Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ona se nada da kazna neće biti velika, jer je on bio pažljiv. - She hopes that the fine will not be large because he was careful.

Ona se nada da kazna neće biti velika, jer je on bio pažljiv.

She hopes that the fine will not be large because he was careful.

Breakdown of Ona se nada da kazna neće biti velika, jer je on bio pažljiv.

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Questions & Answers about Ona se nada da kazna neće biti velika, jer je on bio pažljiv.

Why do we say Ona se nada and not just Ona nada?

In Croatian, nadati se (to hope) is a reflexive verb, and it always takes se:

ja se nadam – I hope
ti se nadaš – you hope
ona se nada – she hopes

If you drop se (Ona nada), it is ungrammatical in standard Croatian.

So you should treat nadati se as one unit in your mind, like “to hope” = nadati se, not just nadati.

Why is the word se in the second position: Ona se nada, not Ona nada se?

Se is a clitic in Croatian. Clitics (like se, je, sam, mi, ti, ga, mu) follow a special rule called “second position”:

In a clause, clitics usually go right after the first stressed word or phrase.

So:

Ona se nada – correct (subject Ona is first, clitic se comes second)
Ona nada se – incorrect (clitic is in the wrong place)

If you start with another word or phrase, se still tries to be second:

Možda se ona nada. – Maybe she hopes.

What does da do in nada se da kazna neće biti velika? Is it like English “that”?

Yes. Here da introduces a subordinate clause, very similar to English that:

Ona se nada da kazna neće biti velika.
– She hopes (that) the punishment won’t be big.

In English you can usually drop that (“She hopes the punishment won’t be big”), but in Croatian you generally must keep da with verbs like nadati se:

✅ Nadam se da će doći. – I hope (that) he will come.
❌ Nadam se će doći. – ungrammatical

So: after nadati se, use da + a full clause.

Why is the word order da kazna neće biti velika and not da neće kazna biti velika?

The most neutral order in Croatian is usually Subject – (clitics) – Verb – Rest, just like English:

kazna neće biti velika – the punishment will not be big

Inside that clause:

kazna = subject
neće biti = future tense of biti (will be / will not be)
velika = predicate adjective

Other word orders (like da neće kazna biti velika) are possible but sound marked (emphatic, poetic, or odd) in normal speech. For learners, stick to:

da + subject + će/neće + infinitive + rest

How does neće biti work grammatically? Why not just one word for “will not be”?

Croatian Future I is formed with:

auxiliary ću/ćeš/će/ćemo/ćete/će
- infinitive

For the 3rd person singular:

kazna će biti velika – the punishment will be big

To make it negative, you add ne in front of će:

ne + će = neće
kazna neće biti velika – the punishment will not be big

So:

će never changes for gender (same form for he/she/it).
biti is the infinitive “to be.”

There is no single-word verb for “will not be” in standard Croatian; it’s always neće biti.

Why is it velika and not veliko or velik?

In Croatian, adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

kazna is feminine singular nominative.
The adjective for big must match: velik (masc), velika (fem), veliko (neut).

So:

velika kazna – a big punishment
kazna je velika – the punishment is big

Here velika is in the predicative position (“will not be big”), but it still agrees with kazna:

kazna neće biti velika – velika = fem. sg. nom.

Veliko would agree with a neuter noun (e.g. dijete je veliko – the child is big).
Velik would agree with a masculine noun (problem je velik).

Could the sentence start without Ona? Is Se nada da kazna neće biti velika possible?

You can drop the subject pronoun in Croatian, because the verb ending shows the person:

Nadam se da kazna neće biti velika. – I hope…
Nada se da kazna neće biti velika. – She/he hopes…

But you cannot start the sentence with se:

❌ Se nada da… – wrong (clitic cannot be first)

So the natural reduced version is:

Nada se da kazna neće biti velika, jer je on bio pažljiv.

What is the difference between jer and zato što? Could we say … jer je on bio pažljiv or … zato što je on bio pažljiv?

Both jer and zato što mean because, and in this sentence both are possible:

…, jer je on bio pažljiv.
…, zato što je on bio pažljiv.

Subtle points:

jer is a simple, very common “because”, often used for giving reasons.
zato što can sound slightly more explicit/explanatory (“for the reason that…”), and often pairs with zato in the main clause:
- Zato kazna neće biti velika, zato što je on bio pažljiv. – For that reason the punishment won’t be big, because he was careful.

In your sentence, jer is perfectly natural and perhaps the most neutral choice.

Why is there a comma before jer?

In standard Croatian orthography, you normally put a comma before causal conjunctions like jer, zato što, etc. when they introduce a subordinate clause:

Ne idem van, jer pada kiša. – I’m not going out because it’s raining.
Ne brine se, jer je on bio pažljiv.

So:

Ona se nada da kazna neće biti velika, jer je on bio pažljiv.

The comma marks the boundary between the main clause (what she hopes) and the subordinate clause (the reason).

Why is it jer je on bio pažljiv, and not something like jer on je bio pažljiv?

Again, this is the clitic position rule. The auxiliary je is a clitic and wants to be in second position in its clause:

Clause: (jer) on bio pažljiv
First stressed element: on
Clitic je goes immediately after on → on je bio pažljiv

So:

✅ jer je on bio pažljiv – the conjunction jer doesn’t count as the first stressed word, so je goes after it.
✅ jer on je bio pažljiv – also possible; now on is the first stressed element, je is second.
❌ jer on bio je pažljiv – clitic in wrong place.

In practice, jer je on bio pažljiv and jer on je bio pažljiv are both grammatical; the second can put a bit more emphasis on on.

Why is on included? Could we just say jer je bio pažljiv?

Yes, you can omit on:

…, jer je bio pažljiv. – because he was careful.

Croatian often drops subject pronouns when the meaning is clear. Adding on can:

Clarify the subject if there might be confusion (e.g. other masculine people mentioned).
Add a bit of emphasis or contrast: because *he (and not someone else) was careful*.

So:

Neutral: …, jer je bio pažljiv.
Slight emphasis/clarity: …, jer je on bio pažljiv.

How is the past tense formed in je on bio pažljiv?

Croatian simple past (the perfect) uses:

present of biti (jesam) as an auxiliary
- past participle of the main verb

Here:

Auxiliary: je (3rd person singular of biti)
Past participle: bio (from biti)
Predicate adjective: pažljiv – careful

So:

on je bio pažljiv – he was careful
- on – subject
- je – auxiliary
- bio – past participle
- pažljiv – adjective in predicative position

The same pattern works with other verbs:

on je trčao – he ran
on je bio pažljiv – he was careful

Why is pažljiv masculine, but velika is feminine?

Each adjective agrees with its own subject:

In kazna neće biti velika
- Subject: kazna (feminine)
- Adjective: velika (feminine singular)
In on je bio pažljiv
- Subject: on (masculine)
- Past participle: bio (masculine)
- Adjective: pažljiv (masculine singular)

So:

kazna (f) → velika
on (m) → pažljiv, bio

Different subjects → different agreement.

Could we say jer je on pažljiv instead of jer je on bio pažljiv?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:

jer je on bio pažljiv – because he was careful (on that particular occasion / in that past situation).
jer je on pažljiv – because he is careful (describes a general, present-time quality).

In your context (hoping about the size of a past or upcoming punishment based on how he behaved), bio pažljiv usually fits better: it refers to his careful behavior in the situation that led to the punishment.

Does kazna only mean “punishment,” or can it also mean “fine, penalty”?

Kazna is a general word for:

punishment (in a broad sense)
penalty, including legal penalties
in many contexts, specifically a fine (financial punishment)

Examples:

dobiti kaznu – to get a punishment / penalty
novčana kazna – monetary fine
zatvorska kazna – prison sentence

So in your sentence, kazna could be a school punishment, a legal penalty, a fine, etc., depending on context.