Learn Hardcore Croatian: Svaki član grupe donosi svoj primjer rečenice, a svaka članica postavlja barem jedno pitanje. - Each male member of the group brings their own example sentence, and each female member asks at least one question.

član = “member” (masculine noun) → svaki član (“every [male] member”)
članica = “member” (feminine noun) → svaka članica (“every [female] member”)

So:

svaki = masculine singular nominative
svaka = feminine singular nominative

You cannot say svaki članica or svaka član because that would break gender agreement.

What is the difference between član and članica, and why are both used here?

član = “member” in the masculine form.
članica = “member” in the feminine form (built from član
- suffix -ica, a common feminine-forming suffix).

In everyday speech, the masculine form član is often used generically for “member” regardless of gender, especially in mixed groups.

This sentence, however, explicitly separates:

svaki član grupe donosi svoj primjer rečenice
“each (male) member brings his example sentence”
a svaka članica postavlja barem jedno pitanje
“and each (female) member asks at least one question”

So it’s making a gender distinction: male members do one action, female members do the other. Stylistically, it’s a bit artificial for many real-life situations; more natural for a gender-balanced exercise sentence than for an actual rule in a group.

Why is the verb singular: Svaki član grupe donosi, not donose?

Because the grammatical subject is singular:

svaki član = “each member” = singular.
In Croatian, as in English (“each member brings”, not bring), the verb agrees with the grammatical subject:
Svaki član grupe donosi svoj primjer rečenice.
“Each member of the group brings his/her example sentence.”

If you changed the subject to a clear plural, then you’d use a plural verb:

Svi članovi grupe donose svoje primjere rečenica.
“All members of the group bring their example sentences.”

Why is it svoj primjer rečenice and not njegov primjer rečenice or njezin primjer rečenice?

Svoj is the reflexive possessive pronoun. You use svoj when the owner is the subject of the clause.

Subject: Svaki član grupe
Owned thing: primjer rečenice
Owner = subject → use svoj.

So:

Svaki član grupe donosi svoj primjer rečenice.
“Each member brings his/her own example sentence.”

You would use njegov (his) or njezin (her) if the owner were someone else, not the subject:

Svaki član grupe donosi njegov primjer rečenice.
“Each member brings his (some other man’s) example sentence.”
(odd meaning: they all bring the same man’s sentence)

So here svoj is the natural and correct choice.

What case is grupe in član grupe, and why is that case used?

Grupe is in the genitive singular (from grupa, “group”).

Pattern:

član grupe = “member of the group”

In Croatian, the relationship “X of Y” is very often expressed with genitive:

član grupe – member of the group
vrh planine – the top of the mountain
naslov knjige – the title of the book

So član grupe literally means “a member of group” → “a member of the group.”

What case is rečenice in primjer rečenice, and what does that structure mean?

Rečenice is also genitive singular (from rečenica, “sentence”).

primjer rečenice = “an example of a sentence” / “a sentence example”

Again, this is the “X of Y” → genitive pattern:

primjer rečenice – example of a sentence
fotografija grada – photograph of the city
početak sastanka – beginning of the meeting

So svoj primjer rečenice means “his/her own example of a sentence”, i.e. “their own example sentence.”

Why is it barem jedno pitanje and not something like najmanje jedno pitanje? Do barem and najmanje mean the same?

Both barem and najmanje can be translated as “at least,” but they differ in tone:

barem jedno pitanje
– “at least one question” (more casual/soft, sometimes with a hint of “I hope you manage at least that much”)
najmanje jedno pitanje
– “at least one question” in a more neutral, quantitative or formal sense. It’s often used in rules, statistics, instructions, etc.

In this sentence, barem sounds friendly and encouraging for classroom or group work:

svaka članica postavlja barem jedno pitanje
“each female member asks at least one question (you should really manage at least one).”

You could say najmanje jedno pitanje; it would sound a bit more like a clear numeric requirement.

Why do we say postavlja pitanje instead of just pita or pita pitanje?

Croatian prefers the collocation:

postaviti / postavljati pitanje = “to ask a question”

So:

svaka članica postavlja barem jedno pitanje
= “each female member asks at least one question.”

The verb pitati means “to ask (someone)”, and you normally use it without pitanje:

On pita učitelja. – “He asks the teacher.”
Pitala sam ga nešto. – “I asked him something.”

Pitati pitanje sounds unnatural or wrong in standard Croatian.

Typical patterns:

postaviti pitanje – to ask a question
pitati nekoga (nešto) – to ask someone (something)

What exactly does the conjunction a do here? Is it “and” or “but”, and why is there a comma before it?

In …, a svaka članica postavlja barem jedno pitanje., the a:

connects two clauses, like “and,”
but often with a nuance of contrast or shift (different subject, different action).

You can think of it as roughly:

“while” / “whereas” / “and meanwhile”

So:

Svaki član grupe donosi svoj primjer rečenice, a svaka članica postavlja barem jedno pitanje.
≈ “Each male member of the group brings his example sentence, while each female member asks at least one question.”

The comma before a follows standard Croatian punctuation rules: you usually put a comma before coordinating conjunctions (a, ali, nego, već, i in many cases) when they connect clauses.

Why is it jedno pitanje (neuter) and not some other form of “one”?

Pitanje (“question”) is a neuter noun in Croatian:

nominative singular: pitanje
accusative singular: pitanje (same form as nominative)

The numeral “one” must agree in gender and case:

masculine: jedan
feminine: jedna
neuter: jedno

So:

jedno pitanje = “one question” (neuter)
vidim jedno pitanje – “I see one question” (accusative neuter singular)

In the sentence, barem jedno pitanje is the direct object → accusative, neuter singular, which happens to look the same as nominative for both words.

Can we change the word order, for example say Svaki član grupe svoj primjer rečenice donosi?

Yes, Croatian word order is more flexible than English. Your suggested version is grammatically correct:

Svaki član grupe svoj primjer rečenice donosi, a svaka članica barem jedno pitanje postavlja.

However, the original:

Svaki član grupe donosi svoj primjer rečenice, a svaka članica postavlja barem jedno pitanje.

sounds more neutral and natural.

General tendencies:

Subject + verb + object is the most neutral order.
Moving elements like svoj primjer rečenice before the verb adds emphasis or slightly changes the information flow.

So you can move things around for emphasis, but the given sentence is already the most straightforward version.

Could we use perfective verbs like donese or postavi instead of donosi and postavlja?

You could, but it would slightly change the aspectual meaning.

Current verbs are imperfective:

donosi (from donositi) – is bringing / usually brings
postavlja (from postavljati) – is asking / usually asks

Imperfective is natural when describing general rules, habits, or ongoing practices:

“Every member brings…, and every member asks…”

Perfective forms:

donese (from donijeti)
postavi (from postaviti)

These focus on the completed whole action, often in specific situations:

Na početku sata, svaki član grupe donese svoj primjer rečenice.
“At the beginning of the lesson, each member brings his/her example sentence (once per lesson).”

In a timeless, rule-like statement about how the group works, the imperfective forms donosi / postavlja are the most natural choice.

Is there a more gender-neutral way to say this sentence in Croatian?

Yes. A common approach is to use a plural subject in the masculine plural, which is often treated as gender-neutral for mixed groups, or to combine masculine and feminine in one phrase.

Examples:

Plural, relatively gender-neutral:
- Svi članovi grupe donose svoj primjer rečenice i postavljaju barem jedno pitanje.
  “All members of the group bring their own example sentence and ask at least one question.”
Explicitly including both genders:
- Svaki član i svaka članica grupe donosi svoj primjer rečenice i postavlja barem jedno pitanje.
  (Verb stays singular because the coordinated subject is interpreted distributively: each person does both actions.)

The original sentence splits roles by gender (men bring sentences, women ask questions). If that’s not the intention, one of the versions above is clearer and more neutral.