Learn Hardcore Croatian: Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom? - Can you explain this task to me later once again?

You usually cannot just drop li and keep the same word order. Without li, you’d typically mark a question just by intonation and sometimes by changing the word order:

Možeš mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom.
= You can explain this exercise to me later once more. (statement)
Možeš mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?
(with rising intonation) can work as a question in speech, but it sounds more casual and less “neutrally polite” than Možeš li mi…?

So:

With li: clearly a question, neutral / polite: Možeš li mi…?
Without li: can be a question in spoken language, but relies on intonation and sounds more colloquial.

Why is mi after Možeš li and not next to the verb or at the end?

mi here means “to me / for me” (dative singular of ja).

In Croatian, short pronouns like mi, ti, mu, joj, ga, je, im, se, si are clitics. They:

are usually unstressed,
tend to move to the second position in the sentence (the “second position clitic rule”).

In Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti…, the first element is Možeš, the second is li, and then clitics like mi follow:

Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti…
(Verb – li – clitic pronoun – rest)

You can’t normally move mi freely to the end:

❌ Možeš li kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom mi? (wrong)
✅ Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom? (correct)

So its position is mostly dictated by clitic placement rules, not by English-style “logical” order.

What exactly does mi mean in this sentence: “Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?”

mi is the dative form of ja (I). In English it corresponds to “to me” or “for me”.

objasniti (nešto) nekome = to explain (something) to someone
objasniti mi ovaj zadatak = to explain this exercise to me

So:

Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?
literally: “Can you to‑me later explain this exercise once more?”
natural English: “Can you explain this exercise to me again later?”

Is objasniti present tense or future, and what aspect is it?

objasniti is the perfective infinitive of the verb objasniti / objašnjavati (to explain).

objašnjavati = to be explaining, to explain repeatedly or over time (imperfective)
objasniti = to explain (and finish the explanation) (perfective)

In this sentence, objasniti is in the infinitive (not conjugated). It goes with možeš:

Možeš objasniti… = You can explain…

Because objasniti is perfective, the sentence focuses on completing the explanation at some later time, not on the ongoing process itself.

There is no explicit future tense here; English translates it with “can explain later”, which implies future time because of kasnije (later).

Why is ovaj zadatak in that form, and which case is it?

ovaj zadatak is in the accusative case, used for direct objects (what is being acted on).

ovaj = this (masculine singular, nominative/accusative)
zadatak = exercise, task (masculine noun)

Accusative masculine inanimate usually looks the same as nominative:

Nominative: ovaj zadatak je težak. = This exercise is difficult.
Accusative: objašnjavam ovaj zadatak. = I’m explaining this exercise.

In objasniti ovaj zadatak, ovaj zadatak is what you are explaining, so it must be in the accusative.

What’s the difference between ovaj zadatak and taj zadatak?

Both ovaj and taj mean “this/that”, but they differ in distance and focus:

ovaj zadatak = this exercise
– usually something very close or the exercise you’re currently working on / focusing on.
taj zadatak = that exercise
– something a bit less immediate: mentioned previously, in a book, on another page, etc.

In everyday speech, the difference can be subtle, and sometimes speakers use them almost interchangeably. In your sentence:

Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?
= Can you explain this exercise to me again later? (the one we’re dealing with right now)

Where can I put kasnije in the sentence? Is its position fixed?

kasnije means “later”, and it is fairly flexible in position. Some common natural options:

Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?
Možeš li mi objasniti ovaj zadatak kasnije još jednom?
Kasnije mi možeš objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom? (more like a statement/question by intonation)
Možeš li mi ovaj zadatak kasnije objasniti još jednom?

All sound acceptable, but:

The most neutral and common in your structure is probably
Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?

You generally keep clitics (mi, li, ga, je, se, etc.) in their second position, and then move adverbs like kasnije around them.

What does još jednom literally mean, and is it the same as ponovno or opet?

još jednom literally means “one more time”.

još = still, more
jednom = once, one time

So još jednom = one more time / once again.

Similar expressions:

opet = again (very common, neutral)
- Možeš li mi opet objasniti…? = Can you explain it to me again?
ponovno = again, anew (a bit more formal or “careful” style)
- Možeš li mi ponovno objasniti…?

All can work; još jednom emphasizes “one more time”, often implying repeating something already done.

How would I make this sentence polite and formal instead of informal?

To be formal or polite, use the polite plural vi form instead of ti:

Možete li mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?
= Could you explain this exercise to me again later? (formal/polite)

Changes:

možeš (you, singular informal) → možete (you, formal or plural)
Everything else stays the same.

Could I say “Možeš mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?” without li, and does it sound different?

Yes, you can say:

Možeš mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?

This is grammatically fine. The difference is mainly in style and tone:

Možeš li mi kasnije…?
– clearly a question, neutral / politely phrased.
Možeš mi kasnije…?
– relies on intonation to sound like a question; in writing it can look a bit more casual, maybe slightly less polite / more direct, depending on context.

In everyday spoken Croatian, people often drop li and just raise their voice at the end to make it a question. In more careful or formal speech (and in many textbooks), Možeš li…? is preferred.

Is there any difference between “Can you explain…” and “Could you explain…” in Croatian politeness?

English distinguishes politeness with can vs could:

Can you explain…? (neutral / casual)
Could you explain…? (more polite, more tentative)

Croatian usually does not show this difference with možeš li vs a separate “more polite” modal. Možeš li…? / Možete li…? covers the range from neutral to polite, depending on:

tone of voice
using formal you (možete instead of možeš)
sometimes adding softening words (molim te / molim vas, please)

Examples:

Možeš li mi kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?
~ “Can you / Could you explain this exercise to me again later?”
Možete li mi, molim vas, kasnije objasniti ovaj zadatak još jednom?
very polite: “Could you please explain this exercise to me again later?”

How do I pronounce možeš and obasniti correctly, especially ž and š?

Pronunciation tips:

možeš: [MO-zheš]
- ž = like the “s” in “measure, treasure, vision”
- š = like the “sh” in “she, shop”
  Stress is on the first syllable: MÒ‑žeš.
objasniti: [ob‑YAS‑nee‑tee]
- j = like English “y” in yes
- Stress usually on -JAS-: ob‑JÀS‑ni‑ti

So the full sentence might sound approximately like:

MÒ‑žeš li mi KÀS‑ni‑je ob‑JÀS‑ni‑ti Ò‑vaj za‑DÀ‑tak još JÈD‑nom?