Learn Hardcore Croatian: Trener gleda tablicu bodova i objašnjava djeci zašto su izgubili samo jedan bod. - The coach looks at the table of points and explains to the children why they lost only one point.

tablicu – accusative singular of tablica (table, chart)
- It is in accusative because it is the direct object of the verb gleda (he is looking at / watching).
- Pattern: Trener gleda što? – tablicu.
bodova – genitive plural of bod (point)
- The genitive is used to show what the table is of: a table of points.
- This is a normal pattern in Croatian:
  - čaša vode – a glass of water
  - kutija bombona – a box of candies
  - tablica bodova – a table of points

So grammatically, it’s: [accusative noun] + [genitive noun] = “table of points” as the object of gleda.

Could it be tablica bodova instead of tablicu bodova?

Yes, but that would change the role of the word in the sentence.

tablicu bodova – accusative singular, used as a direct object:
- Trener gleda tablicu bodova. – The coach is looking at the table of points.
tablica bodova – nominative singular, usually used as the subject or in isolation:
- Tablica bodova pokazuje tko je prvi. – The table of points shows who is first.
- On a page or sign, you might just see the heading Tablica bodova.

In this sentence, because the coach is looking at something (direct object of gleda), the form must be accusative: tablicu bodova.

Why is it djeci and not djecu after objašnjava?

The difference is case:

djeci – dative plural of djeca (children)
djecu – accusative plural of djeca

The verb objašnjavati (to explain) takes the dative for the person you explain something to:

objašnjavati nekome nešto – to explain something to someone

So:

objašnjava djeci – he is explaining to the children
objašnjavam mu problem. – I am explaining the problem to him.

If you used djecu (accusative), it would sound like the children are the thing being explained, which is wrong in this context. So djeci (dative) is the correct form here.

What exactly does gleda mean here? Is it “looks,” “is looking,” or “watches”?

Croatian gleda (from gledati) usually means:

to look at
to watch

It’s present tense, 3rd person singular: he/she is looking, he/she looks.

In English, context decides whether we say “looks at” or “is looking at”; in Croatian it’s just gleda. So:

Trener gleda tablicu bodova.
Could be translated as:
- The coach is looking at the table of points.
- The coach looks at the table of points.

If you wanted to stress a quick, completed act (he took a look), you might use a perfective form like pogledati:

Trener je pogledao tablicu bodova. – The coach took a look at the table of points / looked at it (once, completed).

What is objašnjava exactly, and how is it different from objasni?

Both come from the verb objasniti / objašnjavati (to explain), but they differ in aspect:

objašnjava – 3rd person singular, imperfective, ongoing or repeated action
- Trener objašnjava djeci... – The coach is explaining / explains to the children…
objasni – 3rd person singular, perfective, a single completed act
- Trener im objasni zašto su izgubili bod. – The coach explains it to them (as a complete act, e.g., in a story).
- In the past: objasnio je – he explained (finished action).

In this sentence, objašnjava fits because we imagine the coach in the middle of explaining.

What is the role of su in zašto su izgubili samo jedan bod?

Su is the auxiliary verb (a short, clitic form of jesu) used to form the past tense (perfect) in Croatian.

The structure of Croatian past tense is:

[auxiliary (biti)] + [past participle]

Here:

su – 3rd person plural of biti (to be), clitic form
izgubili – past participle of izgubiti (to lose)

So su izgubili literally corresponds to “have lost” / “lost”:

zašto su izgubili samo jedan bod – why they lost only one point

Like other clitics in Croatian, su has to stand in a special position, usually second in its clause:

Zašto su izgubili...
Oni su izgubili...
Možda su izgubili...

Why is it izgubili (masculine plural) and not izgubila if it refers to djeca?

Grammatically:

djeca is neuter plural.
If djeca is the subject, the normal agreement in standard Croatian is:
- Djeca su izgubila bod. – The children lost a point.

So strictly referring to djeca, you would expect izgubila (neuter plural participle).

However, in real-life speech, several things can happen:

The implied subject may not be djeca but something masculine plural like igrači (players) or oni (they – masculine):
- The coach is explaining to the children why the players / they lost a point.
- Then izgubili (masculine plural) is correct.
In some colloquial speech, people loosely use masculine plural forms with djeca, even though it’s not strictly standard:
- Djeca su jučer bili vani. (colloquial, non-standard)
- Standard: Djeca su jučer bila vani.

So, grammatically careful version with djeca as subject would be:

… objašnjava djeci zašto su izgubila samo jedan bod.

The given sentence with izgubili strongly suggests that the understood subject is a masculine plural group (e.g., the team, the players).

Why is it samo jedan bod and not just samo bod?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

samo jedan bod – only one point (explicitly counts: exactly 1)
- Emphasises the specific number: they lost only one point, not more.
samo bod – just a point / only a point
- Possible, but it sounds a bit less precise, slightly more like “just a point” in a looser way.
- In many contexts, people prefer to say samo jedan bod to make it completely clear it’s the number 1.

In sports standings, bod is the standard term for points in tables, while poen is used more for individual scoring in some sports (tennis, basketball) and in math / tests, often with the genitive plural poena.

Can the word order be changed, for example: Trener objašnjava djeci zašto su izgubili samo jedan bod i gleda tablicu bodova?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct, but it slightly changes the focus:

Original:

Trener gleda tablicu bodova i objašnjava djeci…
- First we imagine him looking at the table, then explaining.

Reordered:

Trener objašnjava djeci zašto su izgubili samo jedan bod i gleda tablicu bodova.
- We imagine him explaining first, then looking; or doing both, but the focus of the sentence starts with the explaining.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible. Typical tendencies:

Verbs can swap places in a coordinated structure (… gleda … i objašnjava … vs … objašnjava … i gleda …) without changing the grammar.
The most important / new information often comes later in the sentence.

So both versions are acceptable; the original just foregrounds the act of looking at the table.

Why is there no explicit they (like oni) in zašto su izgubili samo jedan bod?

In Croatian, subject pronouns like on, ona, oni are usually omitted unless you want to emphasise them or remove ambiguity.

The subject is normally clear from:

verb endings
context

Here:

izgubili – past participle, masculine plural form
su izgubili – tells us the subject is they (3rd person plural)

So oni is understood and not needed:

zašto su izgubili samo jedan bod – why they lost only one point

You would add oni only for emphasis or contrast:

… objašnjava djeci zašto su baš oni izgubili samo jedan bod.
– …why they (as opposed to others) lost only one point.