Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ta igra je bila smiješna, ali je dio ekipe brzo postao umoran. - That game was funny, but part of the group quickly became tired.

Ta igra je bila smiješna
- Ta = that (demonstrative pronoun, feminine singular, nominative)
- igra = game (feminine singular, nominative)
- Literally: That game was funny.
- The normal, neutral pattern in Croatian is:
  [demonstrative] + [noun] + [verb] + [complement]
Igra je bila smiješna ta
This is not grammatical in standard Croatian. The demonstrative ta must come before the noun it modifies, not after it.
Ta smiješna igra je bila
This feels incomplete: Ta smiješna igra je bila… što? (That funny game was… what?)
You would normally say either:
- Ta igra je bila smiješna. (That game was funny.)
- Ta smiješna igra je bila naporna. (That funny game was tiring.)
  where smiješna then describes igra before the verb, and another adjective or phrase follows bila.

So Ta igra je bila smiješna is the standard, natural way to say That game was funny.

Why is there je bila here? Could I say just Ta igra bila smiješna?

No, you cannot simply drop je here in standard Croatian.

je is the present-tense form of the verb biti (to be), used as an auxiliary to form the past tense.
bila is the past participle (feminine singular) of biti.

In the perfect tense (the usual spoken past tense), Croatian typically uses:
[auxiliary biti] + [past participle]

So here you get:

Ta igra je bila smiješna.
= That game was funny.

Without je:

Ta igra bila smiješna.
This sounds incorrect or at best archaic/poetic in modern standard language. In normal speech and writing, you need the auxiliary je.

So the basic pattern is:

On je bio umoran. – He was tired.
Ona je bila umorna. – She was tired.
Igra je bila smiješna. – The game was funny.

Why is it igra je bila instead of je igra bila smiješna or igra bila je smiješna?

Croatian has strict rules for the placement of short, unstressed words like je, called clitics.

Key points:

je must usually be in the second position in the sentence or clause (after the first stressed word or phrase).
So in Ta igra je bila smiješna:
- Ta igra is the first phrase.
- je comes immediately after that phrase, in second position.
- bila comes after je.

Patterns:

Ta igra je bila smiješna. – correct, neutral.
Je igra bila smiješna. – wrong in standard language; clitic cannot start the sentence.
Igra bila je smiješna. – also unnatural; je must come before bila, and in second position.

General rule:
[first stressed word/phrase] + [je] + [rest of the clause]

Why is it bila smiješna (feminine) but postao umoran (masculine)?

In Croatian, adjectives and past participles must agree in gender and number with the subject.

In Ta igra je bila smiješna:
- igra = game – feminine singular.
- bila = feminine singular form of bio/bila/bilo (was).
- smiješna = feminine singular form of smiješan/smiješna/smiješno (funny).
So everything is feminine singular, matching igra.
In dio ekipe brzo je postao umoran:
- dio = part – masculine singular.
- postao = masculine singular past participle of postati (to become).
- umoran = masculine singular adjective (tired).
Even though ekipe refers to a group (team), the grammatical subject is dio (part), which is masculine singular, so both postao and umoran have to be masculine singular.

Compare:

Cijela ekipa je postala umorna.
(ekipa is feminine singular → postala, umorna)
Dio ekipe je postao umoran.
(dio is masculine singular → postao, umoran)

Why is it dio ekipe and not dio ekipa or dio ekipu?

dio (part) normally takes its complement in the genitive case. This is a standard pattern:

dio nečega = a part of something (genitive)

In the sentence:

dio ekipe
- dio = part (nominative, subject)
- ekipe = of the team (genitive singular of ekipa)

So:

dio ekipe = part of the team, some of the team.

Other examples with dio + genitive:

dio grada – part of the city
dio problema – part of the problem
dio stola – part of the table

Forms you suggested:

dio ekipa – ekipa is nominative plural; this would sound like part teams (wrong structure).
dio ekipu – ekipu is accusative singular; that would not follow the rule that dio is followed by a genitive.

So dio ekipe is the correct and normal structure.

Why does umoran (tired) stay in the singular, even though it refers to part of a group?

Because grammatically it describes dio (part), not ekipe (team).

dio = part – masculine singular (subject)
umoran = masculine singular (matches dio)

Even though logically it refers to several people (some members of the team), the grammar follows the head noun (dio), which is singular.

Compare:

Dio ekipe je brzo postao umoran.
A part of the team quickly became tired. (singular grammar)

If you wanted to make the plurality explicit, you could avoid dio and say:

Neki igrači su brzo postali umorni.
Some players quickly became tired.
- igrači (plural) → postali, umorni (plural).

Why is ekipe in the singular if we are talking about a team made of many people?

In Croatian (and English), a team is grammatically singular, even though it is made of many members.

ekipa = team (feminine singular noun)
ekipe = of the team (feminine singular genitive)

So:

dio ekipe = part of the team
(one part of one team)

If you want to talk about several teams:

neke ekipe – some teams (nominative plural)
dio ekipa – a part of the teams (nominative dio
- genitive plural ekipa) – different meaning.

But in your sentence, it’s clearly just one team, so ekipa (and its genitive ekipe) stays singular.

What is the difference between postao umoran and bio umoran?

Both involve umoran (tired), but the verbs give different nuances:

postao umoran = became tired
- Focus on the change of state, the process of getting tired.
- Suggests that before that moment he was not tired.
bio umoran = was tired
- A state in the past; it does not itself express change.
- He might have already been tired for some time.

In your sentence:

dio ekipe brzo je postao umoran.
- Indicates that they became tired quickly – the tiring happened fast.

If you said:

dio ekipe je brzo bio umoran
- This sounds odd; brzo bio umoran is not natural.
- You might say Dio ekipe je već bio umoran (Part of the team was already tired), but then već (already) emphasizes the state, not the speed of becoming tired.

So postao umoran is the natural choice when you want to express becoming tired.

Where can brzo (quickly) go in this sentence? Is dio ekipe brzo postao umoran the only correct order?

Croatian adverbs like brzo are fairly flexible. Several positions are possible, with small differences in emphasis.

All of these can be acceptable:

Dio ekipe brzo je postao umoran.
Dio ekipe je brzo postao umoran.
Brzo je dio ekipe postao umoran.

Nuances:

Dio ekipe brzo je postao umoran.
- Slightly emphasizes the quickness of becoming tired, placed close to the verb.
Dio ekipe je brzo postao umoran.
- Probably the most neutral for many speakers.
Brzo je dio ekipe postao umoran.
- Places even stronger emphasis on brzo (Quickly, part of the team became tired).

What you normally wouldn’t say:

Dio brzo ekipe je postao umoran. – splits the noun phrase dio ekipe, sounds wrong.
Dio ekipe je postao brzo umoran. – not impossible, but less natural; brzo usually comes before the verb in this type of construction, not right before the adjective.

So your version dio ekipe brzo postao umoran (with je in the correct clitic position: Dio ekipe je brzo postao umoran) is natural and good.

Why is there a comma before ali? Is it always required?

Yes, in this sentence the comma before ali is required in standard Croatian.

ali = but (a coordinating conjunction)

When ali connects two independent clauses (each with its own subject and verb), Croatian normally uses a comma:

Ta igra je bila smiješna, ali je dio ekipe brzo postao umoran.
- Clause 1: Ta igra je bila smiješna.
- Clause 2: (Dio ekipe) je brzo postao umoran. (the subject is repeated: dio ekipe)

More examples:

Umoran sam, ali radim. – I am tired, but I am working.
Bilo je hladno, ali smo išli na plažu. – It was cold, but we went to the beach.

If ali is inside a short phrase without two full clauses, you might not need a comma, but with two full sentences joined by ali, you almost always put a comma.

Does smiješna only mean “funny (haha)”, or can it also mean “ridiculous / silly”?

smiješan / smiješna / smiješno is a bit broader than just “funny (in a good way)”:

Funny / amusing (positive or neutral):
- Ta igra je bila smiješna. – That game was funny / made us laugh.
Ridiculous / laughable / silly (negative or mocking, depending on tone and context):
- To je smiješna ideja. – That’s a ridiculous idea.
- Cijela situacija je bila smiješna. – The whole situation was ridiculous / absurd.

Context and tone decide whether it feels positive or negative.

If you want a more clearly positive fun, entertaining meaning, you can use:

zabavna igra – a fun game, entertaining game.

So:

Ta igra je bila smiješna. – That game was funny / ridiculous (depending on context).
Ta igra je bila zabavna. – That game was fun (clearly positive).