Learn Hardcore Croatian: Nakon uspjeha na ispitu, imali smo malo slavlje kod kuće. - After the success in the exam, we had a small celebration at home.

nakon is always a preposition and always takes the genitive case:
- nakon uspjeha – after the success
- nakon ručka – after lunch
poslije can be:
- a preposition (also with genitive): poslije ručka – after lunch
- or an adverb on its own: Idemo poslije. – We’ll go later / afterwards.

In your sentence, nakon uspjeha na ispitu could also be written as poslije uspjeha na ispitu with almost no change in meaning. Nakon sounds slightly more formal or “bookish”, but both are very common and natural.

Why is it uspjeha and not uspjeh after nakon?

Because nakon requires the genitive case.

The basic (dictionary) form is uspjeh (nominative singular: “success”).
The genitive singular is uspjeha.

The pattern is:

Nominative: uspjeh – success
Genitive: uspjeha – of (the) success

Since nakon (“after”) always takes genitive, you must say:

✅ nakon uspjeha
❌ nakon uspjeh

What does na ispitu literally mean, and why is it ispitu and not ispit?

Na ispitu literally means “at the exam”.

na
- locative = “on/at (a place or event, in a static sense)”
ispit is the noun “exam” (masculine).
The locative singular form is ispitu.

So:

na ispitu – at the exam (during the exam, in the context of the exam)
na ispit – to the exam (direction, “onto the exam”, i.e. going to take it)

Compare:

Bio sam na ispitu – I was at the exam. (locative)
Idem na ispit – I’m going to the exam. (accusative)

In your sentence, we are talking about success at the exam, so we need na ispitu (locative).

Could I say “nakon što smo položili ispit” instead of “nakon uspjeha na ispitu”?

Yes, that’s a very natural alternative, with a slightly different emphasis.

nakon uspjeha na ispitu
= after the success in the exam (focus on the success as a noun)
nakon što smo položili ispit
= after we passed the exam (focus on the action of passing)

Both are correct. Other natural variants:

Nakon što sam položio/položila ispit, imao/imala sam malo slavlje kod kuće.
Nakon položenog ispita, imali smo malo slavlje kod kuće. (literally “after the passed exam”)

What tense is imali smo, and how is it formed?

Imali smo is the past tense (“we had”).

Croatian past tense is usually formed with:

The past participle of the main verb
A short form of “biti” (to be) as a clitic (sam, si, je, smo, ste, su)

For imati (to have):

ja: imao sam / imala sam – I had
ti: imao si / imala si – you had
on/ona/ono: imao je / imala je – he/she/it had
mi: imali smo / imale smo – we had
vi: imali ste / imale ste – you (pl.) had
oni/one/ona: imali su / imale su – they had

In your sentence, imali smo = “we had” (no extra “have” like English “have had”).

Why is the word order imali smo, and can I say smo imali?

The short form smo is a clitic and in Croatian clitics cannot normally start a clause. They usually go in second position in the clause (after the first stressed word or phrase).

In your sentence, after the comma, the new clause starts with imali:

(… ,) imali smo malo slavlje kod kuće.
First stressed word: imali → clitic smo comes right after it.

Possible variants:

Mi smo imali malo slavlje kod kuće. (emphasis on we)
Nakon uspjeha na ispitu smo imali malo slavlje kod kuće.
(here the whole phrase “Nakon uspjeha na ispitu” is the first unit, so smo follows it)

But you cannot start the clause with smo:

❌ Smo imali malo slavlje… – incorrect in standard Croatian.

What is slavlje, and what gender is it?

Slavlje is a noun meaning “celebration”, “party”, “festivities”.

It is neuter gender. Many neuter nouns in Croatian end with -e or -je, for example:

more – sea
pitanje – question
putovanje – trip
slavlje – celebration

So in:

imali smo malo slavlje

the noun slavlje is neuter singular.

Why is it malo slavlje and not mala slavlje or mali slavlje?

Because slavlje is neuter, and adjectives/quantifiers must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun.

The adjective mali (“small, little”) has forms:

masculine: mali (e.g. mali pas – small dog)
feminine: mala (e.g. mala kuća – small house)
neuter: malo (e.g. malo slavlje – small celebration)

So:

✅ malo slavlje (neuter + neuter)
❌ mala slavlje (feminine + neuter mismatch)
❌ mali slavlje (masculine + neuter mismatch)

Is there any difference between malo slavlje and mala proslava?

Both can translate as “a small celebration”, but there’s a nuance:

slavlje is a bit more informal/colloquial, everyday word for a celebration, party.
proslava can sound a bit more formal or official (ceremony, organized celebration).

So:

imali smo malo slavlje – we had a small party/celebration (very natural, casual)
imali smo malu proslavu – we had a small celebration (slightly more formal-sounding)

Grammatically:

slavlje is neuter → malo slavlje
proslava is feminine → mala proslava

Why is it kod kuće, and how is that different from u kući or kući?

These expressions are related but not the same:

kod kuće – “at home” (neutral, standard way to say it)
- Bili smo kod kuće. – We were at home.
u kući – “in the house” (physically inside a house/building, more literal)
- Bili smo u kući, nismo izlazili. – We were in the house, we didn’t go out.
kući (without a preposition) – “home” as a goal or place, dative/locative of kuća
- Idem kući. – I’m going home.
- On je kući. – He is at home. (common in speech, a bit less formal than kod kuće)

In your sentence:

malo slavlje kod kuće = a little celebration at home (the standard, idiomatic phrase).

Why is kuće in the genitive after kod?

Because kod always takes the genitive case.

The noun kuća (house) has:
- nominative singular: kuća
- genitive singular: kuće

After kod:

kod kuće – at home
kod mame – at mum’s (place)
kod prijatelja – at a friend’s (place)
kod liječnika – at the doctor’s

So “kod + genitive” often means “at someone’s place” or “at (the place of) X”.

Is the comma after “ispitu” required in “Nakon uspjeha na ispitu, imali smo malo slavlje kod kuće”?

It’s acceptable and common, but not absolutely mandatory.

With the comma:
Nakon uspjeha na ispitu, imali smo malo slavlje kod kuće.
→ The introductory phrase is clearly separated; there’s a slight pause in speech.
Without the comma:
Nakon uspjeha na ispitu imali smo malo slavlje kod kuće.
→ Also correct; a bit more “flowing” as one unit.

In practice:

Shorter time/condition phrases are often written without a comma:
- Nakon ručka idemo van.
Longer or more emphasized ones are very often written with a comma, as in your sentence. Both versions are acceptable in standard Croatian.