Kad idemo kući, skrećemo desno kod škole.

Here kad means when. It introduces a time clause:

• Kad idemo kući = When we go home

In Croatian, kad is very common in everyday speech. You may also see kada, which means the same thing but can sound a bit more formal or emphatic.

Croatian often uses the present tense for actions that are habitual, general, or happen regularly.

So:

• Kad idemo kući, skrećemo desno kod škole.

means something like:

• When we go home, we turn right by the school.
• or Whenever we go home, we turn right by the school.

This is very natural in Croatian, just like English can use the present tense for routines.

Idemo is the 1st person plural present tense of ići (to go).

So:

• idem = I go
• ideš = you go
• ide = he/she/it goes
• idemo = we go
• idete = you plural / formal go
• idu = they go

In this sentence, idemo means we go.

Kući is the form normally used with verbs of motion to mean home or to home.

So Croatian says:

• Idem kući. = I’m going home.
• Kad idemo kući... = When we go home...

Even though kući is historically connected to the noun kuća (house), in modern Croatian this is basically a fixed, very common expression. English learners often expect a preposition like to, but Croatian usually just says ići kući without one.

Skrećemo means we turn.

It is the 1st person plural present tense of the verb skretati / skrenuti.

In this sentence, it describes the action of turning:

• skrećemo desno = we turn right

Because the sentence talks about a usual route, the present tense sounds natural.

Because desno is being used as an adverb, not as an adjective.

Compare:

• desni zavoj = the right turn → adjective
• skrenuti desno = to turn right → adverb

So in this sentence:

• skrećemo desno = we turn right

When giving directions, lijevo and desno are very commonly used as adverbs.

Kod škole means by the school, near the school, or at the school depending on context.

The preposition kod often means:

• at someone’s place
• by
• near

Here it indicates a location used as a reference point:

• skrećemo desno kod škole = we turn right by the school

So the school is the landmark where the turn happens.

Because kod requires the genitive case.

The noun is:

• škola = school

Its genitive singular form is:

• škole

So:

• kod škole = by/near the school

This is an important pattern to remember:

• kod kuće = at home
• kod prijatelja = at the friend’s place / by the friend
• kod škole = by the school

Yes, the comma is standard here because Kad idemo kući is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

So Croatian writes:

• Kad idemo kući, skrećemo desno kod škole.

This is similar to English:

• When we go home, we turn right by the school.

If the main clause came first, the punctuation could change depending on style, but with this order, the comma is expected.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, although the given sentence is the most neutral and natural.

For example, you could also say:

• Skrećemo desno kod škole kad idemo kući.

This still means basically the same thing, but the focus changes slightly because the main clause comes first.

The original version is especially natural if you first want to set the time/context:

• Kad idemo kući, ...

In many cases, yes.

You could say:

• Kad idemo kući, skrećemo desno kod škole.
• Kada idemo kući, skrećemo desno kod škole.

Both are correct. In everyday speech, kad is usually more common and conversational. Kada can sound a bit more formal, careful, or emphatic.

Most naturally, it sounds like a usual or repeated action:

• When we go home, we turn right by the school.

That is because both verbs are in the present tense and there is no extra word making it clearly one single future event.

If you wanted to make it sound more like one future trip, Croatian would usually use context or a different structure, for example with future tense.

It can cover several related meanings, and English translation depends on context.

With places like škola, kod škole often means:

• by the school
• near the school
• sometimes at the school

In this sentence, because it is about turning while following a route, by the school is probably the most natural English interpretation. It marks the school as a landmark, not necessarily the exact place of arrival.