Learn Hardcore Croatian: Pitam se je li moguće govoriti jednako tečno kao izvorni govornik ako počnemo učiti kasnije. - I wonder whether it is possible to speak as fluently as a native speaker if we start learning later.

da li is also used (especially in speech) to introduce yes/no questions:
- Da li je moguće govoriti…? – Is it possible to speak…?
In standard Croatian, je li (or just li after another verb) is usually preferred in writing; da li is common and understood but can sound more colloquial or Serbian-influenced.

So here je li is the standard, good choice for “whether / if” in an indirect question.

Why is the word order je li moguće and not something like li je moguće or je moguće li?

The particle li has very fixed behavior in Croatian:

It must come immediately after the verb it belongs to.
With the verb biti (“to be”) in the 3rd person singular, the normal pattern is je li.

So:

✅ je li moguće – correct: is it possible / whether it is possible
❌ li je moguće – wrong: li cannot stand in front of the verb.
❌ je moguće li – wrong: li cannot be separated from the verb by other words.

In direct questions:

Je li moguće? – Is it possible?

In indirect questions like yours, you just embed the same je li sequence:

Pitam se je li moguće govoriti… – I wonder if it is possible to speak…

Is there any comma missing in this sentence, for example before ako?

You often see this sentence written both ways:

Pitam se je li moguće govoriti jednako tečno kao izvorni govornik ako počnemo učiti kasnije.
Pitam se je li moguće govoriti jednako tečno kao izvorni govornik, ako počnemo učiti kasnije.

Points to know:

Before je li there is normally no comma in sentences like this:
- Pitam se je li to istina.
Before ako (introducing a conditional clause), a comma is often used when the clause comes at the end, but it is not absolutely rigid in everyday writing and can depend on style and intonation.

For learning purposes, it is safe (and stylistically good) to put a comma before ako here:

… kao izvorni govornik, ako počnemo učiti kasnije.

Why is govoriti in the infinitive and not a conjugated form like govorimo?

After impersonal expressions like moguće je (“it is possible”), Croatian typically uses the infinitive to express what is possible:

Moguće je govoriti tako. – It is possible to speak like that.
Nije lako naučiti to. – It is not easy to learn that.

So:

je li moguće govoriti… = whether it is possible to speak…

If you used a conjugated verb, the structure would change:

je li moguće da govorimo jednako tečno… – whether it is possible that we speak as fluently…

This is also correct, but it’s slightly heavier and introduces da + present tense instead of a clean infinitive. The version with govoriti is more compact and very natural.

What is the role of jednako in jednako tečno kao izvorni govornik?

Jednako means “equally”. In comparisons of equality, Croatian often uses patterns like:

jednako / isto / tako + adjective/adverb + kao

Examples:

govoriti jednako tečno kao izvorni govornik
– to speak equally fluently as a native speaker
On je jednako visok kao ja. – He is as tall as I am.
Piše tako lijepo kao ona. – He writes as beautifully as she does.

You could also say:

govoriti tako tečno kao izvorni govornik
– “to speak so/as fluently as a native speaker”

Here jednako just makes it explicit that the fluency level is equal, not just “very” fluently.

What is the difference between tečno and tečan?

They are related forms of the same word:

tečan – adjective (masculine) = “fluent”
- tečna (fem.), tečno (neut.)
- On je vrlo tečan govornik. – He is a very fluent speaker.
tečno – adverb (how someone speaks) and also the neuter form of the adjective
- Govori tečno. – He/She speaks fluently.

In your sentence:

govoriti jednako tečno – “to speak equally fluently”

Here tečno is an adverb describing how one speaks.
If you wanted the adjective, you’d say something like:

On je tečan govornik. – He is a fluent speaker.

Why is it kao izvorni govornik (nominative) and not something like kao izvornog govornika?

With kao used for comparisons like “as / like”, the noun is usually in the nominative when it functions as a kind of predicative, i.e. when it tells you what someone is like:

Govori kao izvorni govornik. – He/She speaks like a native speaker.
Radi kao učitelj. – He works as a teacher.

Accusative is used with kao in different meanings, for example when it is closer to an object meaning “as, in the capacity of”:

Gledam ga kao prijatelja. – I see him as a friend. (object: whom?)

In your sentence, kao izvorni govornik just says “like a native speaker (speaks)”, so the nominative is the natural, standard choice.

You might hear forms like kao izvornog govornika in some colloquial speech, but for standard Croatian, kao izvorni govornik is correct here.

Could we say kad počnemo učiti kasnije instead of ako počnemo učiti kasnije? What’s the difference between ako and kad here?

Yes, you could say kad, but it changes the nuance.

ako = if (condition, uncertain)
kad = when (time, more certain or neutral)

In your sentence:

ako počnemo učiti kasnije – if we (happen to) start learning later
→ It presents “starting later” as a condition that may or may not happen.
kad počnemo učiti kasnije – when we start learning later
→ Sounds more like you are assuming that you will start later, and you’re talking about that future moment.

For a general “I wonder if… in the case that…”, ako is the more natural word.

Why is it počnemo učiti and not something like počinjemo učiti?

This is about aspect (perfective vs imperfective).

početi – perfective (“to begin, to start” as a single act)
- počnem, počneš, počne… počnemo…
počinjati – imperfective (“to be beginning, to start repeatedly / continuously”)
- počinjemo, počinješ…

In conditional “if”-clauses about a single act in the future, Croatian normally uses the perfective:

Ako počnemo učiti kasnije… – If we (at some point) start learning later…

Počinjemo would emphasize an ongoing or repeated process of starting, which is odd here:

Ako počinjemo učiti kasnije… – roughly “If we are in the process of starting to learn later…” (unnatural in this meaning)

So počnemo is the right choice for a single future-starting event.

Why is the verb počnemo in the present tense, even though we’re talking about something in the future?

This is a common pattern in Croatian:

In conditional or time clauses introduced by words like ako, kad, čim, etc., you normally use the present tense even when the meaning is future.

Examples:

Ako dođeš sutra, popit ćemo kavu.
– If you come tomorrow, we’ll have coffee.
Kad završim posao, nazvat ću te.
– When I finish work, I’ll call you.

So in your sentence:

ako počnemo učiti kasnije

the present tense počnemo actually refers to a possible future action: “if we (ever) start learning later”. Croatian does not use a future tense after ako here.

Could we say je li moguće da govorimo jednako tečno kao izvorni govornik instead of using govoriti?

Yes, that’s grammatically correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

Infinitive construction (what you have):
- je li moguće govoriti jednako tečno kao izvorni govornik
  → “whether it is possible to speak as fluently as a native speaker”
  This is general, not tied to a specific “we/they/I”; it’s about the action in general.
da + present construction:
- je li moguće da govorimo jednako tečno kao izvorni govornik
  → “whether it is possible that we speak as fluently as a native speaker”
  This sounds more like it’s specifically about us (the “we” in the sentence).

Both are fine, but:

For a general, more neutral statement about possibility, Croatian tends to prefer the infinitive after expressions like moguće je, lako je, teško je, etc.
Your original version is slightly more idiomatic for the general idea.

Does kasnije here mean “later in life”? Can it stand alone like that?

Yes. Kasnije simply means “later”, and the reference point is understood from context.

In this sentence:

… ako počnemo učiti kasnije.

it is very natural to understand it as:

kasnije u životu – later in life
kasnije nego drugi / nego u djetinjstvu – later than others / later than in childhood

Croatian often leaves such complements implicit when they are obvious:

Počeo sam učiti kasnije. – I started learning later (than is usual).
Vidimo se kasnije. – See you later.

If you want to be explicit, you could say:

ako počnemo učiti kasnije u životu – if we start learning later in life.