Kad netko objavi glupu šalu na mreži, ona je jednostavno promijeni ili izbriše.

When someone posts a silly joke on the network, she simply changes it or deletes it.

Breakdown of Kad netko objavi glupu šalu na mreži, ona je jednostavno promijeni ili izbriše.

• ona: she
• kad: when
• ili: or
• na: on
• je: it
• netko: someone
• šala: joke
• jednostavno: simply
• promijeniti: to change
• mreža: network
• objaviti: to post
• glup: silly
• izbrisati: to delete

Questions & Answers about Kad netko objavi glupu šalu na mreži, ona je jednostavno promijeni ili izbriše.

Why is kad used here, and is it different from kada?

Kad is just a shorter, more colloquial form of kada, and in sentences like this they are interchangeable in meaning: when.

So you could also say:

• Kada netko objavi glupu šalu na mreži, ona je jednostavno promijeni ili izbriše.

The difference is mostly style:

• kad – very common in speech and informal writing.
• kada – a bit more formal or emphatic; common in written language but also used in speech.

Grammatically, in this sentence they behave the same way.

Why is the verb objavi (perfective) used, and not objavljuje?

Objavi is the present tense of the perfective verb objaviti; objavljuje is the present tense of the imperfective objavljivati.

With kad/kada and netko, Croatian often uses the perfective present to talk about repeated, complete events in a general way:

• Kad netko objavi glupu šalu…
  = Whenever someone (fully) posts a stupid joke…

Using objavljuje would sound more like focusing on the ongoing process of posting, and less idiomatic here:

• Kad netko objavljuje glupu šalu… – sounds odd in this generic, “whenever it happens” sentence.

So objavi matches the idea “each time someone posts (completes the action)” rather than “is posting”.

Why is it glupu šalu, not glupa šala?

Glupu šalu is in the accusative case, because it’s the direct object of the verb objavi (what does someone post? – a stupid joke).

• Nominative (used for the subject):

  • glupa šala – a stupid joke (as subject)
  • Glupa šala je dosadna. – A stupid joke is boring.

• Accusative (used for the direct object):

  • glupu šalu – a stupid joke (as object)
  • Netko objavi glupu šalu. – Someone posts a stupid joke.

The adjective glupu agrees with šalu in gender (feminine), number (singular), and case (accusative).

What exactly does na mreži mean, and why is it mreži and not mrežu?

Na mreži literally means “on (the) net/network”, and in modern usage it typically means online / on the internet.

The case depends on meaning:

• na

  • locative = location, “on / in”
  • na mreži – on the net (where something is)
  • Objava je na mreži. – The post is online.

• na

  • accusative = movement, “onto / to”
  • na mrežu – onto the net (movement to a place)
  • Stavi to na mrežu. – Put that on the net.

In the sentence, the joke appears where? – on the net → use locative: na mreži.

Could you also say na internetu instead of na mreži? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

• na internetu – on the internet
• na mreži – literally on the net, also used as online

They are both common and understood:

• Kad netko objavi glupu šalu na internetu, …
• Kad netko objavi glupu šalu na mreži, …

Na internetu may sound a bit more explicit and neutral; na mreži can feel slightly more colloquial or stylistic, but both are fine in everyday language.

What does ona refer to here, and is it necessary to say it?

Ona is a pronoun in the nominative, meaning she or it (for a feminine noun). Without wider context, it can refer to:

• a woman mentioned earlier (most likely), or
• a feminine noun like mreža (network), so “the network just changes or deletes it”.

It is the subject of the second clause:

• ona – subject
• je – object pronoun (it, the joke)
• promijeni ili izbriše – verbs (changes or deletes)

You can omit ona if the subject is clear from context:

• Kad netko objavi glupu šalu na mreži, jednostavno je promijeni ili izbriše.

Including ona adds emphasis or clarity: she (not someone else) changes or deletes it.

What is je doing in ona je jednostavno promijeni, and why isn’t it “is”?

In this sentence, je is not the verb “is”. It’s an unstressed object pronoun meaning “her/it” (accusative feminine singular).

It stands for glupu šalu (the stupid joke). So:

• ona – she
• je – it (the joke)
• jednostavno promijeni – simply changes

The structure is:

• ona je promijeni = she changes it

If je were the auxiliary “is”, we would expect a past participle:

• Ona je promijenila šalu. – She has changed the joke.

Here we don’t have a participle, just the present tense promijeni, so je must be the object pronoun.

Why does je come right after ona and not after the verb, like in English “changes it”?

Croatian has a special rule for short pronouns like je, ga, mu, se, etc.: they are clitics and usually stand in the second position in the clause, not right after the verb.

In this clause, the first stressed element is ona, so the clitic je must come immediately after it:

• Ona je jednostavno promijeni. – correct
• Jednostavno je promijeni. – also correct (here jednostavno is first, so je is still in second position)
• Ona jednostavno je promijeni. – incorrect word order
• Ona jednostavno promijeni je. – incorrect; clitic cannot go there

So the English order “changes it” does not map directly to Croatian word order.

Could we use ju instead of je for “it” here?

Yes, in standard Croatian the feminine accusative short pronoun can be je or ju. So you can say:

• Ona je jednostavno promijeni.
• Ona ju jednostavno promijeni.

Both mean: She simply changes it.

Some notes:

• je is very common and neutral.
• ju is also correct; it can sound a bit more spoken/colloquial in some regions.
• After prepositions you need the stressed form nju, not je/ju:
  
  • Vidim je / ju. – I see her.
  • Bez nje / bez nje. – without her. (stressed form)

In your sentence, je is perfectly fine and probably more typical in writing.

Why is the verb promijeni (perfective) used, and not mijenja?

Like objavi, promijeni is the perfective present (from promijeniti). It presents the action as a complete change each time this situation happens:

• ona je jednostavno promijeni – she (completely) changes it (each time)

Using mijenja (imperfective) would shift the nuance:

• ona je jednostavno mijenja – she (keeps) changing it / is changing it (more about the ongoing process, less about the finished result)

In conditional or “whenever” type sentences, a perfective verb in the present is normal and idiomatic when we care about the result of each individual event.

Why is there no pronoun after izbriše? Shouldn’t it be izbriše je?

The object je (it, the joke) is shared by both verbs:

• ona je jednostavno promijeni ili izbriše

Literally: she simply changes it or deletes it.

In Croatian (as in English) you don’t usually repeat the same object after the second verb if it’s clear:

• Čita knjigu i zatim je proda. – He reads the book and then sells it. (no need for another je)

You could say promijeni je ili je izbriše, but it’s heavier and less natural here.

Why is there a comma between na mreži and ona?

The sentence has two clauses:

1. Kad netko objavi glupu šalu na mreži, – subordinate clause (when-clause)
2. ona je jednostavno promijeni ili izbriše. – main clause

In standard Croatian, a comma almost always separates a dependent clause introduced by kad/kada from the main clause, just like in English:

• When someone posts a stupid joke online, she simply changes or deletes it.

So the comma marks the boundary between the “when” part and the main statement.