Moj brat je jučer mogao podići novac, ali nije htio uplatiti ratu prije sastanka.

Moj brat is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

• moj = my
• brat = brother

Because the subject is masculine singular, both words are in masculine singular nominative:

• moj brat = my brother

If brother were the object, you would expect a different case form.

Croatian past tense is usually made with:

• the present tense of biti (to be) as an auxiliary
• plus the l-participle

So here:

• je = auxiliary (is/has, but not translated literally here)
• mogao = past participle of moći (can / be able to)

Together, je mogao means was able to / could.

This is a normal Croatian past-tense pattern:

• je radio = he worked / was working
• je htio = he wanted
• je mogao = he could / was able to

This is because je is a clitic. Croatian clitics usually go in the second position of the clause.

So in:

• Moj brat je jučer mogao...

the first unit is Moj brat, and the clitic je comes right after it.

This often feels unusual to English speakers, because English does not have this second-position clitic rule in the same way.

You will often see patterns like:

• Ivan je došao.
• Moja sestra je radila.
• Moj brat je jučer mogao...

The participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Since brat is:

• masculine
• singular

the form is:

• mogao

Compare:

• Moj brat je mogao. = masculine singular
• Moja sestra je mogla. = feminine singular
• Moja braća su mogla / mogla? Actually with mixed or masculine plural you would use mogla? No — correct standard form is mogla only for neuter plural, while masculine plural is mogli. So:
• Moji prijatelji su mogli. = masculine plural
• Moje sestre su mogle. = feminine plural

The same agreement happens later with htio.

In this sentence, mogao most naturally means could or was able to.

So:

• jučer je mogao podići novac = yesterday he could / was able to withdraw money

Depending on context, moći can express:

• ability: can, be able to
• possibility: could, it was possible to
• sometimes even something close to permission

Here it most likely means that he had the opportunity or ability to do it.

After modal-like verbs such as moći (can) and htjeti (want), Croatian commonly uses the infinitive.

So:

• mogao podići = could withdraw
• nije htio uplatiti = didn’t want to pay/deposit

This is similar to English:

• could withdraw
• didn’t want to pay

The infinitive in Croatian usually ends in -ti or -ći, and here we have:

• podići
• uplatiti

Literally, podići means to raise, to lift, or to pick up, depending on context.

But with novac (money), podići novac is a common expression meaning:

• to withdraw money

Usually this means withdrawing cash from a bank or ATM.

So this is a vocabulary point worth learning as a phrase:

• podići novac = withdraw money

Here novac is the direct object of podići, so it is in the accusative case.

For masculine inanimate nouns in Croatian, the accusative singular is often the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: novac
• accusative: novac

That is why the form does not visibly change.

Compare that with a masculine animate noun, where accusative usually matches the genitive:

• vidim brata = I see my brother

But:

• podići novac = withdraw money

In Croatian, the negative form of je is not made by simply putting ne before it. Instead, it becomes:

• nije

So:

• je htio = he wanted
• nije htio = he didn’t want

This is the normal negative past construction with this auxiliary:

• nije radio = he didn’t work
• nije mogao = he couldn’t
• nije htio = he didn’t want to

It can mean both, depending on context.

• htjeti basically means to want
• but in many situations, especially with negation, it can sound like to be willing

So:

• nije htio uplatiti ratu can mean:
  • he didn’t want to pay the installment
  • or he wasn’t willing to pay the installment

That second nuance can sometimes sound a bit stronger, almost like refusal.

Ratu is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of uplatiti.

The noun is:

• nominative singular: rata = installment
• accusative singular: ratu

So:

• uplatiti ratu = to pay an installment

This is a good example of a feminine noun whose accusative singular changes from -a to -u.

Compare:

• žena → ženu
• kava → kavu
• rata → ratu

Both are related to paying, but they are not exactly the same.

• platiti = to pay
• uplatiti = to pay in, to make a payment, to deposit, often into an account or toward an obligation

With rata (installment), uplatiti ratu is very natural, because it suggests making that payment formally, such as to a bank, company, or account.

So in this sentence, uplatiti fits well because the idea is not just generic paying, but making a specific installment payment.

They are perfective because the sentence refers to single complete actions:

• withdraw the money
• pay the installment

Perfective verbs in Croatian often express a completed, one-time action.

Here:

• podići = to withdraw once, successfully
• uplatiti = to make the payment once

If you used imperfective forms such as podizati or uplaćivati, the meaning would shift toward repeated, ongoing, or habitual action, which would not fit this sentence as well.

Jučer means yesterday. It is an adverb of time.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, so jučer can often move around, although some placements sound more natural than others.

This sentence has:

• Moj brat je jučer mogao...

That is perfectly natural.

You could also hear:

• Jučer je moj brat mogao podići novac...
• Moj brat je mogao jučer podići novac...

The exact placement can slightly change the emphasis, but the core meaning stays the same.

Ali means but. It joins two contrasting ideas:

• he could withdraw the money
• but he didn’t want to pay the installment before the meeting

So the contrast is between ability/opportunity and willingness.

This is a very common conjunction in Croatian:

• Htio sam doći, ali nisam mogao.
• I wanted to come, but I couldn’t.

The preposition prije (before) requires the genitive case.

So:

• sastanak = nominative
• sastanka = genitive

That is why we say:

• prije sastanka = before the meeting

This is an important preposition-case combination to memorize:

• prije + genitive

Sastanak means meeting.

In this sentence:

• prije sastanka = before the meeting

It usually refers to some arranged meeting, such as a business meeting, appointment, or planned discussion.

You could translate it literally that way, but it would sound unnatural in English.

Croatian allows more flexible word order, so:

• Moj brat je jučer mogao...

is normal Croatian.

Natural English would usually be:

• My brother was able to withdraw money yesterday...
• or My brother could withdraw money yesterday...

So when translating, it is better to aim for natural English word order rather than preserving the Croatian order exactly.

Yes. The sentence neatly combines several very common Croatian patterns:

1. Subject in nominative

   • Moj brat

2. Past tense with auxiliary + participle

   • je mogao
   • nije htio

3. Infinitive after modal or similar verbs

   • mogao podići
   • htio uplatiti

4. Direct objects in the accusative

   • novac
   • ratu

5. Preposition requiring genitive

   • prije sastanka

So this one sentence is a very useful example of core Croatian grammar in action.