Learn Hardcore Croatian: Plesajući u parku po kiši, djeca se smiju kao da je ljeto. - Dancing in the park in the rain, the children laugh as if it were summer.

Plesajući is a present verbal adverb (in Croatian: glagolski prilog sadašnji). It is similar to the English -ing form used adverbially, as in Dancing in the park, the children…

Its function here is to describe an action happening at the same time as the main verb smiju (they are laughing). So the sentence structure is:

Main clause: djeca se smiju – the children are laughing
Adverbial phrase: Plesajući u parku po kiši – (while) dancing in the park in the rain

The subject of Plesajući is the same as the subject of the main clause: djeca.

Why is there a comma after Plesajući u parku po kiši?

The part Plesajući u parku po kiši is an introductory adverbial phrase (a non‑finite clause) that comes before the main clause djeca se smiju kao da je ljeto.

Just like in English, when you start a sentence with something like Dancing in the park in the rain, the children…, Croatian normally separates that initial participial phrase with a comma:

Plesajući u parku po kiši, djeca se smiju…
Dancing in the park in the rain, the children are laughing…

If you put this phrase after the main clause, you typically would not use a comma:

Djeca se smiju kao da je ljeto plešući u parku po kiši.

Is Plesajući the only correct form, or is Plešući also possible?

The basic verb is plesati (to dance). In standard Croatian, the present verbal adverb is usually formed from the 3rd person plural present (plešu) + -ći, so:

plešu → plešući

Therefore, many grammars would give the standard form as:

Plešući u parku po kiši, djeca se smiju kao da je ljeto.

You will also hear and see plesajući in real life, especially because many -ati verbs form this participle with -ajući (for example: pjevati → pjevaju → pjevajući). But strictly speaking, for plesati the normative form is plešući.

So:

If you want to be fully standard and safe: use Plešući.
You may encounter Plesajući in spoken or less formal language.

Why is se placed after djeca in djeca se smiju, and not after the verb (djeca smiju se)?

Se is a clitic (an unstressed word) and Croatian clitics have a strong tendency to appear in second position in the sentence or in their clause.

In djeca se smiju:

djeca = first word
se = clitic in second position
smiju = main verb

The pattern [first stressed element] + [clitic] + [rest] is very typical.

Forms like djeca smiju se sound odd or wrong in normal, neutral Croatian prose. They might appear in poetry, song lyrics, or for special emphasis, but as a learner you should stick to djeca se smiju or smiju se djeca (which is also correct, just a different word order and emphasis).

What is the difference between smijati se and smijati without se?

smijati se = to laugh (neutral, ordinary meaning)
- djeca se smiju = the children are laughing
smijati (nekoga) = to mock, to laugh at someone, to ridicule someone
- Smijali su ga. = They were laughing at him / They mocked him.

So in your sentence, smijati se must have se, otherwise the meaning changes:

djeca smiju would more naturally be read as djeca smiju = the children are allowed (to do something), from smjeti (to be allowed, may), which is a completely different verb.

That is why se is absolutely necessary here.

What case is u parku in, and why is it u parku and not u park?

U parku is in the locative case (singular):

Nominative: park
Locative: (u) parku

Croatian uses u + locative to express location (where?):

u parku = in the park (location)
u kući = in the house
u školi = at school

When you express direction (to where?), you use u + accusative:

u park = into the park (movement towards)
u kuću = into the house
u školu = to school

In your sentence, the children are already in the park while they are dancing, so u parku (locative) is correct.

What does po kiši literally mean, and why is kiši in that form?

Po kiši literally means in the rain / during the rain / when it is raining.

kiša is feminine singular (nominative: kiša)
With this meaning, po takes the locative case, so: (po) kiši

So:

po kiši = in/while the rain is falling, on a rainy day

Compare:

po gradu = around (the) town
po sobi = around the room

You could also say na kiši to emphasize being physically out in the rain (getting rained on). Po kiši is very common in the sense of when it’s raining or on a rainy day and sounds a bit more neutral/idiomatic in a sentence like this.

Why does djeca take the plural verb smiju, even though djeca ends in -a like a singular neuter noun?

Djeca is an irregular plural noun.

Singular: dijete (child) – neuter
Plural: djeca (children) – grammatically neuter plural

Even though djeca ends in -a, it is plural, so:

It takes a plural verb: djeca se smiju (not djeca se smije).
It takes neuter plural adjectives and participles in the most standard form:
- Sretna djeca (happy children)
- Djeca su se smijala. (The children laughed.)

So in your sentence, djeca se smiju is exactly what we expect: plural subject + 3rd person plural verb.

In kao da je ljeto, why is je in the present tense and not something like bilo or bi bilo?

Kao da means roughly as if or like (it is).

kao da je ljeto literally = as if it is summer

Even when we are describing something that is not actually true, Croatian often uses the present indicative after kao da, especially in everyday speech:

Smiju se kao da je ljeto.
They are laughing as if it is summer.
(Implying: It is not summer, but their behaviour is like when it is.)

If you want to stress more clearly that the situation is contrary to reality, you can use a form with the conditional:

Smiju se kao da bi bilo ljeto.
They are laughing as if it were summer. (More explicitly unreal.)

However, kao da je ljeto is very common and perfectly natural, and the context usually makes it clear that it is not actually summer (here: it is raining).

Can I also say kao da bi bilo ljeto? What is the difference compared to kao da je ljeto?

Yes, you can say kao da bi bilo ljeto, and it is grammatically correct.

The nuance:

kao da je ljeto
- very common, everyday phrasing
- can sound a bit more neutral; it just compares the situation to summer
- context tells us it is not actually summer
kao da bi bilo ljeto
- uses the conditional (bi bilo)
- stresses more clearly that this is hypothetical / unreal
- can sound a bit more emphatic or literary/formal

In most casual speech, people will say kao da je ljeto, just like in your sentence.

Could I leave out djeca and just say Plesajući u parku po kiši, smiju se kao da je ljeto?

You can omit djeca in many contexts, because Croatian often drops subject pronouns if the subject is clear from context. But here you would be dropping a noun (not a pronoun), so clarity becomes important.

Plesajući u parku po kiši, smiju se kao da je ljeto.
Grammatically, this is possible, but it sounds a bit odd or incomplete in isolation, because we do not know who is dancing and laughing.

If the subject has just been mentioned in the previous sentence, you could omit it:

Djeca su stigla u park. Plesajući u parku po kiši, smiju se kao da je ljeto.

But as a stand‑alone sentence, it is better to keep djeca:

Plesajući u parku po kiši, djeca se smiju kao da je ljeto.

Can I change the word order to Smiju se djeca kao da je ljeto, plešući u parku po kiši?

Yes, you can change the word order in several ways; Croatian word order is relatively flexible, but emphasis changes.

These are all grammatically possible:

Plesajući u parku po kiši, djeca se smiju kao da je ljeto.
Neutral description; focus starts on the dancing situation.
Djeca se smiju, plešući u parku po kiši, kao da je ljeto.
More focus on djeca se smiju; the dancing phrase is inserted as additional information.
Smiju se djeca kao da je ljeto, plešući u parku po kiši.
Emphasis on smiju se (the laughing), then identifies djeca.

The core rules you should not break:

Keep se in the clitic slot (2nd position of its clause or after a conjunction/particle).
Make sure the adverbial participle Plesajući / Plešući still clearly refers to the same subject as the main verb (djeca).

Why must the subject of Plesajući be the same as the subject of djeca se smiju?

In Croatian, the present verbal adverb (Plesajući / Plešući) must refer to the same logical subject as the main clause. Otherwise you get what English grammars call a dangling participle, which is considered incorrect or at least very bad style.

Your sentence:

Plesajući u parku po kiši, djeca se smiju kao da je ljeto.
The subject of Plesajući = djeca → correct.

An incorrect example:

Plesajući u parku po kiši, oblaci su prekrili nebo.
Literally: Dancing in the park in the rain, the clouds covered the sky.
Here, it sounds as if the clouds were dancing, which is logically wrong.

So when you use forms like Plesajući / Plešući, always check that the noun or pronoun that comes after the comma is the one actually doing the action of dancing.