Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ako je informacija na stranici pogrešna, učitelj nam pošalje točan raspored e‑mailom. - If the information on the page is wrong, the teacher sends us the correct schedule by email.

slati → šalje = imperfective: “sends / is sending / usually sends”
poslati → pošalje = perfective: “will send (once, as a single completed action)”

In an if‑clause about a one‑time future reaction, Croatian naturally uses the perfective present with a future meaning:

Ako je informacija pogrešna, učitelj nam pošalje raspored. = If the information is wrong, the teacher will send us the schedule.

You could also say:

… učitelj će nam poslati raspored.

Both are correct; pošalje sounds a bit more like a direct consequence rule, while će poslati sounds closer to standard future tense.

Why is the present tense used for the future here?

In Croatian, the present tense of a perfective verb (like pošalje) is very often used to talk about future events, especially:

after ako (if), kad (when), čim (as soon as), etc.
when describing rules, instructions, or predictable consequences.

So even though it looks like present, pošalje here really means “will send” in English. English must use future, but Croatian does not need će in this kind of sentence.

What does ako mean, and how is it different from kad?

Ako means “if”; it introduces a condition that may or may not happen:

Ako je informacija pogrešna, … = If the information is wrong, …

Kad usually means “when” and assumes the situation will (or does) happen:

Kad je informacija pogrešna, učitelj nam pošalje raspored.
This sounds more like Whenever the information is wrong, the teacher sends us the schedule.

In many contexts both can appear, but ako = if (conditional), kad = when/whenever (temporal).

Why is there a comma after pogrešna?

Croatian uses a comma to separate a subordinate clause from the main clause.

Subordinate clause: Ako je informacija na stranici pogrešna
Main clause: učitelj nam pošalje točan raspored e‑mailom.

Rule: a clause introduced by ako, kad, jer, da, iako, etc. is normally separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence, whether it comes before or after the main clause.

What case is stranici in na stranici, and why?

Stranici is locative singular feminine of stranica (page).

With the preposition na, you use:

Locative for location (where?): na stranici = on the page
Accusative for motion (onto where?): na stranicu = onto the page

Here we are talking about where the information is located, so we use locative: na stranici.

Why is it pogrešna and not pogrešan or something else?

Pogrešna is an adjective meaning “wrong / incorrect”. Adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

informacija = feminine, singular, nominative
So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative: pogrešna.

Examples:

pogrešna informacija (fem. sg.)
pogrešan raspored (masc. sg.)
pogrešne informacije (fem. pl.)

What does nam mean, and why not nama?

Nam is the clitic (short unstressed form) of the pronoun nama = to us / for us (dative plural).

nam = short form, must appear in a specific position in the sentence (second position among “small words”):
- učitelj nam pošalje
nama = full, stressed form, used for emphasis or when separated:
- Učitelj pošalje raspored nama, a ne njima. (The teacher sends the schedule to us, not to them.)

In a neutral sentence like this, Croatian strongly prefers nam in the “clitic cluster”: učitelj nam pošalje…

Why is it točan raspored and not točna raspored?

Raspored (schedule, timetable) is masculine singular in Croatian.

Adjectives must agree with the noun, so you need the masculine singular form točan, not the feminine točna.

točan raspored = correct schedule (masc.)
točna informacija = correct information (fem.)

What case is točan raspored, and why doesn’t it change form?

In pošalje točan raspored, raspored is the direct object of the verb “send”, so it’s in the accusative singular.

For masculine inanimate nouns like raspored, the nominative and accusative forms are identical:

Nominative: raspored je točan. (The schedule is correct.)
Accusative: pošalje točan raspored. (He/She sends the schedule.)

So the form doesn’t visibly change, but grammatically it’s accusative.

Why is it e‑mailom and what case is that?

E‑mailom is the instrumental singular of e‑mail. The instrumental case is used to express means or instrument: “by / via / with”.

pošalje e‑mailom = sends (it) by e‑mail / via e‑mail

You could also say:

pošalje (ga) e‑poštom (via e‑mail, literally “by electronic mail”)
pošalje (ga) mailom (colloquial, shortened form)

Why is informacija singular? In English we might say “If the information on the page is wrong…”, which can feel plural.

In Croatian, informacija is a countable noun: one piece of information = jedna informacija, several = više informacija.

This sentence is speaking about the information as a whole on that page, but the speaker conceptualizes it as one unit, so uses the singular:

Ako je informacija na stranici pogrešna…

You can also say:

Ako su informacije na stranici pogrešne, … = If the pieces of information on the page are wrong, …

Then both informacije and pogrešne become plural.

Can I say Ako su informacije na stranici pogrešne instead? How does that change the sentence?

Yes, that is completely correct:

Ako su informacije na stranici pogrešne, učitelj nam pošalje točan raspored e‑mailom.

Grammatically:

informacije = feminine plural, nominative
pogrešne = feminine plural, nominative (adjective agrees)

Meaning: it focuses more on multiple separate pieces of information being wrong, rather than treating the information as one block. The basic idea of the sentence doesn’t change; it’s mostly a nuance of how you view “information”.

Can the word order be changed, for example Ako je na stranici informacija pogrešna?

Croatian word order is flexible, but not all variants sound equally natural.

The most neutral is:

Ako je informacija na stranici pogrešna, …

You could say Ako je informacija pogrešna na stranici, but it slightly emphasizes where it is wrong.
Ako je na stranici informacija pogrešna is grammatically possible but sounds unusual and heavy; native speakers would rarely say it that way.

In practice, keep informacija na stranici pogrešna together in this order for natural style.

Could we drop je and say Ako informacija na stranici pogrešna?

No, in standard Croatian you cannot drop je in this type of sentence.

The verb biti (to be) almost always has to be present in full sentences:

Correct: Informacija je pogrešna.
Incorrect: Informacija pogrešna. (except in some very colloquial, telegraphic, or headline styles)

So Ako je informacija na stranici pogrešna is required in normal spoken and written Croatian.

How would the sentence change for a female teacher?

For a female teacher, you use učiteljica instead of učitelj:

Ako je informacija na stranici pogrešna, učiteljica nam pošalje točan raspored e‑mailom.

Nothing else in the sentence changes, because the verb form pošalje is the same for masculine and feminine third person singular.

What’s the difference between pogrešna, netočna, and kriva?

All three can translate as “wrong / incorrect”, but there are slight tendencies:

pogrešna – very common, general “wrong, mistaken”.
netočna – often used about facts, data, answers: “not accurate, inaccurate”.
kriva – can mean “wrong” but also “guilty” (e.g. kriva osoba = the wrong / guilty person); a bit more colloquial in some uses.

In this sentence, you could say:

Ako je informacija na stranici pogrešna / netočna / kriva…
All are understandable; pogrešna and netočna sound the most neutral for factual information.