Two Verbs With One Subject

Level 2

Mogu doći means I can come. The first verb marks the subject, while the infinitive names the action.

How It Works

Compare Mogu doći. with Možemo doći. The action doći stays in the infinitive; the form of moći tells us who can do it.

The same basic frame appears with necessity or desire: Moram raditi. and Želim učiti. In the past, the first verb can itself be a compound form: Morala sam raditi.

This lesson teaches the common standard Croatian infinitive frame. Clauses with da also exist, especially when a separate subject is needed. Do not turn a useful preference for the infinitive into a claim that every da-clause is wrong.

Examples (3)

  1. Mogu doći.

    I can come.

    Mogu carries person; doći is the infinitive.

  2. Želimo učiti hrvatski.

    We want to learn Croatian.

    Želimo identifies a plural subject.

  3. Morala sam raditi.

    I had to work.

    A female speaker uses morala with the unchanged infinitive raditi.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Two Verbs With One SubjectLevel 2

Learn This First

A familiar modal plus infinitive introduces the general same-subject two-verb frame.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

moćimoratitrebatismjetihtjetiželjeti