Learn Hardcore Croatian: Trener nam govori da se barem jedan dan u tjednu moramo potpuno odmoriti. - The coach tells us that at least one day a week we have to rest completely.

In Croatian, clitic pronouns like nam usually stand in the second position in the clause, after the first stressed word. Here the first stressed word is Trener, so the neutral word order is:

Trener nam govori … – The coach tells us … (neutral)

If you use the full form nama, it no longer has to follow the clitic-position rule, and it becomes emphatic:

Trener govori nama … – The coach tells us (as opposed to someone else)…

This puts emphasis on us.

Using *Trener govori nam … is generally ungrammatical in standard Croatian because nam, as a clitic, wants that special second position, not a random place after the verb.

What is the role of se in this sentence, and why is it so far from odmoriti?

se is the reflexive pronoun. Together with odmoriti, it forms the reflexive verb odmoriti se – to rest (oneself), i.e. simply to rest.

In Croatian, se is also a clitic, so it follows the same second-position rule as nam. In the subordinate clause:

da se barem jedan dan u tjednu moramo potpuno odmoriti

the first word is the conjunction da, which doesn’t carry stress, so se immediately follows it and occupies the clitic slot:

da se … moramo potpuno odmoriti

Logically, se belongs with odmoriti, but because of the clitic rule, it gets pulled towards the beginning of the clause and does not have to stand right next to odmoriti.

Without se, odmoriti is usually transitive – e.g. moramo odmoriti noge (we must rest our legs).
With se, odmoriti se becomes intransitive, meaning simply to rest (ourselves).

Why is there a da-clause (da se … moramo potpuno odmoriti) after govori, instead of using an infinitive?

In Croatian, after verbs like reći, govoriti, misliti, znati, etc., it’s much more natural to use a da + finite verb clause rather than an infinitive.

So:

Trener nam govori da se … moramo potpuno odmoriti.
= The coach tells us that we must rest completely …

This is the normal pattern:
[main verb] + da + [subject] + [finite verb]

Saying something like:

*Trener nam govori morati se odmoriti.

is unnatural; Croatian does not generally use an infinitive clause here the way English can say “tells us to rest”.

Instead, Croatian expresses this as “tells us *that we must rest” → *govori nam da moramo …

Why is moramo conjugated in the present tense inside the da-clause, when govori is already a present tense verb?

The sentence actually has two clauses, each with its own finite verb:

Trener nam govori – main clause
- verb: govori (he tells / is telling)
da se barem jedan dan u tjednu moramo potpuno odmoriti – subordinate clause
- verb: moramo (we must / have to)

In Croatian, it’s normal (and necessary) for the subordinate da-clause to have its own conjugated verb (here moramo) that agrees with its own subject (mi – implied by moramo).

It’s similar to English if you say the full form:

The coach tells us *that we must rest …*

Both tells and must are finite verbs here. The Croatian structure matches that idea closely.

What grammatical case is jedan dan in, and what does it express here?

jedan dan is in the accusative singular:

nominative: jedan dan
accusative: jedan dan (same form for masculine inanimate nouns)

Here it expresses duration – how long the resting lasts:

odmoriti se jedan dan – to rest for one day

So within the whole sentence, barem jedan dan means for at least one day. It’s not the direct object of moramo (which doesn’t take a direct object), but it is the complement of odmoriti se, specifying how long we rest.

What does u tjednu literally mean, and why is u tjednu used instead of just saying tjedno?

Literally, u tjednu means in the week. Grammatically:

u = in
tjednu = locative singular of tjedan (week)

So:

barem jedan dan u tjednu → at least one day in the week = at least one day per week

You could also say:

barem jedan dan tjedno – at least one day weekly / per week

Both are correct. u tjednu sounds a bit more like concrete scheduling (one day in the week), whereas tjedno is more adverbial (weekly). In many contexts, they’re interchangeable.

Why is odmoriti (perfective) used here instead of odmarati se (imperfective)? What is the difference?

Croatian verbs have aspect:

odmarati se – imperfective: to rest (ongoing, repeated, process)
odmoriti se – perfective: to (have a) rest, to rest up (as a completed act)

In this sentence, odmoriti se is used because the idea is to fully complete the rest within that one day:

moramo se potpuno odmoriti – we must rest completely / we must get fully rested

Using odmarati se would shift the focus more to the ongoing activity:

moramo se odmarati – we must (be) resting / we must spend time resting

With barem jedan dan u tjednu, the perfective odmoriti se nicely suggests that during that day, you end up properly recovered, not just “spending time resting” in general.

Can the word order inside the da-clause be changed? For example, could we say da moramo se barem jedan dan u tjednu potpuno odmoriti?

Some changes are possible, but clitics are restricted.

Clitic position:
- se must stay very near the beginning of the clause, in or near the second position:
  - da se barem jedan dan u tjednu moramo potpuno odmoriti ✔
  - da se moramo barem jedan dan u tjednu potpuno odmoriti ✔
- *da moramo se barem jedan dan… ✖ is ungrammatical in standard Croatian, because se is pulled forward by the clitic rule and doesn’t belong after moramo.
Non‑clitic elements (like barem jedan dan u tjednu, potpuno) are more flexible:
- da se moramo potpuno odmoriti barem jedan dan u tjednu
- da se barem jedan dan u tjednu moramo potpuno odmoriti

Both are possible; the differences are mostly about emphasis and style, not about correctness.

Where can potpuno go in the sentence, and does moving it change the meaning?

potpuno is an adverb meaning completely / totally. It modifies odmoriti (se).

Common, natural positions include:

moramo se potpuno odmoriti
moramo se odmoriti potpuno (less common, slightly emphatic)
da se barem jedan dan u tjednu moramo potpuno odmoriti

All mean essentially the same: we must rest completely.

If you move potpuno far away from odmoriti, it can sound odd or at least marked, because listeners momentarily don’t know what potpuno is qualifying. So you normally keep potpuno close to the verb phrase odmoriti se.

What is the exact function of barem here, and how is it different from najmanje or bar?

barem means at least and often has a slightly “consoling” or minimal‑requirement tone: if nothing else, then at least…

In this sentence:

barem jedan dan u tjednu – at least one day a week

Comparisons:

najmanje – also at least, but more neutral, often used in more formal or numerical contexts:
- najmanje jedan dan u tjednu – minimum one day per week
bar – colloquial, very close to barem in meaning and feeling:
- bar jedan dan u tjednu – at least one day a week

In everyday speech, barem and bar are often interchangeable. najmanje sounds a bit more technical or strict about the quantity, while barem can suggest “this is the minimum you should do, even if you do nothing more than that.”