Možete li mi ovaj zadatak objasniti što kraće?

Možete li is a very common way to form a polite yes/no question in Croatian.

• možete = you can / are you able to
• li = a question particle used in yes/no questions

So:

• Možete. = You can.
• Možete li...? = Can you...?

Also, možete is the 2nd person plural form, but Croatian uses that plural form as a polite singular too, like French vous or German Sie.

So here it means either:

• Can you (plural)...?
• or more likely: Can you (formal singular)...?

Li marks the sentence as a yes/no question.

It does not really have a direct English equivalent. You usually do not translate it as a separate word. Instead, it helps create the meaning that English expresses with do/can/is/are at the beginning of a question.

For example:

• Dolazite. = You are coming.
• Dolazite li? = Are you coming?

So in your sentence:

• Možete li mi ovaj zadatak objasniti...? = Can you explain this exercise to me...?

A useful thing to remember: li usually comes right after the first stressed word, here možete.

Mi here means to me and is in the dative case.

It is the short unstressed form (a clitic) of meni.

So:

• mi = to me
• objasniti mi = to explain to me

Compare:

• Objasni meni. = more emphatic, like Explain it to me
• Objasni mi. = the normal neutral version

In this sentence, mi is placed near the beginning because short unstressed forms in Croatian usually go in a special early position in the sentence.

Ovaj zadatak is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of objasniti.

The verb objasniti means to explain, and the thing being explained goes in the accusative:

• objasniti zadatak = to explain the exercise

Here:

• ovaj = this
• zadatak = exercise / task

Since zadatak is a masculine noun that refers to something non-living, its accusative singular looks the same as its nominative singular:

• nominative: ovaj zadatak
• accusative: ovaj zadatak

So even though the form looks unchanged, its role in the sentence is different.

Because it depends on možete.

Croatian often uses a modal verb + infinitive structure, just like English:

• Mogu doći. = I can come.
• Možete objasniti. = You can explain.

So in your sentence:

• Možete li mi ovaj zadatak objasniti...?
• literally: Can you explain this exercise to me...?

The infinitive objasniti is the basic dictionary form of the verb.

This is a question of aspect, which is very important in Croatian.

• objasniti = perfective
• objašnjavati = imperfective

Here, objasniti is used because the speaker is asking for one complete explanation of the task. The focus is on the explanation as a finished action.

So:

• Možete li mi ovaj zadatak objasniti...?
  = Can you explain this exercise to me...?
  (one complete explanation)

If you used objašnjavati, it would sound more like an ongoing or repeated process, which is less natural here.

No. Here što does not mean what.

In the expression što + comparative, što means something like:

• as ... as possible
• as ... as one can

So:

• kraće = shorter / more briefly
• što kraće = as briefly as possible

This is a very common pattern in Croatian:

• što brže = as quickly as possible
• što jednostavnije = as simply as possible
• što prije = as soon as possible

So the full sentence means something like:

• Can you explain this exercise to me as briefly as possible?

Kraće is the comparative form of kratko when used adverbially.

• kratak = short (adjective)
• kratko = shortly / briefly (adverb or neuter adjective form)
• kraće = more briefly / shorter

In this sentence, it functions adverbially, describing how the explanation should be given:

• objasniti što kraće = to explain as briefly as possible

So even though English uses briefly, Croatian builds this with the comparative kraće.

The word order is somewhat flexible, but not completely free.

The given sentence is natural:

• Možete li mi ovaj zadatak objasniti što kraće?

You may also hear:

• Možete li mi što kraće objasniti ovaj zadatak?

Both are understandable and natural. The difference is mainly one of emphasis and rhythm.

However, some things are more restricted:

1. li must stay very near the beginning, after the first stressed word.
2. mi is a clitic, so it also prefers an early position.
3. što kraće stays together as a phrase.

So Croatian allows movement, but not random movement.

It is polite for two reasons:

1. Možete is the polite/plural you form.
2. The whole sentence is phrased as a question: Can you...?

So instead of giving a direct command, the speaker asks politely.

Compare:

• Objasnite mi ovaj zadatak. = Explain this exercise to me.
  This can still be polite, but more direct.
• Možete li mi ovaj zadatak objasniti što kraće? = Could you explain this exercise to me as briefly as possible?
  This is softer and more courteous.

You would usually switch from the formal/plural možete to the informal singular možeš:

• Možeš li mi ovaj zadatak objasniti što kraće?

That means:

• Can you explain this exercise to me as briefly as possible?

So the difference is:

• Možete li...? = formal / polite / plural
• Možeš li...? = informal singular

Everything else in the sentence can stay the same.

Yes, it is natural.

It sounds like a polite request for a concise explanation. A native speaker might also say:

• Možete li mi ukratko objasniti ovaj zadatak?
• Možete li mi ovaj zadatak objasniti malo kraće?

But your sentence is completely fine and natural. It has a slightly careful or school-like tone, especially because of zadatak and što kraće.

So a learner can safely use it.