Dok čekamo pregled, moja mama mi drži rame i govori da će sve biti u redu.

Because Croatian often leaves subject pronouns out. The verb ending already shows the person and number.

• čekam = I wait / am waiting
• čekaš = you wait
• čekamo = we wait / are waiting

So čekamo already means we are waiting. You could add mi for emphasis, but normally you do not.

Also, this is a good place to notice that the later mi in the sentence does not mean we. There it means to me.

Here dok means while or as. It introduces an action happening at the same time as the action in the main clause.

So the idea is: while we are waiting, the mother is holding the speaker’s shoulder and speaking.

A useful extra note: dok can also mean until in other contexts, but in this sentence it clearly means while.

Croatian does not have a separate tense like the English progressive (am waiting, is holding, are speaking). The ordinary present tense covers both simple present and ongoing present, depending on context.

So:

• čekamo can mean we wait or we are waiting
• drži can mean holds or is holding
• govori can mean says/speaks or is saying

Here the context makes it clear that the actions are happening right now.

It is the direct object of čekamo, so it is in the accusative case.

However, pregled is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the singular, masculine inanimate nouns often have the same form in nominative and accusative.

So:

• nominative: pregled
• accusative: pregled

The case is different grammatically, but the form happens to stay the same.

Yes, it could just be mama.

Croatian often leaves out possessives with close family members when the relationship is obvious from context. So mama mi drži rame... would also sound natural.

Using moja mama adds a little more explicitness, clarity, or emphasis. It is not wrong at all; it is just slightly fuller.

Also, mama is the everyday word. Majka is more formal or neutral.

Here mi is the unstressed dative pronoun meaning to me.

In English, we would usually say my mom holds my shoulder. In Croatian, with body parts, it is very common to use a dative pronoun for the person affected plus the body-part noun itself:

• drži mi rame = literally something like holds the shoulder to me
• natural English: holds my shoulder

So mi shows whose shoulder it is, or more precisely, who is affected.

Because mi is a clitic, an unstressed little word, and Croatian clitics usually go in the second position in their clause.

In moja mama mi drži rame:

• the first unit is moja mama
• then the clitic mi comes right after that
• then comes drži rame

That is why mi appears where it does.

If you wanted to stress me, you would usually use meni instead of clitic mi.

Rame is the direct object of drži, so it is in the accusative singular.

But rame is a neuter noun, and neuter singular nouns often have the same form in nominative and accusative. So again, the case is accusative, but the form does not visibly change.

So:

• nominative: rame
• accusative: rame

Both patterns exist, but with body parts Croatian very often prefers the dative pronoun pattern.

So these are both possible:

• drži mi rame
• drži moje rame

But drži mi rame sounds very natural and idiomatic, especially when talking about physical contact, pain, comfort, injury, and similar situations.

It is a very common Croatian way to express my shoulder, my hand, my head, and so on when the body part is involved in an action affecting the person.

Both could work, but they are not exactly the same in feel.

• govori comes from govoriti, which suggests speaking, saying, or repeating something, often as an ongoing action
• kaže comes from kazati/reći, which can feel more like a single act of saying

In this sentence, govori fits well because it sounds like the mother is gently speaking reassurance, perhaps continuously or repeatedly.

So govori da će sve biti u redu has a softer, more ongoing feel than kaže da će sve biti u redu.

After verbs like govoriti, Croatian often uses da to introduce what someone says, thinks, knows, hopes, and so on. In English, this often corresponds to that.

So:

• govori da... = she says that...

Then inside that clause:

• će biti is the future tense of biti (to be)

So:

• da će sve biti u redu = that everything will be okay

A useful detail: će is also a clitic, so it appears near the beginning of its clause.

This is the normal way to form the future tense in Croatian with biti.

Future I is usually made with:

• a short form of htjeti (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će)
• plus the infinitive

So:

• ću biti = I will be
• će biti = he/she/it will be

In this sentence, the subject of the subordinate clause is sve, which is treated as singular, so Croatian uses će biti.

U redu is a very common expression meaning okay, all right, or in order.

Literally, it is something like in order.

• u = in
• red = order, arrangement, row, line
• redu = locative form after u in this kind of expression

So this is both a fixed expression and a useful grammar example of u + locative when expressing a state or position.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not completely free.

For example, you could omit some words or change emphasis:

• Dok čekamo pregled, mama mi drži rame...
• Dok čekamo pregled, moja mama drži mi rame... is not the normal standard order, because the clitic mi wants to be in second position.

So the sentence can change somewhat, but clitics like mi and će still follow special placement rules. That is why the original sentence sounds natural and well-formed.