Learn Hardcore Croatian: Nakon kratke pauze nastavit ćemo učiti, tako da stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice. - After a short break we will continue studying so that we manage to revise all the sentences.

The basic form is kratka pauza (nominative singular, “a short break”).
The preposition nakon (“after”) always takes the genitive case.
Feminine genitive singular:
- adjective: kratka → kratke
- noun: pauza → pauze

So nakon + genitive → nakon kratke pauze (“after a short break”).

This phrase can look like a plural to an English speaker, because -e is also a plural marker, but the preposition nakon tells you it must be genitive, and context shows it’s one break, not several.

Why is it nastavit ćemo učiti and not ćemo nastaviti učiti?

In Croatian, the future tense is formed with the auxiliary htjeti (short forms: ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će) + infinitive. But the auxiliary is a clitic, and clitics must stand in second position in the clause, not necessarily directly before the infinitive.

That’s why we get:

Nastavit ćemo učiti.
– First stressed word in the clause: nastavit
– Clitic ćemo goes right after it → nastavit ćemo

Ćemo nastaviti učiti at the start of a sentence is ungrammatical in standard Croatian because a clitic cannot stand first; it needs something before it.

You can say:

Mi ćemo nastaviti učiti.
Here mi is first, and ćemo is in second position, so this is fine.

What is the difference between učiti and naučiti, and why is učiti used here?

Both relate to “learning”, but they differ in aspect:

učiti – imperfective: to be learning/studying (an ongoing process)
naučiti – perfective: to learn (to finish/acquire some knowledge)

In the sentence, the focus is on the activity of continuing to study after a break, not on the completed result of having learned something. So we use the ongoing, processive verb:

nastavit ćemo učiti – “we will continue studying/learning”

If you said nastavit ćemo naučiti, it would sound wrong: nastaviti + naučiti together clash, because both are perfective, and it doesn’t match the intended meaning.

What does stignemo mean exactly, and why is it in the present tense if we’re talking about the future?

Stignemo is 1st person plural present of the verb stići (perfective), which often means:

to arrive
to manage (to do something in time)

Because stići is perfective, its present tense typically refers to a future event:

stignemo ponoviti ≈ “(that) we will manage to repeat / have time to repeat”

So in practice:

tako da stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice
→ “so that we (will) manage to go over all the sentences”

This “present form with future meaning” is a normal feature of perfective verbs in Croatian.

Why is it stignemo ponoviti and not something like stignemo da ponovimo?

In standard Croatian, verbs like stići (stignuti) commonly take an infinitive:

stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice – “(so that) we manage to repeat all the sentences”

Using da + finite verb here (e.g. stignemo da ponovimo) is more typical for Serbian or colloquial speech and is not considered standard Croatian style.

So for learners of Croatian, it’s better to memorize:

stići (stignuti) + infinitive
stignemo + [infinitive] → stignemo ponoviti, stignem pročitati, etc.

What is the difference between ponoviti and ponavljati, and why is ponoviti used?

Again, this is an aspect difference:

ponavljati – imperfective: to be repeating / to review repeatedly
ponoviti – perfective: to repeat once / to complete the act of reviewing

In the sentence, the idea is that we want to be able to finish going over all the sentences within the available time. That’s a single completed action, so the perfective ponoviti is natural:

stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice
→ “(so that) we manage to go over all the sentences (completely)”

If you said stignemo ponavljati sve rečenice, it would sound like “manage to be in the process of repeating them”, which doesn’t fit the idea of getting through them all.

What case is sve rečenice, and how do I know?

Sve rečenice is accusative plural, functioning as the direct object of ponoviti.

Base form: rečenica (feminine, “sentence”).
Nominative plural and accusative plural are both rečenice for inanimate feminine nouns.
The determiner sve agrees with a feminine plural noun: sve rečenice (“all the sentences”).

Because ponoviti is a transitive verb (“to repeat something”), its object is in the accusative:

ponoviti što? – sve rečenice.

What exactly does tako da mean here, and how is it used grammatically?

Tako da is a conjunction that can introduce two slightly different types of clauses:

Result / consequence: “so, therefore”
- Palo je jako puno kiše, tako da su ulice poplavljene.
  “It rained a lot, so the streets are flooded.”
Purpose: “so that / in order that”
- Požuri, tako da stignemo na vlak.
  “Hurry, so that we catch the train.”

In your sentence:

…nastavit ćemo učiti, tako da stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice.

This leans toward the purpose meaning: “so that we (will) manage to go over all the sentences.”

Grammatically, tako da is followed by a finite clause (here: stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice), usually in the indicative, even for purpose in everyday Croatian.

Why is there a comma before tako da?

Croatian uses commas to separate main clauses from subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like tako da.

Your sentence has:

Main clause: Nakon kratke pauze nastavit ćemo učiti
Subordinate clause introduced by tako da: tako da stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice

Because tako da starts a new clause, you place a comma before it:

…nastavit ćemo učiti, tako da stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice.

This is the same rule you’d see with other conjunctions starting subordinate clauses (e.g. jer, ako, iako, etc.), unless they form very fixed short expressions.

Can I move nakon kratke pauze to another position in the sentence?

Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, especially for adverbial phrases like nakon kratke pauze.

All of these are possible (though with slightly different emphasis):

Nakon kratke pauze nastavit ćemo učiti, tako da stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice.
(Neutral: time phrase first, setting the scene.)
Nastavit ćemo učiti nakon kratke pauze, tako da stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice.
(Focuses a bit more on the act of continuing.)
Nastavit ćemo, nakon kratke pauze, učiti, tako da stignemo ponoviti sve rečenice.
(More marked; commas create extra emphasis on the pause.)

All versions keep nakon kratke pauze as a time expression; changing the position mostly affects rhythm and focus, not the basic meaning.

What is the difference between nakon and poslije in a sentence like this?

Both can mean “after”, but they behave slightly differently:

nakon is strictly a preposition and must be followed by a genitive:
- nakon kratke pauze
poslije can be:
- a preposition
  - genitive: poslije kratke pauze
- an adverb on its own: Poslije ćemo nastaviti učiti. (“We will continue studying later / afterwards.”)

In your sentence, you could say both:

Nakon kratke pauze nastavit ćemo učiti…
Poslije kratke pauze nastavit ćemo učiti…

Both are correct; nakon often sounds a bit more formal or neutral, while poslije feels slightly more colloquial and flexible.