Learn Hardcore Croatian: Treniramo svaki dan da bismo na turniru imali veću šansu za pobjedu. - We train every day so that at the tournament we have a better chance of winning.

da bismo imali literally = so that we would have. It uses the conditional and sounds a bit more careful, polite or “softer”, and it emphasizes that this is only a desired, not guaranteed, result.
da imamo = so that we have. It’s more direct and a bit more neutral/colloquial in everyday speech.

In this sentence, da bismo imali underlines that training every day only increases the chance of success; it doesn’t guarantee it.

What exactly does bismo mean, and how is it used here?

Bismo is the 1st‑person plural conditional form of biti (to be). It is an auxiliary used to form the conditional:

imali bismo = we would have
In this sentence, because of clitic placement rules, it appears as da bismo imali, not da imali bismo.

So da bismo imali literally means so that we would have. The verb biti appears only as the auxiliary bismo; the main meaning is carried by imali (have).

Why is there no mi in Treniramo svaki dan? Shouldn’t it be Mi treniramo?

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows person and number:

treniramo can only mean we train / we are training.

You can say Mi treniramo svaki dan, but then mi adds emphasis, for example:

Mi treniramo svaki dan, a oni ne. – We train every day, but they don’t.

In a neutral sentence like this one, mi is normally omitted.

What tense/aspect is treniramo, and how would the sentence look in the future tense?

Treniramo is present tense of trenirati, an imperfective verb. Here it expresses a habitual action: we train every day (regularly).

If you wanted to talk specifically about a future plan, you could say, for example:

Trenirat ćemo svaki dan da bismo na turniru imali veću šansu za pobjedu.
(We will train every day so that at the tournament we will have a better chance to win.)

But the present treniramo is very natural for a general routine that is already happening.

Why is it svaki dan and not svakog dana? Are both forms correct?

Both are correct and very common:

svaki dan – literally every day (accusative), used adverbially.
svakog dana – of every day (genitive), but it also means every day in practice.

The meaning is practically the same; svaki dan sounds a bit more straightforward and is probably the more frequent everyday choice. Svakog dana can feel slightly more formal or a bit more “literary”, but the difference is small.

What case is na turniru, and how is it different from na turnir?

Na turniru is locative singular:

na
- locative = location (where?) → na turniru = at / on the tournament.

Na turnir would be accusative:

na
- accusative = direction (where to?) → na turnir = to the tournament.

In this sentence we’re talking about what happens during/at the tournament, so the locative na turniru is correct.

Why do we say veću šansu and not veća šansa here?

Because veću šansu is the direct object of imali (would have), and direct objects are in the accusative:

nominative (subject): veća šansa – a bigger chance
accusative (object): veću šansu – a bigger chance (as something we have/get)

We are not saying “The bigger chance is at the tournament”, but “so that we would have a bigger chance”, so accusative veću šansu is required.

How is the comparative veću formed, and why does it look like that?

The base adjective is velik (big). The comparative stem is već‑, so:

masculine nominative: veći
feminine nominative: veća
feminine accusative: veću

The noun šansa is feminine, and here it is in feminine accusative singular: šansu. The adjective must agree with it in gender, number and case, so we get veću šansu.

Why is it šansu za pobjedu and not something like šansu pobjede?

In Croatian, the usual pattern for “chance of something (happening)” is:

šansa za + accusative → šansa za pobjedu, šansa za posao, šansa za uspjeh.

Using a bare genitive like šansa pobjede is not natural here. If you want a different construction, you’d more likely use a clause:

šansa da pobijedimo – a chance that we win / a chance of us winning.

So veću šansu za pobjedu is the standard way to say a better/bigger chance of victory.

Could we also say veće šanse da pobijedimo? What would be the difference?

Yes, you could say:

Treniramo svaki dan da bismo na turniru imali veće šanse da pobijedimo.

Differences:

veću šansu za pobjedu – singular; focuses on overall probability of victory.
veće šanse da pobijedimo – plural; literally “greater chances that we win”, but in practice it just means “a higher probability that we will win”.

Both sound natural; the original version with veću šansu za pobjedu is slightly more typical and a bit more compact.

Is the word order fixed, or can we move parts like na turniru or svaki dan?

Word order in Croatian is relatively flexible, especially for adverbials like svaki dan and na turniru. You could say, for example:

Svaki dan treniramo da bismo na turniru imali veću šansu za pobjedu.
Treniramo svaki dan da bismo imali na turniru veću šansu za pobjedu.
Na turniru bismo imali veću šansu za pobjedu jer treniramo svaki dan.

What is not flexible is the position of the clitic bismo: in its clause it must come in the “second position”, so you keep things like da bismo na turniru imali…, not da na turniru imali bismo….

Should there be a comma before da bismo?

In many style guides, a comma before a purpose clause with da is recommended:

Treniramo svaki dan, da bismo na turniru imali veću šansu za pobjedu.

However, in everyday writing and speech, the comma is often omitted in shorter, very tightly connected sentences like this:

Treniramo svaki dan da bismo na turniru imali veću šansu za pobjedu.

So you will see both. If you want to be on the safe side in formal writing, use the comma; in informal contexts, omitting it is common and widely accepted.

What is the difference between trenirati and vježbati here?

Both can mean to practise, but:

trenirati is especially used for sports and athletic training, often structured and goal‑oriented (preparation for a competition).
vježbati is more general: to practise exercises, an instrument, pronunciation, homework, etc.

Since the sentence talks about preparing for a tournament, treniramo is the most natural verb here. Using vježbamo would be understandable, but it sounds less specifically sports‑related.