Ionako smo planirali posjetiti baku, pa ćemo joj odmah pokazati i pozivnicu.

Ionako means something like anyway, in any case, or as it is.

In this sentence, it signals that the visit to grandma was already part of the plan, so showing her the invitation is a convenient extra step.

A natural English sense is:

• We were going to visit grandma anyway...

So ionako often adds the idea: this was already going to happen regardless.

Both smo planirali and planirali smo are possible in Croatian, but word order is influenced by clitics.

Here, smo is a clitic form of biti used to build the perfect tense:

• smo planirali = we planned / we had planned

Croatian clitics usually tend to appear in the second position of a clause. Since Ionako is the first word, smo naturally comes right after it:

• Ionako smo planirali...

This is very normal Croatian word order.

Because the sentence is referring to an earlier plan:

• we had already planned to visit grandma

So the structure is:

• smo planirali = we planned / had planned

The second part of the sentence is in the future:

• pa ćemo joj odmah pokazati... = so we will immediately show her...

This combination is very natural:

• first: what had already been planned
• then: what will be done as a result

Posjetiti is the perfective verb, meaning to visit as a single, complete action.

In this sentence, the speakers mean one planned visit to grandma, so posjetiti is the natural choice.

Compare:

• posjetiti = to visit once / to go and visit
• posjećivati = to visit regularly / to be visiting repeatedly

So:

• planirali posjetiti baku = planned to visit grandma not
• planned to keep visiting grandma regularly

Because baka is the direct object of posjetiti, so it goes into the accusative case.

• nominative: baka = grandma
• accusative: baku = grandma, as the object of the verb

Since posjetiti koga? means to visit whom?, Croatian uses the accusative:

• posjetiti baku

This is a very common pattern:

• vidjeti baku
• nazvati baku
• posjetiti baku

Here pa means something like so, and so, or then.

It connects the two ideas:

• we were going to visit grandma anyway
• so we’ll show her the invitation right away

It is a very common Croatian connector and often sounds more natural than a direct, formal equivalent like stoga.

In everyday speech, pa can link ideas in a relaxed, conversational way.

Ćemo is the 1st person plural future auxiliary:

• ćemo = we will

So:

• pokazati = to show
• ćemo pokazati = we will show

The future in Croatian is often formed with:

• ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će
  • infinitive

So:

• pa ćemo pokazati = so we will show

Joj means to her.

It is the dative singular form of the pronoun ona:

• ona = she
• joj = to her

In this sentence, it refers to baki even though baku was used earlier in the accusative.

The logic is:

• posjetiti baku = visit grandma
• pokazati joj pozivnicu = show the invitation to her

So Croatian uses different cases for the same person depending on function:

• baku = direct object of visit
• joj = indirect object of show

You could repeat the noun, but joj is much more natural here.

Compare:

• pa ćemo joj odmah pokazati i pozivnicu = natural
• pa ćemo baki odmah pokazati i pozivnicu = also possible, but a bit more explicit

Croatian often uses short pronoun forms like mu, joj, im when the reference is already clear.

So once baku has been mentioned, using joj sounds smooth and idiomatic.

Because joj is a clitic, and Croatian clitics tend to appear in a fixed, early position in the clause.

So the order:

• pa ćemo joj odmah pokazati...

is more natural than placing joj later.

Croatian clitic placement can feel tricky for English speakers, but the key idea is:

• short unstressed words like smo, ćemo, joj usually do not go just anywhere
• they tend to cluster near the beginning of the clause

That is why this word order sounds normal.

Odmah means right away, immediately, or straight away.

It shows that once they visit grandma, they will show her the invitation without delay.

So it adds the idea of promptness:

• not later
• not at some other time
• but immediately during that visit

Here i means also or too.

So the idea is:

• they are going to visit grandma
• and while they’re there, they will also show her the invitation

In English, also often goes before the verb, but in Croatian it can appear before the noun that is being added:

• pokazati i pozivnicu = show the invitation too / also show the invitation

It marks pozivnicu as an additional thing.

Because pozivnica is the direct object of pokazati, so it takes the accusative case.

• nominative: pozivnica = invitation
• accusative: pozivnicu = invitation, as the thing being shown

The pattern is:

• pokazati što? = show what?
• pozivnicu

So:

• pokazati pozivnicu
• pokazati joj pozivnicu

Yes, very much so.

The clitics here are:

• smo
• ćemo
• joj

They appear in natural positions:

• Ionako smo planirali...
• pa ćemo joj odmah pokazati...

For a learner, this is a good example of standard Croatian rhythm:

• connector or first stressed word
• then clitics
• then the rest of the clause

Even if the exact rules take time to master, this sentence sounds natural and idiomatic.

Yes. Croatian word order is flexible, though not completely free.

For example, you might also hear:

• Ionako smo planirali posjetiti baku, pa ćemo joj i odmah pokazati pozivnicu.
• Ionako smo planirali posjetiti baku, pa ćemo odmah joj pokazati pozivnicu.

But the original:

• Ionako smo planirali posjetiti baku, pa ćemo joj odmah pokazati i pozivnicu.

sounds very natural and balanced.

The original version nicely emphasizes:

• joj = to her
• odmah = right away
• i pozivnicu = the invitation too

So for a learner, the given sentence is a very good model.