Learn Croatian: Provozali smo se kroz selo. - We took a short drive through the village.

The base verb here is vozati se (to drive around). When we add the prefix pro-, it creates provozati se, which specifically means to do that action for a short time. In this case, it adds the sense of brief duration, turning the general action of driving around into taking a short drive or going for a quick spin.

Wait, isn't the verb for driving voziti? Why is the base of this word vozati?

Good catch! Voziti means to drive in a specific direction. Vozati is the iterative version, meaning to drive around aimlessly or back and forth. We use vozati se as the base here because taking a short drive or a spin implies a leisurely, non-directional activity rather than traveling from a specific point A to point B.

Could I drop the se and just say Provozali smo kroz selo?

No, unless you add a direct object. Without se, the verb provozati is transitive, meaning you have to take someone or something for a short drive (like a friend or a newly purchased car). Using the reflexive se makes it about taking yourselves for a ride.

What case is selo in, and why?

It is in the accusative case. The preposition kroz (through) always triggers the accusative to show the path of motion. Because selo is a neuter noun, its accusative form happens to look exactly identical to its nominative (dictionary) form.