Learn Hardcore Croatian: Na blagajni su mi opet dali potvrdu, pa sada znam da je povrat moguć. - At the cash register they gave me a confirmation again, so now I know a refund is possible.

Blagajna here means the cash desk / checkout counter as a location (the place “at the register”), so Croatian commonly uses na + locative: na blagajni = “at the cash desk.”

u + locative (u blagajni) would sound like “inside the cash desk / in the cashier’s office/booth,” and is not the usual way to say “at the register.”

What case is blagajni in, and how do I know?

Blagajni is locative singular of blagajna. You can tell because:

it follows the preposition na, which often takes locative for location (static position),
and the ending -i is typical for many feminine nouns in locative singular (blagajna → blagajni).

What is going on with the word order su mi opet dali? Why is mi there?

Croatian has clitic pronouns (short unstressed forms) like mi (“to me”). They typically appear very early in the clause, in the so‑called “second position” area. In Na blagajni su mi opet dali potvrdu:

su = auxiliary “have” (3rd person plural)
mi = dative clitic “to me”
dali = past participle “given” So su mi dali literally = “have (to me) given” → “they gave me.”

Why does it say su ... dali (plural)? Who is “they”?

Croatian often uses 3rd person plural when the exact agent is understood from context:

they = the staff/cashiers/people at the register. It’s a natural way to express “I was given…” without using a passive.

Is dali related to the question word da li?

They look similar but are different:

dali (one word) = past participle of dati (“to give”) → “gave/given”
da li (two words) = a question particle meaning “whether / if” (often used to form yes/no questions) So here dali is strictly the verb form: “(they) gave.”

Why is potvrdu in this form?

Potvrdu is accusative singular of potvrda (“receipt / confirmation”), because it’s the direct object of dali (“gave”).

nominative: potvrda
accusative: potvrdu

What does opet modify, and can it move?

opet means “again,” and it modifies the action dali (“gave”): “they gave (me) a receipt again.” It’s fairly flexible:

Opet su mi dali potvrdu.
Su mi opet dali potvrdu. All are understandable; placement changes emphasis slightly, but the meaning stays essentially the same.

What does pa mean here? Is it just “and”?

pa is a connector that often means “so / and so / therefore / and then,” linking the first clause to a consequence or continuation. Here it’s close to: “..., so now I know...” It’s less formal than something like stoga (“therefore”).

Why is it znam da je... and not znam što je... or znam kako je...?

Because the verb znati (“to know”) typically takes a da‑clause when you “know that [a fact is true]”:

znam da je povrat moguć = “I know that a return is possible.” što would mean “what,” and kako would mean “how,” which would change the type of information being asked/known.

In da je povrat moguć, why is it je and not something else?

je is the present tense of biti (“to be”) used as the copula: “is.” So povrat je moguć literally = “the return is possible.” Even though the main verb is in the past (su dali), the knowledge you have now is a present fact, so present je fits well.

What is povrat grammatically, and why does moguć look like that?

povrat (“return/refund”) is a masculine noun (nominative singular here), functioning as the subject of je. The adjective moguć (“possible”) agrees with it in:

gender: masculine
number: singular
case: nominative So: povrat (m.) + moguć (m.). If the noun were feminine (e.g., zamjena “exchange”), you’d get moguća.