Prošli vikend smo dočekali goste s toplom juhom i kolačem, pa su odmah rekli da se kod nas osjećaju kao kod kuće.

Prošli vikend is a very common way to say last weekend in Croatian. It uses the accusative as a time expression, similar to how Croatian can say things like prošli tjedan (last week) or prošlu godinu (last year).

You may also hear prošlog vikenda, which uses the genitive. That is also possible in many contexts. In everyday speech, both can appear, but prošli vikend is especially common and straightforward.

So here:

• prošli = last
• vikend = weekend

Together: last weekend.

Both are possible, but Croatian often places short auxiliary verbs like sam, si, je, smo, ste, su in the second position of the clause. This is a normal clitic placement rule.

So in:

• Prošli vikend smo dočekali goste...

the first unit is Prošli vikend, and the auxiliary smo comes right after it.

You could also say:

• Prošli vikend dočekali smo goste...

That is also grammatical, but the version with smo right after the first phrase sounds very natural and standard.

Dočekati and čekati are related, but they are not the same.

• čekati = to wait
• dočekati = to receive / welcome / wait for someone until they arrive

In this sentence, dočekali goste means that we welcomed the guests when they arrived.

So:

• čekali goste = we were waiting for the guests
• dočekali goste = we received/welcomed the guests on arrival

Also, dočekali is a perfective verb form, which fits well because this is a completed event from last weekend.

Because goste is the accusative plural, and it is the direct object of dočekali.

The basic forms are:

• singular nominative: gost = guest
• plural nominative: gosti = guests
• plural accusative: goste

Since the guests are the ones being welcomed, Croatian uses the accusative:

• dočekali smo goste = we welcomed the guests

This happens because gost is an animate masculine noun, and animate masculine nouns usually have an accusative form that matches the genitive.

After the preposition s meaning with, Croatian normally uses the instrumental case.

So:

• topla juha → s toplom juhom
• kolač → s kolačem

That is why the forms change:

• topla → toplom
• juha → juhom
• kolač → kolačem

So the phrase means:

• with warm soup and cake

Both s and sa mean with, but sa is mainly used when it is easier to pronounce or required by sound combinations.

Here, s toplom juhom is perfectly natural because s + t is easy enough to say.

You are more likely to see sa before words like:

• sa mnom = with me
• sa sestrom = with (my) sister
• sometimes before awkward consonant clusters

So in this sentence, s toplom juhom is the normal choice.

Not necessarily one whole cake in the literal English sense. In Croatian, singular nouns like kolačem can be used quite naturally when talking about food served to guests.

So:

• s toplom juhom i kolačem can mean with warm soup and cake
• it does not have to stress the exact number of pieces

If you wanted to emphasize multiple cakes or pastries, you could say:

• s toplom juhom i kolačima

But the singular here sounds normal and idiomatic.

Pa is a very common connector in Croatian. In this sentence it means something like:

• so
• and so
• and then

It links the two events:

1. we welcomed the guests with warm soup and cake
2. as a result, they immediately said they felt at home

So here pa introduces the natural consequence of what happened before.

Again, this is the same clitic rule as with smo earlier in the sentence.

In the clause:

• pa su odmah rekli...

the conjunction pa comes first, and the auxiliary su goes into the second position.

So the order is natural Croatian word order:

• pa su odmah rekli...

Not:

• pa odmah su rekli... unless you are changing emphasis.

Croatian does not always shift tenses backward the way English often does.

In English, we often say:

• They said that they felt at home

But Croatian very naturally says:

• rekli da se osjećaju... literally, they said that they feel...

This is normal when the feeling or state is understood as current or valid at that moment. Croatian often keeps the present tense in da-clauses after a past reporting verb.

So this is not a mistake. It is standard Croatian usage.

The verb is osjećati se, which means to feel in the sense of someone’s state or comfort.

So:

• osjećati by itself often relates more to feeling/sensing something
• osjećati se = to feel as in feel good, feel tired, feel at home

Examples:

• Osjećam hladnoću. = I feel the cold.
• Osjećam se umorno. = I feel tired.

So in your sentence:

• osjećaju se = they feel

The se is part of the verb expression.

Kod nas literally means at our place or with us. It is a very common and natural expression in Croatian.

It does not only refer to the physical building. It can also suggest:

• our home
• our household
• our environment
• our way of hosting

So:

• kod nas = at our place / with us
• u našoj kući = in our house

The second one is more physically specific. In this sentence, kod nas sounds warmer and more idiomatic.

Yes, kao kod kuće is a very common expression meaning:

• like at home
• at home
• comfortable, as if they were in their own home

It is often used when talking about making guests feel relaxed and welcome.

For example:

• Osjećaj se kao kod kuće. = Make yourself at home.
• Gosti su se osjećali kao kod kuće. = The guests felt at home.

So in your sentence, it means the guests immediately felt very comfortable.

Because kod is a preposition meaning something like at or by, and it requires the genitive case.

The noun is:

• kuća = house/home

Its genitive singular is:

• kuće

So:

• kod kuće = at home

This is a fixed and very common phrase in Croatian.

Yes, aspect is important here.

• dočekali comes from dočekati, which is perfective
• rekli comes from reći, which is also perfective
• osjećaju comes from osjećati se, which is imperfective

Why these choices?

• dočekali: a completed action — the welcoming happened
• rekli: a completed speech act — they said it
• osjećaju: an ongoing state — they feel at home

So the sentence uses aspect very naturally:

• completed past events in the main storyline
• a present-tense ongoing state in the subordinate clause

Yes, Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order, but not completely free. You can move parts around to change emphasis.

For example, these are possible:

• Prošli vikend smo dočekali goste s toplom juhom i kolačem...
• Goste smo prošli vikend dočekali s toplom juhom i kolačem...
• Prošli vikend dočekali smo goste s toplom juhom i kolačem...

They all mean roughly the same thing, but the focus changes slightly.

Still, the original sentence sounds very natural and well-balanced.