Learn Hardcore Croatian: Na tečaju ima i početnika i onih koji već dobro govore, ali svi smo skoro na istoj razini. - In the course there are both beginners and those who already speak well, but we are all almost at the same level.

tečaj = course (masculine, nominative singular)
tečaju = dative/locative singular of tečaj
na + locative here expresses location: na tečaju = at / on a course.

Why na, not u?

With organized events/activities (courses, concerts, meetings), Croatian very often uses na:
- na tečaju – on/at a course
- na koncertu – at a concert
- na sastanku – at a meeting
u is more for being physically inside something:
- u školi – in (inside) the school
- u sobi – in the room

In practice, na tečaju is the natural idiomatic phrase for “on a course” in Croatian.

Why is it ima and not a plural form like imaju, even though we’re talking about more than one person?

In this sentence ima is used in an impersonal way, meaning there is / there are.

ima – 3rd person singular of imati (to have), but often used impersonally:
- Ovdje ima puno ljudi. – There are many people here.
- U gradu ima parkova. – There are parks in the city.

When ima means there is/are, it:

Stays in 3rd person singular even if the thing that exists is plural.
Does not agree in number with what follows.

So Na tečaju ima i početnika i onih… literally is something like:

On the course there is beginners and those…
but the natural English translation is:
There are both beginners and those…

Why is it početnika and not početnici?

početnik = beginner (masculine, nominative singular)
početnici = beginners (nominative plural)
početnika = beginners (genitive plural)

After impersonal ima in the meaning there is/there are, Croatian typically uses the genitive for the thing that “exists”, especially when it’s indefinite or when you’re talking about quantity:

Ovdje ima ljudi. – There are (some) people here.
U hladnjaku nema mlijeka. – There is no milk in the fridge.
U razredu ima stranih studenata. – There are foreign students in the class.

So:

Na tečaju ima početnika. – There are beginners on the course.

This is why you see početnika (genitive plural), not početnici (nominative plural). Using početnici after ima would be ungrammatical in this structure.

What is the role of i … i … in ima i početnika i onih?

The repeated i here functions as both … and.

i početnika i onih = both beginners and those (people)

This i … i … pattern is very common:

I mama i tata rade. – Both mum and dad work.
Znam i hrvatski i engleski. – I know both Croatian and English.

Compare that with a single i, which is simple and:

početnici i napredni – beginners and advanced (students)

So in this sentence:

ima i početnika i onih emphasizes the inclusion of both groups.

What exactly does onih mean here, and why is it not oni?

oni is the nominative plural form of the demonstrative pronoun meaning they / those (for masculine or mixed-gender groups):

Oni su studenti. – They are students.

onih is the genitive plural form:

nominative plural: oni
genitive plural: onih

Why genitive?
Because it follows ima, which, as explained above, typically takes a genitive object when used in the there is/are sense.

We have:

ima početnika – there are beginners (genitive plural)
ima onih – there are those (people) (genitive plural)

So:

i početnika i onih
= both beginners and those (people)

English often just says and those who already speak well, but Croatian keeps both groups in the same case (genitive plural) after ima.

What is koji in onih koji već dobro govore, and why is that form used?

koji is a relative pronoun, similar to English who / that / which.

Relative pronouns in Croatian must agree in gender and number with the noun/pronoun they refer to, and they take the case required by their role in the relative clause.

Here:

antecedent: onih (those)
- masculine (or mixed-gender), plural, genitive
relative pronoun: koji
- masculine plural nominative form

Why nominative?
Inside the relative clause koji već dobro govore:

koji is the subject of govore.
Subjects are in the nominative case.

So even though onih is genitive, koji is in nominative plural because it is the subject of the verb govore in the relative clause:

oni (koji?) govore → koji govore – (those) who speak.

Can the order već dobro govore be changed? For example, can I say koji dobro već govore?

The natural order is koji već dobro govore.

već = already
dobro = well
govore = (they) speak

Usual and most natural position:

već usually comes before the word/phrase it modifies:
- već dobro govore – they already speak well.

You might occasionally see slightly different orders like koji već govore dobro, but something like koji dobro već govore sounds unnatural and marked.

Stick with:

koji već dobro govore
or
koji već govore dobro (less common, still acceptable)

The given sentence uses the most idiomatic pattern.

What tense/aspect is govore, and why not some other form like govoriti?

govore is:

present tense
3rd person plural
of the verb govoriti (to speak), which is imperfective (ongoing, habitual, general action).

So govore = they speak / they are speaking.

Why not govoriti?
govoriti is the infinitive (to speak). That form cannot stand as the main finite verb of a clause in Croatian, just like English cannot say:

those who to speak well – ungrammatical.

You need the finite verb form:

oni govore dobro – they speak well
onih koji govore dobro – those who speak well.

What does ali do in the sentence, and is the comma before it required?

ali means but and introduces a contrast:

ima i početnika i onih koji već dobro govore, ali svi smo skoro na istoj razini.
= There are both beginners and those who already speak well, but we’re all almost at the same level.

About the comma:

In Croatian, a comma is normally required before ali, just like in English we usually write …, but ….
So the comma in …, ali svi smo … is standard and correct.

Why is it svi smo and not mi smo svi, and are both acceptable?

Both svi smo and mi smo svi can be grammatical, but they differ slightly in focus.

svi smo skoro na istoj razini – we are all almost at the same level.
- svi (all) is in the first position, which gives it a bit more emphasis: all of us are almost at the same level.
mi smo svi skoro na istoj razini – literally “we are all almost at the same level”.
- mi (we) is explicit; this can sound like you’re emphasizing we (as opposed to some other group).

Often in Croatian, mi is omitted because it’s already clear from the verb ending:

smo = 1st person plural – it already tells you “we”.

So svi smo skoro na istoj razini is very natural and neutral: we’re all almost at the same level.

What exactly does skoro mean here, and is it the same as gotovo?

In this sentence skoro means almost / nearly:

svi smo skoro na istoj razini – we are almost at the same level.

skoro and gotovo are often interchangeable with this meaning:

skoro isti ≈ gotovo isti – almost the same
skoro na istoj razini ≈ gotovo na istoj razini

Be careful: skoro can sometimes look like English “soon”, but here it does NOT mean “soon”. For soon Croatian typically uses uskoro.

So in this context:

skoro na istoj razini = almost at the same level, not soon at the same level.

Why is it na istoj razini and not something like u istoj razini or na ista razina?

Let’s break it down:

razina = level (feminine, nominative singular)
razini = locative singular of razina
ista = same (fem. nominative singular)
istoj = same (fem. dative/locative singular)

Preposition:

na + locative is used for location with many abstract nouns meaning on/at a level, position, stage:
- na visokoj razini – at a high level
- na istoj razini – at the same level
- na početnoj razini – at the beginner level

So:

na istoj razini = on/at the same level
- na → requires locative here → istoj razini (both feminine locative singular).

Using u would be wrong in this expression; you aren’t inside a level, you’re on a level, conceptually.
Using ista razina (nominative) would also be wrong because after na you must put the correct case: here, locative.

Could we say Na tečaju su i početnici i oni koji već dobro govore instead of Na tečaju ima i početnika i onih…? What is the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Na tečaju su i početnici i oni koji već dobro govore.

The difference is subtle:

ima + genitive (impersonal “there is/are”):
- Na tečaju ima i početnika i onih…
- Feels a bit like describing existence/presence of such people on the course.
- Slightly more neutral, often used for “there is/are” in general statements.
su + nominative (normal “to be” sentence):
- Na tečaju su i početnici i oni…
- More like listing who the participants are.
- Focus is a bit more on the groups themselves as the subject.

Both are correct and natural.
The original version with ima additionally requires the genitive plural:

ima početnika, ima onih
vs.
su početnici, su oni (nominative plural).

Why is početnik in the plural početnika here, and how do I decline that noun in the plural?

In this sentence we need genitive plural, so:

početnik (nom. sg.)
početnika (gen. pl.), as used after ima

Full plural paradigm for početnik (masculine noun):

Nominative plural: početnici – beginners (as the subject)
Genitive plural: početnika – of beginners / some beginners
Dative plural: početnicima
Accusative plural: početnike
Locative plural: početnicima
Instrumental plural: početnicima

So after ima in this type of sentence, you choose the genitive plural: početnika.