Learn Hardcore Croatian: Trebali bismo biti strpljivi kada netko govori polako hrvatski. - We should be patient when someone speaks Croatian slowly.

In your version, "polako hrvatski" sounds like “slow Croatian” as a phrase, rather than “speaks Croatian slowly”. In Croatian, adverbs (like polako) usually stand closer to the verb (govori).

Why is it “Trebali bismo biti” and not just “Trebamo biti”?

Both exist, but they express different nuances:

Trebali bismo biti strpljivi...
- Literally: “We would need/ought to be patient...”
- This is the conditional mood.
- It corresponds well to English “We should be patient” – a soft recommendation, polite advice.
Trebamo biti strpljivi...
- Literally: “We need to / have to be patient...”
- This is the present tense.
- Feels stronger, closer to “We must / We have to be patient.”

So, if you want the English nuance of “should”, trebali bismo biti is the best match.

Why is it “trebali” (plural) and not “trebao” or something else?

Trebali agrees with the hidden subject “we” (mi):

mi (we) → past/conditional participle: trebali
on (he) → trebao
ona (she) → trebala
oni (they, masc./mixed) → trebali
one (they, all-female) → trebale

In your sentence the implied subject is mi (we), so you use the masculine (or mixed) plural form:

(Mi) trebali bismo biti strpljivi...

If the group were all female, you’d say:

(Mi) trebale bismo biti strpljive...
(“We [women] should be patient...”)

What is “bismo” exactly, and why is it in the middle of the sentence?

Bismo is the 1st person plural form of “biti” (to be) in the conditional mood – it corresponds to “would” in English.

The structure is:

trebali (past participle of trebati)
- bismo (conditional of biti)
→ trebali bismo = “we would need / we should”

In Croatian, bismo is a clitic: it tends to stand in second position in the clause. That’s why we say:

Trebali bismo biti strpljivi... (natural) not
~~Bismo trebali biti strpljivi...~~ (sounds wrong in standard Croatian)

You can also say:

Mi bismo trebali biti strpljivi...

Here, bismo is still in second position (after Mi).

Why is it “biti strpljivi” and not “biti strpljiv”?

Because the implied subject is “we” (mi), which is plural:

strpljiv – patient (masculine singular)
strpljiva – patient (feminine singular)
strpljivi – patient (masculine/mixed plural)
strpljive – patient (feminine plural)

So:

Mi trebali bismo biti strpljivi.
We (mixed or masculine group) should be patient.

If the group were all women:

Mi trebale bismo biti strpljive.

Why is it “kada netko govori” and not “kada netko govore”?

Because netko (“someone”) is grammatically singular, even though it refers to an indefinite person.

The verb must agree with netko:

netko govori – someone speaks (3rd person singular)
oni govore – they speak (3rd person plural)

So:

kada netko govori polako hrvatski = when someone speaks Croatian slowly

What’s the difference between “kada” and “kad”?

They mean the same: “when”.

kada – slightly more formal or careful speech, very standard.
kad – shorter, very common in everyday speech.

Both are correct here:

Trebali bismo biti strpljivi kada netko polako govori hrvatski.
Trebali bismo biti strpljivi kad netko polako govori hrvatski.

Why is it “govori hrvatski” and not “govori hrvatskog”?

Because in Croatian, the object “a language” after govoriti (“to speak”) is in the accusative case, and for masculine adjectives like “hrvatski”, the nominative and accusative forms are the same in the singular.

Pattern:

govorim hrvatski – I speak Croatian
govorim engleski – I speak English
govorim talijanski – I speak Italian

Hrvatskog would be genitive, which is wrong here.

You could also say:

govori hrvatski jezik – speaks the Croatian language
govori na hrvatskom – speaks in Croatian

Is there a difference between “govoriti hrvatski” and “govoriti na hrvatskom”?

Yes, but both are common:

govoriti hrvatski
- literally “to speak Croatian” (Croatian as a direct object)
- very common, simple, slightly more “textbook-like”.
govoriti na hrvatskom
- literally “to speak in Croatian” (Croatian in locative after na)
- often used in everyday speech, especially when contrasting languages:
  - Pričaj na hrvatskom, ne na engleskom. – Speak in Croatian, not in English.

In your sentence, either works:

...kada netko polako govori hrvatski.
...kada netko polako govori na hrvatskom.

Is “polako” an adjective (“slow”) or an adverb (“slowly”)?

In this context, polako is an adverb, meaning “slowly”.

Important distinction:

spor, spora, sporo – “slow” (adjective)
- spor čovjek – a slow man
- spora vožnja – slow driving
polako – “slowly, gently, take it easy” (adverb)
- govori polako – speaks slowly
- vozi polako – drive slowly
- Polako! – Take it easy! / Slow down!

So “netko polako govori hrvatski” = someone speaks Croatian slowly.

Is the phrase “polako hrvatski” correct, or should it be closer to the verb?

Grammatically it’s not wrong, but it is awkward and unnatural.

Adverbs like polako usually go:

before the verb:
- netko polako govori hrvatski
or right after the verb:
- netko govori hrvatski polako

Your version:

netko govori polako hrvatski

tends to be misread as if polako were modifying hrvatski (“slow Croatian”), which is odd. That’s why native speakers usually move polako next to govori.

What is “netko”, and how is it different from “neki”?

netko = someone, somebody (indefinite pronoun)
- Netko kuca na vrata. – Someone is knocking at the door.
neki = some, a certain (indefinite adjective or pronoun)
- neki čovjek – some man / a certain man
- Neki govore brzo, neki polako. – Some speak fast, some slowly.

In your sentence:

kada netko polako govori hrvatski – when someone speaks Croatian slowly

You cannot replace netko with neki there; that would change the structure and meaning.

I see “netko” but I’ve also seen “neko”. Which one is right?

netko – standard in Croatian.
neko – standard in Serbian, also used in Bosnian/Montenegrin speech.

If you are specifically learning Croatian, use netko in writing and standard speech. The same pattern appears in other pronouns:

netko / neko – someone
nešto – something (this one is the same)
nekad / nekada – sometimes / once (both variants exist)

Could you rewrite the whole sentence in a very natural way, and show how it changes if the group is all female?

For a mixed or masculine group:

Trebali bismo biti strpljivi kada netko polako govori hrvatski.

For an all-female group:

Trebale bismo biti strpljive kada netko polako govori hrvatski.

Both mean: “We should be patient when someone speaks Croatian slowly.”