Learn Hardcore Croatian: On hrabro govori hrvatski pred razredom. - He bravely speaks Croatian in front of the class.

The base adjective is hrabar = brave (masculine form).
The adverb is typically formed by taking the neuter singular form of the adjective:
hrabar → hrabro (brave → bravely).

So:

hrabar čovjek – a brave man (adjective)
On hrabro govori… – He speaks bravely… (adverb modifying the verb govori)

Can the word order be different? For example: On govori hrabro hrvatski pred razredom?

Croatian word order is quite flexible, but not every order sounds equally natural.

Most natural options here are:

On hrabro govori hrvatski pred razredom. (neutral)
On govori hrvatski hrabro pred razredom. (slightly unusual focus)
Hrabro govori hrvatski pred razredom. (no pronoun, still very natural)

On govori hrabro hrvatski pred razredom is understandable, but the word hrabro in the middle like that sounds a bit awkward to most speakers. The safest and most natural place for manner adverbs (like hrabro) is:

directly before the verb (hrabro govori), or
sometimes at the end (govori hrabro), depending on emphasis.

So: your sentence is not wrong, but the original order is more idiomatic.

Why is it govori hrvatski, not something like priča hrvatski?

In Croatian, when you talk about speaking a language, the usual verb is govoriti:

govoriti hrvatski / engleski / njemački – to speak Croatian / English / German

The verb pričati means to tell, to chat, to narrate:

pričati priču – to tell a story
pričati s prijateljem – to chat with a friend

You wouldn’t normally say priča hrvatski for “he speaks Croatian (as a language)”; you say govori hrvatski.

Why is it just hrvatski and not hrvatski jezik?

You can say both:

On hrabro govori hrvatski.
On hrabro govori hrvatski jezik.

The noun jezik (language, tongue) is usually omitted in everyday speech when it’s obvious you are talking about a language. So hrvatski by itself here means Croatian (language).

It’s similar to English:

“He speaks Croatian” (you don’t say “Croatian language” most of the time).

Which case is hrvatski in here, and why does it end in -i?

Hrvatski is a masculine singular adjective in the accusative case, agreeing with an understood noun (jezik):

(On govori) hrvatski (jezik).

For a masculine inanimate noun like jezik, the accusative has the same form as the nominative:

nominative: hrvatski jezik
accusative: hrvatski jezik

Since jezik is dropped, you just see hrvatski, which keeps that -i ending.

What does pred razredom literally mean, and which case is razredom?

pred = in front of, before
razredom = “class” in the instrumental case (singular)

So pred razredom literally means “in front of the class” (as a group of students).

Instrumental singular of razred goes:

nominative: razred
instrumental: razredom

The preposition pred usually takes the instrumental when it means “in front of / before” in a spatial or situational sense like this.

Is razred the classroom, or the group of students?

Razred primarily means the group of students (the class), like “Class 3B”.

pred razredom – in front of the class (the students)

If you want to refer clearly to the room, you normally use:

učionica – classroom
e.g. On govori hrvatski u učionici. – He speaks Croatian in the classroom.

Context can sometimes make razred feel like “classroom”, but its core meaning is the group of pupils, not the physical room.

What’s the difference between pred razredom and ispred razreda?

Both can be translated as “in front of the class”, but there is a nuance:

pred razredom
– slightly more general: “before the class” as an audience (emphasis on the situation: speaking to the class)
ispred razreda
– more concrete, spatial: “in front of the class” as a location (you are standing in a position in front of where the class is)

In practice, they often overlap and both would be understood. In your sentence, pred razredom feels a bit more natural because it’s about performing/speaking before an audience.

How is govori formed? What is the infinitive of this verb, and which person/tense is it?

The infinitive is govoriti – to speak.

govori is:

3rd person singular
present tense
imperfective aspect

So:

(ja) govorim – I speak
(ti) govoriš – you speak (singular)
(on/ona/ono) govori – he/she/it speaks
(mi) govorimo – we speak
(vi) govorite – you speak (plural/formal)
(oni/one/ona) govore – they speak

In your sentence, On govori… = He speaks…

How would the sentence change if it was she instead of he?

You only change the pronoun:

On hrabro govori hrvatski pred razredom. – He …
Ona hrabro govori hrvatski pred razredom. – She …

The verb form govori stays the same for on (he) and ona (she) in the present tense.

Can hrabro be placed at the end of the sentence? For example: On govori hrvatski pred razredom hrabro.

It’s grammatically possible, but it sounds unusual and a bit heavy. Native speakers would much more naturally say:

On hrabro govori hrvatski pred razredom.
or On govori hrvatski hrabro pred razredom. (still a bit marked, but okay)

Putting hrabro right after the subject pronoun (On hrabro govori…) is the most neutral and idiomatic.

End-position … pred razredom hrabro might be used in poetry or for strong stylistic emphasis, but not as normal everyday speech.

How would you make this sentence negative?

You add ne directly in front of the verb:

On hrabro govori hrvatski pred razredom.
→ On ne govori hrabro hrvatski pred razredom. – He does not speak Croatian bravely in front of the class.

Very often, learners keep the adverb position and just negate the verb:

On ne govori hrvatski hrabro pred razredom.
or more neutral: On ne govori hrvatski pred razredom. – He doesn’t speak Croatian in front of the class (no “bravely” here).

Could you also say On hrabro govori na hrvatskom pred razredom? What’s the difference between govoriti hrvatski and govoriti na hrvatskom?

Yes, you can say:

On hrabro govori na hrvatskom pred razredom.

Both are correct, but there is a subtle difference:

govoriti hrvatski
– very direct: to speak Croatian (as a language)
– this is the most common way to say someone knows/speaks a language.
govoriti na hrvatskom
– literally: to speak in Croatian, focusing a bit more on the medium/language used at that moment (e.g., switching languages).

In many everyday contexts they are interchangeable, and both would be perfectly natural in this sentence.