Learn Hardcore Croatian: Auto se danas pokvario ispred škole. - The car broke down in front of the school today.

Se is a reflexive clitic. Here it doesn’t mean “himself/itself” in a literal sense; it’s part of a reflexive verb: pokvariti se = “to break down, to stop working”.

pokvariti (without se) usually means “to spoil / to ruin (something)”
- Pokvario je auto. – He ruined the car.
pokvariti se (with se) means “to get spoiled / to break down”:
- Auto se pokvario. – The car broke down.

So in this sentence, se is required by the verb; you don’t translate it separately. It just marks that the subject “breaks down” by itself.

Why is it pokvario and not pokvarilo? I thought auto looked neuter.

In Croatian, auto is grammatically masculine, even though it ends in -o. Think of it as a shortened form of automobil (which is clearly masculine).

Past tense participles agree with the gender and number of the subject:

Auto se pokvario. – The car (masc. sg.) broke down.
Automobil se pokvario. – same thing, also masc.
Kuća se pokvarila. – The house (fem. sg.) got ruined.

So pokvario (masculine singular) is correct for auto. Pokvarilo would be neuter, which is wrong here in standard Croatian.

Should there be a je in the past tense? Why don’t we say Auto se je danas pokvario?

Yes, the full past tense form includes the auxiliary biti (to be):

Auto se je danas pokvario.

However, in 3rd person singular and plural, Croatian very often drops the auxiliary in everyday speech and in many written contexts:

Auto se danas pokvario. – common, perfectly natural
Auto se je danas pokvario. – grammatically correct but often sounds a bit heavier or more formal/explicit

So the sentence without je is normal and fully acceptable. As a learner, you should recognize both forms, but you will hear the form without je very often.

Why is se after Auto? Can I say Danas auto se pokvario or Se auto danas pokvario?

Se is a clitic (an unstressed short word) and Croatian clitics normally go in second position in the clause (after the first stressed word or phrase).

In Auto se danas pokvario ispred škole:

Auto = first stressed word
se = clitic in second position

Other acceptable word orders (with the same rule):

Danas se auto pokvario ispred škole.
- Danas is the first stressed word, so se comes right after it.

Unacceptable / unnatural ones:

Se auto danas pokvario… – wrong placement of se
Auto danas se pokvario… – this sounds wrong; se should come earlier.

So you can move other elements (like danas), but se must stay in the clitic “second position” zone.

Why is it ispred škole and not ispred škola or ispred školi?

The form škole is the genitive singular of škola (school).

The preposition ispred (in front of) always takes the genitive:

ispred škole – in front of the school
ispred kuće – in front of the house
ispred trgovine – in front of the shop

So:

nominative: škola (subject form)
genitive: škole (after ispred)

Ispred škola would be genitive plural: “in front of (the) schools”. Ispred školi is just ungrammatical.

What’s the difference between ispred škole and pred školom? Do they mean the same thing?

Both can mean “in front of the school”, but there are small differences:

Preposition + case
- ispred + genitive: ispred škole
- pred + instrumental: pred školom
Usage / nuance
- ispred is more explicitly “in front of / before (something)”, and is very common.
- pred is a bit shorter and can sometimes feel slightly more formal or neutral. In some phrases it’s more idiomatic.

In this specific sentence, you can say:

Auto se danas pokvario ispred škole.
Auto se danas pokvario pred školom.

Both are correct and common; the meaning difference is minimal here.

Where can I put danas in this sentence? Does word order change the meaning?

You can move danas to several positions without changing the basic meaning; the difference is mostly about emphasis or style:

Danas se auto pokvario ispred škole. – Emphasis a bit more on today.
Auto se danas pokvario ispred škole. – Very neutral, common.
Auto se pokvario danas ispred škole. – Possible, but danas at the end sounds a bit marked or spoken/emotional.

In all cases, keep se in the clitic position (second position in the clause). The overall meaning “The car broke down in front of the school today” stays the same; only the focus shifts slightly.

Is there any way to show “the car” vs “a car” here? Croatian has no article, right?

Correct: Croatian has no articles like English “a” or “the”. The noun auto by itself can mean either “a car” or “the car”, depending on context.

Auto se danas pokvario ispred škole.
- Could be “A car broke down in front of the school today” (new information).
- Or “The car broke down…” (if you already know which car is being talked about).

Definiteness is usually clear from context, previous sentences, or additional words (e.g. taj auto = that car, moj auto = my car).

What’s the difference between auto and automobil? Which should I use?

Both mean “car”.

auto – shorter, very common in everyday speech, informal, neutral.
automobil – more formal, a bit more technical or official; also fully normal in speech.

Your sentence with automobil:

Automobil se danas pokvario ispred škole.

As a learner, you can safely use auto in most everyday situations. Automobil appears more in formal writing, news, or technical contexts, but it’s also fine in normal conversation.

Is pokvario se only for cars, or can I use it for other things that break?

You can use pokvariti se for many things that stop working or go bad:

Auto se pokvario. – The car broke down.
Računalo se pokvarilo. – The computer broke.
Sat se pokvario. – The watch/clock broke.
Mlijeko se pokvarilo. – The milk went bad.

For physical breaking into pieces, you’d normally use verbs like slomiti se (to break) or razbiti se (to smash):

Čaša se razbila. – The glass shattered.
Stolica se slomila. – The chair broke (into pieces).

So pokvariti se is about function (it doesn’t work anymore), not necessarily about visible physical damage.