Unatoč tome što smo propustili povezani let, predana prtljaga je stigla.

Unatoč tome što means despite the fact that.

It is built like this:

• unatoč = despite
• tome = that, in the dative case
• što = that / the fact that

So the whole phrase introduces a contrast:

• Unatoč tome što smo propustili povezani let...
• Despite the fact that we missed the connecting flight...

A very common simpler alternative is iako, meaning although / even though:

• Iako smo propustili povezani let, predana prtljaga je stigla.

Both are correct, but unatoč tome što sounds a bit more formal or heavier than iako.

Because unatoč requires the dative case.

The pronoun to changes to tome in the dative singular:

• nominative: to
• dative: tome

So:

• unatoč kiši = despite the rain
• unatoč problemima = despite the problems
• unatoč tome što... = despite the fact that...

This is something you simply have to learn with the preposition: unatoč + dative.

This is because smo is a clitic in Croatian, and clitics usually go in the second position of their clause.

In the subordinate clause:

• što smo propustili povezani let

the first element is što, so the clitic smo comes immediately after it.

That is why Croatian prefers:

• što smo propustili...

rather than something more English-like.

This second-position rule is very important in Croatian word order.

Here propustili means missed in the sense of failed to catch or did not make a flight.

The verb is propustiti, which is perfective. In this sentence it refers to a completed event:

• we missed that flight

Compare:

• propustiti = to miss, to fail to catch, to let pass by once
• propuštati = to be missing regularly / repeatedly / in an ongoing sense

In travel contexts, propustiti let is a natural way to say miss a flight.

Because Croatian past participles agree with the subject in gender and number.

The subject here is smo = we.

For we, the past participle is:

• propustili if the group is masculine or mixed
• propustile if the group is entirely female

So the sentence as written assumes either:

• a mixed group, or
• a group with at least one male, or
• the default masculine plural form

If a group of women were speaking, they could say:

• Unatoč tome što smo propustile povezani let, predana prtljaga je stigla.

It is understandable and correct, but it is not the only way Croatian expresses this idea.

Povezani let literally means something like connected flight or connecting flight.

You may also hear:

• let s presjedanjem = a flight with a transfer / layover
• veza in travel contexts = connection
• povezani letovi = connecting flights

So povezani let works, but depending on context, some speakers might more naturally talk about:

• let s presjedanjem
• avionska veza
• presjedanje

It literally means handed-over luggage.

Here:

• prtljaga = luggage / baggage
• predana = handed in, checked in, submitted

So predana prtljaga is the baggage you gave to the airline at check-in, i.e. checked baggage or checked luggage.

The word predana comes from the verb predati = to hand over, submit, give in.

So this is a participle used like an adjective:

• predana prtljaga = the luggage that was handed in

Because it agrees with prtljaga, which is a feminine singular noun.

Croatian adjectives and adjective-like participles must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• prtljaga = feminine singular
• therefore predana = feminine singular
• and later stigla is also feminine singular

That is why you get:

• predana prtljaga je stigla

All the agreeing words match prtljaga.

In Croatian, prtljaga is usually treated as a singular collective noun, much like luggage or baggage in English.

So even if it refers to multiple pieces, the grammar is singular:

• prtljaga je stigla = the luggage arrived

If you want to refer to individual items, you would use plural nouns such as:

• torbe = bags
• koferi = suitcases

But prtljaga itself is normally singular in grammar.

Yes. Je stigla is the Croatian perfect tense, the normal past tense in everyday language.

It is formed with:

• a present-tense form of biti = to be
• plus the l-participle

So:

• je = is/has (auxiliary here)
• stigla = arrived

Together:

• je stigla = arrived / has arrived

The participle agrees with the subject:

• prtljaga is feminine singular
• so you get stigla

The same pattern appears earlier:

• smo propustili
• smo = auxiliary for we
• propustili = missed

Because je is a clitic, and Croatian clitics normally go in the second position of the clause.

In the main clause:

• predana prtljaga is the first unit
• so je comes after it

That gives:

• predana prtljaga je stigla

The version:

• je predana prtljaga stigla is not normal standard word order.

Croatian does not place these little auxiliary words freely the way English does.

Yes, that is also possible.

Both are grammatical:

• Predana prtljaga je stigla.
• Predana prtljaga stigla je.

The first is more neutral and common in everyday usage.

The second can sound a bit more stylistic, literary, or emphatic, with slightly more focus on stigla.

So as a learner, predana prtljaga je stigla is the safest default.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Unatoč tome što smo propustili povezani let, ...

After that introductory clause, Croatian normally uses a comma before the main clause:

• predana prtljaga je stigla

So the comma separates:

1. the concessive clause: despite the fact that we missed the connecting flight
2. the main statement: the checked baggage arrived

This is similar to English punctuation with an introductory clause.