Learn Hardcore Croatian: Kad kasnimo na vlak, zovemo taksi i nadamo se da vozač zna najbrži put. - When we are late for the train, we call a taxi and hope that the driver knows the fastest way.

Ako kasnimo na vlak… = If we are late for the train… (it might or might not happen)
Kad kasnimo na vlak… = When(ever) we’re late for the train… (talking about what we normally do in that situation)

Why is the present tense used with kad? Why not a future tense like kad ćemo kasniti?

In Croatian, kad + present tense is normally used:

For general, habitual actions (like here):
- Kad kasnimo na vlak, zovemo taksi.
  = Whenever we are late for the train, we (usually) call a taxi.
Even for future events, Croatian still often uses present after kad:
- Kad dođeš, nazovi me.
  Literally: When you come, call me (meaning when you come in the future).
  You do not say kad ćeš doći in this kind of sentence.

So kad kasnimo is perfectly natural.
Kad ćemo kasniti would sound odd or wrong in standard Croatian in this structure.

Why is it kasnimo na vlak and not kasnimo za vlak or something else?

The verb kasniti (to be late) normally uses na + accusative when you’re late for an event or vehicle:

kasniti na vlak – to be late for the train
kasniti na autobus – to be late for the bus
kasniti na avion – to be late for the plane
kasniti na sastanak – to be late for a meeting
kasniti na predavanje – to be late for a lecture

So na vlak is a standard, idiomatic construction.

Za vlak with kasniti is not idiomatic in standard Croatian for this meaning; za would instead typically express something like for the train in a different sense (e.g. a ticket for the train: karta za vlak).

What are the infinitives of kasnimo, zovemo, nadamo se, and zna?

Here are the infinitives and persons:

kasnimo – 1st person plural present of kasniti (to be late)
- ja kasnim
- ti kasniš
- on/ona/ono kasni
- mi kasnimo
- vi kasnite
- oni kasne
zovemo – 1st person plural present of zvati (to call)
- ja zovem
- ti zoveš
- on/ona/ono zove
- mi zovemo
- vi zovete
- oni zovu
nadamo se – 1st person plural present of nadati se (to hope) – reflexive
- ja nadam se
- ti nadaš se
- on/ona/ono nada se
- mi nadamo se
- vi nadate se
- oni nadaju se
zna – 3rd person singular present of znati (to know)
- ja znam
- ti znaš
- on/ona/ono zna
- mi znamo
- vi znate
- oni znaju

Why is the subject pronoun mi (we) left out? How do we know it means we?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (ja, ti, on, mi, etc.) are often omitted, because the person is shown by the verb ending.

kasnimo – the ending ‑mo is 1st person plural, so it must be we are late.
zovemo – again ‑mo → we call.
nadamo se – nadamo has ‑mo → we hope.

You could say:

Mi kad kasnimo na vlak, zovemo taksi…

but it’s usually unnecessary unless you want to emphasize we, as opposed to someone else.

Why is taksi spelled with k and how is it declined?

Croatian usually adapts foreign words to its spelling and pronunciation rules. English taxi becomes taksi:

x is normally written as ks = k
- s
here: taksi

Taksi is a regular masculine noun and can decline, though in everyday speech you will very often only see taksi for nominative and accusative:

Nominative: taksi – Ovo je taksi. (This is a taxi.)
Accusative: taksi – Zovemo taksi. (We call a taxi.)
Genitive: taksija – Nema taksija. (There is no taxi.)
Dative: taksiju – Približavamo se taksiju.
Locative: o taksiju – Razgovaramo o taksiju.
Instrumental: taksijem – Idemo taksijem. (We go by taxi.)

In the sentence, taksi is accusative singular, because it is the direct object of zovemo (we call what? → taxi).

What does nadamo se literally mean, and why do we need se?

Nadamo se comes from the reflexive verb nadati se = to hope.

nadamo – we hope
se – reflexive particle (clitic)

Literally, you can think of it as we hope ourselves, but in real meaning it’s just we hope.

In Croatian, some verbs are always reflexive:

nadati se – to hope
sjećati se – to remember
smijati se – to laugh
bojati se – to be afraid

You must include se with these; saying nadamo without se is incorrect.

Why is it nadamo se and not se nadamo? Where do we put se?

Se is a clitic – a short, unstressed word that has a fixed position in the sentence. In Croatian, clitics typically go to the second position in the clause, after the first stressed word.

In the clause:

… i nadamo se da vozač zna najbrži put.

The clause after i effectively starts with nadamo. That is the first stressed word, so se comes right after it:

✅ nadamo se
❌ se nadamo (this would put a clitic at the beginning of the clause, which is not allowed in standard Croatian)

So nadamo se follows the normal Croatian clitic rule.

Why is da used before vozač zna najbrži put? Can we leave it out?

Here da is a subordinating conjunction, similar to English that in we hope that the driver knows….

nadamo se da… = we hope that…

In Croatian, after nadati se, you almost always use da + a finite verb:

Nadam se da će doći. – I hope (that) he will come.
Nadamo se da vozač zna najbrži put. – We hope (that) the driver knows the fastest way.

You cannot just say nadamo se vozač zna najbrži put without da – that would be ungrammatical. The da is required to introduce this kind of clause.

Why is it vozač zna najbrži put and not something like da zna vozač najbrži put? Is the word order fixed?

The neutral, most common word order here is:

vozač zna najbrži put
subject – verb – object

Croatian word order is flexible, but changing it can affect emphasis or sound unnatural.

You could technically say:

Nadamo se da vozač zna najbrži put. – neutral, natural.
Nadamo se da zna vozač najbrži put. – sounds marked; emphasizes vozač, and is uncommon in this context.
Nadamo se da vozač najbrži put zna. – unusual; strong focus shifts, and sounds awkward.

For a learner, stick to subject – verb – object here:

da vozač zna najbrži put

What cases are vlak, taksi, vozač, and put in here, and why?

In the sentence:

vlak – accusative singular after a preposition:
- na vlak – na + accusative with kasniti na
taksi – accusative singular as the direct object of zovemo:
- zovemo (koga/što?) taksi
vozač – nominative singular, the subject of zna:
- vozač (tko?) zna…
put – accusative singular, the direct object of zna:
- zna (što?) najbrži put

So the structure is:

kasnimo na vlak – verb + preposition + accusative
zovemo taksi – verb + direct object (accusative)
vozač zna najbrži put – subject (nominative) + verb + object (accusative)

How does najbrži work grammatically? What is it formed from?

Najbrži is the superlative form of the adjective brz (fast).

Forms:

brz – fast (positive)
brži – faster (comparative)
najbrži – the fastest (superlative)

Formation: naj‑ + comparative

brž
- i → brži
naj
- brži → najbrži

In najbrži put:

najbrži agrees with put in:
- gender: masculine
- number: singular
- case: accusative (but masculine inanimate has nominative = accusative form, so it looks the same)

So:

Nominative: najbrži put je ovaj. – This is the fastest way.
Accusative: zna najbrži put. – He knows the fastest way.

Is the comma after Kad kasnimo na vlak necessary?

Yes, in standard punctuation it is normal (and recommended).

The structure is:

Subordinate clause: Kad kasnimo na vlak
Main clause: zovemo taksi i nadamo se da vozač zna najbrži put.

In Croatian, a subordinate clause like this is separated by a comma from the main clause, especially when it comes first:

Kad kasnimo na vlak, zovemo taksi…
Zovemo taksi kad kasnimo na vlak. (when the kad‑clause comes after, the comma is often omitted)

So the comma here is correct and follows normal rules.

If I replace vlak with autobus (bus), does the grammar change?

No, the grammar stays the same. Only the noun changes:

Kad kasnimo na autobus, zovemo taksi…

Autobus is also a masculine noun, and after na with this meaning, it also takes the accusative:

na vlak – to / for the train
na autobus – to / for the bus
na avion, na sastanak, etc.

All verb forms and other structures remain identical.

What is the difference between put and cesta here? Could we say najbržu cestu?

Both put and cesta relate to ways/routes, but they are used differently:

put – way, route, path (more abstract: the route you take)
- najbrži put – the fastest way/route
cesta – road (physical road, street, highway)
- brza cesta – fast road
- glavna cesta – main road

In this sentence:

najbrži put is the natural phrase: the fastest way (to the station).
najbržu cestu (accusative feminine) would sound like the fastest road (physically the road, not the route as a choice).

So you could grammatically say najbržu cestu, but the usual, idiomatic expression for fastest way/route is najbrži put.