Learn Hardcore Croatian: Kad napravim pogrešku, učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor. - When I make a mistake, the teacher calmly shows me the correct answer.

kad = more common, neutral, often used in everyday speech and writing
kada = a bit more formal or emphatic, often used in careful speech or to sound a little more solemn

In this sentence you could say either:

Kad napravim pogrešku, ...
Kada napravim pogrešku, ...

The meaning is the same; the difference is only in style and tone.

The verbs are in the present tense, but the meaning in English is “whenever I make a mistake...”. How does that work in Croatian?

Croatian very often uses present tense to express general or repeated actions, where English likes “whenever / when(ever)” + present.

Pattern: Kad + present, present = “whenever / every time ...”

Kad napravim pogrešku, učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor.
≈ “Whenever I make a mistake, the teacher calmly shows me the correct answer.”

So even though it feels “present” grammatically, functionally it expresses a repeated, habitual situation, not just one single moment.

Why is it napravim pogrešku and not something like pogriješim or radim pogrešku?

Several expressions are possible here, with slightly different style/nuance:

napravim pogrešku – literally “I make a mistake”. Very common and completely natural.
pogriješim – literally “I err / I make a mistake”. Also common, maybe a bit more compact and often sounds slightly more natural in speech: Kad pogriješim, ...
radim pogrešku – also understandable, but you more often hear činiti pogrešku or praviti pogrešku; napraviti pogrešku is more standard than raditi pogrešku.

So the sentence could also be:

Kad pogriješim, učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor.
Kad napravim pogrešku, ...

Both are fine; the original just chooses the “make a mistake” wording.

What grammatical form is pogrešku, and why does it end with -u?

Pogrešku is the accusative singular of the feminine noun pogreška (mistake).

For most feminine nouns ending in -a, the pattern is:

Nominative (dictionary form): pogreška – “a mistake”
Accusative (direct object): pogrešku – “a mistake” (as object)

In the sentence, pogrešku is the direct object of napravim:

napravim što? → pogrešku

That’s why the ending changes from -a to -u.

I’ve also seen grešku instead of pogrešku. Are pogreška and greška the same?

Yes, pogreška and greška are essentially synonyms meaning “mistake / error”.

pogreška – often considered a bit more standard or formal
greška – very common in everyday speech and writing

Both are correct Croatian. In your sentence, you could also say:

Kad napravim grešku, učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor.

Why is it učiteljica and not učitelj here?

Croatian teacher nouns usually mark gender:

učitelj – male teacher (masculine)
učiteljica – female teacher (feminine)

The form učiteljica tells us explicitly that the teacher is a woman. If it were a male teacher, the sentence would be:

Kad napravim pogrešku, učitelj mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor.

What exactly does the little word mi do in učiteljica mi mirno pokaže...? Why not meni?

Mi here is the unstressed dative pronoun meaning “to me”.

The verb pokazati (“to show”) works like this:

pokazati nešto nekome – “to show something to someone”
- nešto (something) → accusative
- nekome (to someone) → dative

So in your sentence:

učiteljica – subject
mi – to me (dative, indirect object)
točan odgovor – what she shows (accusative, direct object)

Mi is the clitic (short, unstressed) form. Meni is the full, stressed form, used for emphasis:

Učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor. – neutral
Učiteljica meni mirno pokaže točan odgovor. – “The teacher shows it to me (as opposed to someone else).”

So mi is the normal, everyday choice here; meni adds emphasis or contrast.

Why does mi come after učiteljica and before mirno pokaže? Can I change the word order?

Croatian clitic pronouns like mi, ti, mu, joj, se, ga normally stand in the so‑called “second position” in the clause: after the first stressed word or phrase.

In your main clause, the first stressed word is učiteljica, so the clitic mi has to come right after it:

Učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor.

You cannot freely move mi around the way you can in English. For example:

✗ Učiteljica mirno mi pokaže... – sounds wrong in standard Croatian
✗ Učiteljica mirno pokaže mi... – also wrong

But you can move other, non‑clitic words around as a group:

Mirno mi učiteljica pokaže točan odgovor. – emphasizes mirno
Točan mi odgovor učiteljica mirno pokaže. – emphasizes točan odgovor

The key rule: “mi” must be in that clitic slot, right after the first stressed element of the clause.

What does mirno mean here exactly? Is it more like “quietly”, “calmly”, or “gently”?

Mirno literally means “calmly”.

In this context, it tells you how the teacher shows the answer: she stays calm, not angry or upset. It doesn’t primarily describe the volume of her voice.

Rough comparisons:

mirno – calmly, without agitation or irritation
tiho – quietly (low volume)
nježno – gently, tenderly
polako – slowly

So the sentence suggests the teacher reacts in a calm, composed manner when you make a mistake.

In točan odgovor, why is the adjective točan in that form? How does agreement work?

Točan is an adjective meaning “correct”, and it must agree with the noun odgovor (“answer”) in:

gender
number
case

Here, odgovor is:

masculine
singular
accusative (because it’s the direct object)

For inanimate masculine nouns like odgovor, the nominative and accusative forms are the same:

Nominative singular: točan odgovor
Accusative singular: točan odgovor

So točan stays in its masculine singular form to match odgovor. If the noun were feminine or plural, the adjective would change:

točna rečenica – correct sentence (fem. sg.)
točne rečenice – correct sentences (fem. pl.)
točni odgovori – correct answers (masc. pl.)

Why is odgovor in the accusative case and not dative or something else?

The verb pokazati (“to show”) normally takes:

a direct object in the accusative – what you show
an indirect object in the dative – to whom you show it

So the structure is:

pokazati što? – točan odgovor (accusative)
pokazati kome? – mi = “to me” (dative)

In the sentence:

učiteljica – subject
točan odgovor – accusative direct object
mi – dative indirect object

That’s why odgovor is in the accusative, not dative.

Could we also say ...učiteljica mi mirno pokazuje točan odgovor? What’s the difference between pokaže and pokazuje?

Yes, you can say:

Kad napravim pogrešku, učiteljica mi mirno pokazuje točan odgovor.

The difference is aspect:

pokazati – perfective verb (pokaže = it’s shown as a complete act)
pokazivati – imperfective verb (pokazuje = showing as an ongoing or habitual action)

Nuance:

...pokaže... – each time you make a mistake, there is one complete act of showing; the sentence “packages” each event as a whole.
...pokazuje... – emphasizes that this is her habit, something she does regularly / characteristically.

In everyday speech, many speakers would probably prefer pokazuje here for a clearly habitual meaning, but the version with pokaže is also acceptable and focuses more on each complete reaction to each mistake.

Why is there a comma after Kad napravim pogrešku? Is the comma always required?

Yes, in standard Croatian you must put a comma when a subordinate clause (introduced here by kad) comes before the main clause.

Kad napravim pogrešku, – subordinate clause
učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor. – main clause

So:

Kad napravim pogrešku, učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor. ✅

If the kad‑clause comes after the main clause, normally no comma is used:

Učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor kad napravim pogrešku. ✅

Could I move the kad‑clause to the end: Učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor kad napravim pogrešku? Does the meaning change?

Yes, that word order is perfectly fine:

Učiteljica mi mirno pokaže točan odgovor kad napravim pogrešku.

The basic meaning is the same: whenever/when you make a mistake, she calmly shows you the correct answer.

The difference is just a slight change in emphasis:

Kad napravim pogrešku, ... – puts a bit more focus on the condition or time (“as for when I make a mistake...”)
... kad napravim pogrešku. – flows more like a neutral statement where the condition is added at the end.

Grammatically, both orders are correct and natural.