Breakdown of Kaže da bilo tko može razumjeti osnovnu znanost ako polako objašnjavamo.
Questions & Answers about Kaže da bilo tko može razumjeti osnovnu znanost ako polako objašnjavamo.
In Croatian, subject pronouns (on, ona, oni, etc.) are usually omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- Kaže is 3rd person singular (he/she/it says).
- So Kaže da… naturally means He says that… or She says that…, depending on context.
You would only add the pronoun (On kaže da…, Ona kaže da…) if you really want to emphasize who is saying it, for example to contrast with someone else:
- On kaže da…, ali ona misli da…
He says that…, but she thinks that…
Yes. Here da is a conjunction introducing a subordinate clause, very similar to English that in reported speech:
- Kaže da bilo tko može razumjeti…
He/She says that anyone can understand…
Without da, the sentence is ungrammatical in this structure:
- ❌ Kaže bilo tko može razumjeti… (wrong)
So the pattern to remember is:
- Reći / kazati / misliti / vjerovati + da + clause
(to say / think / believe that + clause)
Bilo tko means anyone / anybody in a very open, general sense, close to whoever.
Rough contrasts:
- bilo tko – anyone at all, whoever
- Bilo tko može doći. – Anyone can come.
- svatko – everyone
- Svatko može doći. – Everyone can come.
- netko – someone
- Netko kuca na vrata. – Someone is knocking at the door.
- itko – anyone, but mostly in questions, negatives, and conditionals
- Ima li itko ovdje? – Is there anyone here?
- Nije došao itko važan. – No one important came.
So in your sentence, bilo tko correctly expresses the idea anyone (whatsoever) can understand.
The verb može agrees with the grammatical subject bilo tko, which is grammatically singular:
- bilo tko = anyone (singular idea)
- therefore: bilo tko može (3rd person singular)
Even though anyone refers to people in general, it’s treated as singular, just like in English:
- Anyone can understand (not Anyone can understands or Anyone can understands).
After the modal verb moći (mogu, možeš, može… = can, to be able to), Croatian uses the infinitive, just like English uses the bare infinitive:
- može razumjeti – can understand
- može raditi – can work
- može pomoći – can help
Using a present tense form there (može razumije) is ungrammatical:
- ❌ može razumije – wrong
- ✅ može razumjeti – correct
So the pattern is: moći + infinitive.
Osnovnu znanost is in the accusative singular, because it’s the direct object of the verb razumjeti (to understand).
- Nominative (dictionary form): osnovna znanost (basic science)
- Accusative (object): osnovnu znanost
Breakdown:
- znanost – feminine noun (science)
- osnovna – adjective (basic), feminine, singular, nominative
- In accusative singular (feminine), osnovna znanost → osnovnu znanost
So:
- razumjeti što? – osnovnu znanost (what do you understand? → accusative)
Both mean science, but usage is regional:
- In standard Croatian, znanost is the normal word.
- nauka is used more in Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin; in Croatia it can sound regional or old-fashioned in this sense.
So for Croatian specifically, osnovna znanost is the standard phrase for basic science.
Croatian, like English, often uses the present tense to express general truths or regular possibilities:
- Bilo tko može razumjeti osnovnu znanost ako polako objašnjavamo.
= It is generally true that anyone can understand basic science if we explain slowly.
This isn’t about one specific situation, but about what is normally possible, so the simple present is the natural choice in both languages.
After ako (if), Croatian needs a finite verb form (a conjugated verb), not an infinitive.
So:
- ✅ ako polako objašnjavamo – if we explain slowly
- ❌ ako polako objašnjavati – ungrammatical
Pattern:
- ako + (conjugated verb)
- ako radimo – if we work
- ako paziš – if you pay attention
- ako polako objašnjavamo – if we explain slowly
The subject is we (mi), but, as with Kaže, Croatian normally drops subject pronouns when the verb ending makes the subject clear.
- objašnjavamo = 1st person plural present → we explain
So:
- ako polako objašnjavamo = if we explain slowly
You could add mi for emphasis or clarity:
- Ako mi polako objašnjavamo…
But in most contexts, that would sound a bit heavy unless you need to contrast us with someone else.
Both are from the same verbal pair but with different aspect:
- objašnjavati – imperfective (ongoing, repeated, process) → objašnjavamo (we are explaining / we explain)
- objasniti – perfective (completed act) → objasnimo (we explain once / we have explained)
In your sentence, the focus is on the way we explain as a general process:
- …ako polako objašnjavamo.
literally: if we explain slowly (in general / as we go)
If you said:
- …ako polako objasnimo.
that would sound more like if we manage to explain it slowly once / to completion, which is less about a general teaching style and more about a single completed act. The imperfective objašnjavamo fits the general-rule meaning better.
In this case, the natural and neutral word order is:
- bilo tko može razumjeti osnovnu znanost…
If you move bilo tko after može, it sounds odd or marked:
- ❌ Kaže da može bilo tko razumjeti osnovnu znanost… – grammatically possible but feels unnatural and awkward in standard Croatian.
The usual pattern is:
- Subject (here: bilo tko)
- Verb (here: može)
- Infinitive + object (razumjeti osnovnu znanost)
You can move polako (the adverb) more freely:
- ako objašnjavamo polako
- ako polako objašnjavamo
Both are fine; the difference is just slight emphasis.
Yes. As written, ako polako objašnjavamo is general: if we explain slowly (to the learner, implied by context).
You can make the indirect object explicit by adding a dative pronoun:
- ako mu polako objašnjavamo – if we explain slowly to him
- ako joj polako objašnjavamo – … to her
- ako im polako objašnjavamo – … to them
All are grammatical; the original sentence just leaves the dative pronoun out because it’s obvious from context that we’re explaining to that “anyone”.