Learn Hardcore Croatian: Kad putujemo daleko, često spavamo u hotelu. - When we travel far, we often sleep in a hotel.

In Croatian, when a sentence starts with a clause introduced by kad, ako, jer, etc., and then continues with the main clause, you normally put a comma between them.

If you switch the order, there is usually no comma:

Često spavamo u hotelu kad putujemo daleko.
(No comma needed in this word order.)

Why is the present tense (putujemo, spavamo) used if we are talking about something habitual, not happening right now?

In Croatian, the present tense of imperfective verbs is used both for:

Actions happening right now
- Sada putujemo. – We are travelling now.
Regular, habitual actions (like English we often travel, we usually stay)
- Kad putujemo daleko, često spavamo u hotelu.
  When we travel far, we often sleep in a hotel.

English may use the present simple for habits and the present continuous for actions happening now. Croatian uses the same present form for both; the context and adverbs like često (often), obično (usually) make it clear we’re talking about a habit here.

How is putujemo formed, and what is the infinitive of that verb?

The infinitive is putovati – to travel.

It’s a regular -ovati verb. Present tense, 1st person plural:

ja putujem – I travel
ti putuješ – you travel (singular)
on/ona/ono putuje – he/she/it travels
mi putujemo – we travel
vi putujete – you travel (plural/formal)
oni/one/ona putuju – they travel

So putujemo = we travel or we are travelling.

Why is there no mi (we) in the sentence? How do we know it means we?

Croatian is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (ja, ti, on, mi, vi, oni) are usually omitted because the verb ending already tells you the person and number.

putujemo can only mean we travel.
spavamo can only mean we sleep.

You could say:

Kad mi putujemo daleko, često spavamo u hotelu.

but that normally adds emphasis to mi (when *we travel far…*, maybe contrasting with other people). In a neutral sentence, Croatians just drop the pronoun.

What does daleko mean here exactly? Is it an adverb or an adjective?

In this sentence daleko is an adverb, meaning far or far away.

Kad putujemo daleko – When we travel far (away)

As an adverb, it modifies the verb putujemo (tells you how / how far you travel).

As an adjective, dalek (m./n.), daleka (f.), daleko (n.) can mean distant:

daleka zemlja – a distant country
daleko selo – a distant village (here daleko agrees with a neuter noun)

So here it’s the adverb use: daleko = far.

Could I move daleko to a different place in the sentence? For example: Kad daleko putujemo?

Yes, you can move daleko and it’s still grammatical, but the most natural and neutral is:

Kad putujemo daleko, često spavamo u hotelu.

You can also say:

Kad daleko putujemo, često spavamo u hotelu.

This is understandable and correct, but a bit less common; the focus can sound slightly more on daleko.

In general, adverbs in Croatian have relatively flexible word order, but the version you were given is the most typical and natural.

Why is it u hotelu and not u hotel or u hotelima?

U hotelu uses the locative singular of hotel.

Preposition u
- locative is used to express being in/inside a place:
  - u hotelu – in the hotel
  - u školi – in (at) school
  - u gradu – in the city

So spavamo u hotelu = we sleep in a (the) hotel (meaning inside a hotel as our accommodation).

It is not:

u hotel – that would be accusative, used mainly for movement into the hotel:
- Idemo u hotel. – We are going to the hotel.
u hotelima – locative plural, in hotels (more than one):
- Često spavamo u hotelima. – We often sleep in hotels (plural, in general).

Your sentence talks about staying in a hotel when travelling far, so u hotelu (singular, locative) is the natural form.

Does hotelu mean in a hotel or in the hotel? There is no article in Croatian, so how do I know?

Croatian has no articles (a, an, the), so u hotelu can translate as either:

in a hotel
in the hotel

The exact English translation depends on context:

General habit: Kad putujemo daleko, često spavamo u hotelu.
→ When we travel far, we often sleep in a hotel. (any hotel)
Specific hotel you already mentioned:
→ …we often sleep in the hotel.

Croatian itself doesn’t mark that difference grammatically; the listener infers it from context.

Can I say često spavamo u hotelu kad putujemo daleko? Is the meaning the same?

Yes, you can, and the meaning is essentially the same.

Kad putujemo daleko, često spavamo u hotelu.
Često spavamo u hotelu kad putujemo daleko.

Both mean: When we travel far, we often sleep in a hotel.

The difference:

Starting with kad puts a bit more emphasis on the condition/time:
- When(ever) we travel far, then we often stay in a hotel.
Starting with često spavamo u hotelu puts initial focus on the habit (often sleeping in hotels), then explains when it happens.

Grammatically, both are correct and natural.

Why is it često spavamo u hotelu and not something like često boravimo u hotelu or često ostajemo u hotelu?

All of these verbs are possible, but they differ in nuance:

spavati – to sleep
često spavamo u hotelu literally focuses on where we sleep at night on those trips.
boraviti – to stay, to reside (temporarily)
često boravimo u hotelu sounds more formal and a bit less everyday; it’s fine, but less colloquial.
ostati / ostajati – to stay, remain
često ostajemo u hotelu suggests we stay there (don’t leave), but doesn’t emphasize the idea of sleeping as clearly.

In everyday speech about travelling, spavati u hotelu is the most common and natural way to say we stay (overnight) in a hotel.