEnglish
ja hoćuI want
ti hoćešyou want
on / ona / ono hoćehe / she / it wants
mi hoćemowe want
vi hoćeteyou (plural) want
oni / one / ona hoćethey want
htjeti — long forms, irregular.
CroatianEnglish
Hoću jesti.I want to eat.
Što hoćeš?What do you want?
Hoće li doći?Does he want to come?
Hoćemo razgovarati.We want to talk.
htjeti — examples.

VI.morati — must / have to

morati expresses necessity and obligation. Completely regular, following the a-class:

CroatianEnglish
ja moramI have to
ti morašyou have to
on / ona / ono morahe / she / it has to
mi moramowe have to
vi morateyou (plural) have to
oni / one / ona morajuthey have to
morati — present tense, a-class. Stem “mor-.”
CroatianEnglish
Moram učiti.I have to study.
Moraš biti pažljiv.You have to be careful.
Moramo ići.We have to go.
Mate mora raditi vikendom.Mate has to work on weekends.
morati — examples.

VII.smjeti — may / be allowed to

smjeti is about permission. The ije/je vowels in the are typical of standard Croatian.

CroatianEnglish
ja smijemI may
ti smiješyou may
on / ona / ono smijehe / she / it may
mi smijemowe may
vi smijeteyou (plural) may
oni / one / ona smijuthey may
smjeti — present tense.
CroatianEnglish
Smijem li ući?May I come in?
Smiješ ostati.You may stay.
Ivana smije doći.Ivana may come.
Smijemo li pitati?May we ask?
smjeti — examples.

VIII.trebati — need / should

trebati is the most versatile of the six. With a noun it means need; with an infinitive it means should. Regular :

CroatianEnglish
ja trebamI need / should
ti trebašyou need / should
on / ona / ono trebahe / she / it needs / should
mi trebamowe need / should
vi trebateyou (plural) need / should
oni / one / ona trebajuthey need / should
trebati — present tense, a-class. Stem “treb-.”
CroatianEnglish
Trebam novac.I need money.
Trebamo pomoć.We need help.
Trebaš učiti.You should study.
Trebamo otići.We should go.
trebati — a noun or an infinitive.

IX.What you can do now

Remember: Six modal verbs, one pattern — modal verb + infinitive.

Six modal verbs, one pattern

You now know the six Croatian modal verbs in the present tense and the basic pattern “modal verb + infinitive.” moći, znati, and htjeti have irregular conjugations — the other three follow the a-class nicely. Next up (A1.2): the contrasts that trip up English speakers the most — moći vs znati and ne moram vs ne smijem.

CroatianEnglish
Moram raditi.I have to work.
Hoću jesti.I want to eat.
Smijem ostati.I may stay.
Znam plivati.I can swim (learned).