Learn Hardcore Croatian: Na zabavi se pokušavamo zabaviti, čak i kad se dogodi nešto neugodno. - At the party we try to have fun, even when something unpleasant happens.

na
- locative = location (where?)
- Na zabavi. – At the party.
- Na sastanku. – At the meeting.
- Na koncertu. – At the concert.
na
- accusative = direction/goal (to where?)
- Idem na zabavu. – I’m going to the party.
- Idemo na koncert. – We’re going to the concert.

So in your sentence, we’re talking about being at the party, so the locative is used: na zabavi.

Forms of zabava (feminine):

Nominative sg: zabava (the party)
Locative sg: zabavi (at the party)

Why are there two se in the sentence, and what does each one do?

There are two different reflexive verbs in the sentence:

pokušavamo (se) zabaviti
- The base verb is zabaviti se = to have fun / to enjoy oneself.
- The se here is part of this reflexive verb. It means we try to have fun.
dogodi se
- The base verb is dogoditi se = to happen.
- The se is again part of the verb, and it turns dogoditi into “to happen (by itself)”.

So:

se pokušavamo zabaviti – literally “we try to have-fun ourselves”
kad se dogodi nešto neugodno – “when something unpleasant happens”

They are the same little word (reflexive se), but they belong to two different verbs: zabaviti se and dogoditi se.

Why is the first se placed before pokušavamo and not directly next to zabaviti?

This is about clitic position in Croatian. Se is a clitic – a short, “weak” word that likes to stand in the second position in a clause.

In Na zabavi se pokušavamo zabaviti:

The first “slot” is the phrase Na zabavi.
The second position is then taken by the clitic se.
The main verb pokušavamo follows, and then the infinitive zabaviti.

Even though se belongs with zabaviti se in meaning, Croatian moves it up into the second position of the clause:

Dictionary form: zabaviti se
In the sentence: … se pokušavamo zabaviti

This “clitic climbing” is normal and very common.

If you focus on the central clause (ignoring the introductory phrase Na zabavi), you’ll see the simpler pattern:

Pokušavamo se zabaviti. – We try to have fun.

Here se is second in the clause: pokušavamo se zabaviti.

Are both se in the sentence the same grammatically?

Both are the reflexive clitic se, but their functions are slightly different:

zabaviti se – lexical reflexive
- The verb zabaviti without se usually means “to entertain (someone else)”:
  - Zabavio je goste. – He entertained the guests.
- Zabaviti se (with se) means “to have fun (yourself)”.
- Here, se is essential to the meaning; it’s not optional.
dogoditi se – impersonal / middle voice
- Dogoditi se means “to happen”.
- You don’t really use dogoditi without se in everyday language.
- The subject is often something inanimate: nešto, nesreća, promjena etc.

So grammatically they are the same clitic, but they are part of two different fixed verb forms:

zabaviti se – to have fun
dogoditi se – to happen

Can I say „Na zabavi pokušavamo se zabaviti“ instead? Is it correct, and is there any difference?

Yes, Na zabavi pokušavamo se zabaviti is also correct and sounds natural.

You have two common options:

Na zabavi se pokušavamo zabaviti.
Na zabavi pokušavamo se zabaviti.

Both are fine. The difference is very subtle, mostly stylistic and intonational, not in core meaning.

What you generally wouldn’t say is:

✗ Na zabavi pokušavamo zabaviti se.
Clitic se almost never stands after the infinitive; it prefers to be earlier, usually after the finite (conjugated) verb or in overall second position.

So, for speaking and writing:

Use either Na zabavi se pokušavamo zabaviti or Na zabavi pokušavamo se zabaviti.

Why is it pokušavamo zabaviti (se) and not pokušavamo zabavljati (se)?

This is about aspect (perfective vs. imperfective).

zabaviti se – perfective: to have fun (as a completed event).
zabavljati se – imperfective: to be having fun / to be in the process of having fun.

With verbs like pokušavati / pokušati (to try), it’s very common to use a perfective infinitive for the action you’re aiming to complete:

Pokušavamo se zabaviti.
We’re trying to have fun (at least once, to reach that state).

Using the imperfective:

Pokušavamo se zabavljati.
Sounds more like “We’re trying to be in the process of having fun / to keep having fun”, which is possible but less typical and a bit odd in this exact sentence.

So the most natural formulation is with zabaviti se (perfective):

pokušavamo se zabaviti – we try to have fun (as an achieved state).

What does čak i kad mean exactly, and why is there both čak and i?

Čak i kad means even when.

Breaking it down:

kad – when
i kad – literally “and when”, but in practice often means even when.
čak – even (adds extra emphasis)
čak i kad – a stronger “even when”:
- Na zabavi se pokušavamo zabaviti, čak i kad se dogodi nešto neugodno.
- We try to have fun at the party, even when something unpleasant happens.

Why both čak and i?

čak is the core “even”.
i here is a little intensifier that sticks to the clause or word being emphasized.
Together čak i form a very common pair: čak i kad, čak i ako, čak i onda kad.

You will also hear:

i kad se dogodi nešto neugodno – “even when something unpleasant happens” (a bit weaker, without čak).
čak kad is possible but less common; čak i kad is the most natural.

What is the difference between kad and kada?

Kad and kada mean the same thing: when.

kad – shorter, more colloquial, very frequent in speech.
kada – a bit more formal or careful, common in writing and in clear speech, but also heard in everyday language.

You can freely replace one with the other in your sentence:

… čak i kad se dogodi nešto neugodno.
… čak i kada se dogodi nešto neugodno.

The meaning does not change. It’s mainly a matter of style, rhythm, and formality.

Why is it dogodi se and not događa se here?

This is again about aspect:

dogoditi se – perfective: to happen (viewed as a single event).
događati se – imperfective: to be happening / to happen (repeatedly, over time).

In the sentence:

… čak i kad se dogodi nešto neugodno.
- Literally: “even when something unpleasant happens (as an event).”

This fits well because we’re thinking of each unpleasant incident as a single occurrence during the party.

You could also say:

… čak i kad se događa nešto neugodno.

This would sound more like “even when something unpleasant is going on / is in progress”, focusing on a continuing situation rather than a discrete event. It’s grammatically correct, but the default, neutral choice in your sentence is the perfective: dogodi se.

Why is the present tense dogodi used if the meaning is more general, like “whenever something unpleasant happens”?

Croatian, like English, uses the present tense to talk about general truths or repeated situations.

In English you also say:

“We try to have fun even when something unpleasant happens.”

You don’t say “happened” or “will happen” here, because you’re talking about what typically happens, not a specific time.

Similarly in Croatian:

… čak i kad se dogodi nešto neugodno.
- literally: “… even when something unpleasant happens.”

This present tense dogodi covers the idea of whenever it happens in general, not just one particular moment.

How does nešto neugodno work grammatically? Why is neugodno in the neuter form?

Nešto neugodno literally means “something unpleasant”.

nešto – “something” (an indefinite pronoun; it doesn’t change form).
neugodno – neuter singular form of the adjective neugodan (unpleasant).

In Croatian, when an adjective describes nešto, it normally goes into neuter singular, because the implied “thing” is grammatically neuter:

nešto lijepo – something beautiful
nešto čudno – something strange
nešto neugodno – something unpleasant

So the pattern is:

nešto
- adjective in neuter singular → “something + adjective”.

That’s why it is neugodno, not neugodan or neugodna.

Why isn’t it nešto neugodnog or nešto neugodna?

Those forms would have different meanings:

nešto neugodnog – genitive
- This pattern is used for quantities: “some (amount of) unpleasant …”
- Example: nešto neugodnog mirisa – some unpleasant smell (literally “some of unpleasant smell”).
- Without a following noun (nešto neugodnog), it sounds incomplete or strange in standard usage.
nešto neugodna – masculine/feminine nominative/accusative singular
- This would not agree with nešto, which expects neuter singular.

For “something unpleasant” as a stand‑alone phrase, the correct and natural form is:

nešto neugodno – neuter singular adjective agreeing with the implied neuter “thing”.

Could this sentence be rephrased in a simpler way without changing the meaning too much?

Yes, here are a few natural rephrasings that keep essentially the same meaning:

Na zabavi pokušavamo se dobro zabaviti, čak i kad se dogodi nešto neugodno.
– Same structure, with dobro (“well”) added for emphasis: “really have fun”.
Na zabavi se trudimo zabaviti, čak i kad se dogodi nešto neugodno.
– truditi se = “to make an effort”; less about “trying” in the sense of attempting and more about “putting effort into it”.
Na zabavi želimo uživati, čak i kad se dogodi nešto neugodno.
– uživati = “to enjoy (oneself)”; different verb but very similar idea.

All of these keep the core idea:

We’re at a party.
We aim to enjoy ourselves.
We keep doing that even if something unpleasant happens.