Djeca su pokisnula na putu kući, ali su se brzo presvukla i popila topli čaj.

Because djeca is a special noun in Croatian. It refers to more than one child, so it takes plural agreement, but grammatically it behaves as neuter plural.

That is why you get:

• Djeca su pokisnula
• Djeca su se presvukla
• Djeca su popila

So:

• su = plural auxiliary are / have in the past tense structure
• pokisnula / presvukla / popila = neuter plural past participle forms

An English speaker often expects something like masculine plural, but with djeca, Croatian uses these neuter plural forms.

Croatian past tense here is made with:

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

So:

• su pokisnula
• su se presvukla
• su popila

Here su is the 3rd person plural form of biti.

A very literal breakdown would be something like:

• Djeca su pokisnula = The children have got soaked / got soaked
• su se presvukla = changed clothes
• (su) popila = drank

In natural English, you just translate it as a normal past: The children got soaked..., changed..., and drank...

Pokisnuti means to get caught in the rain or to get soaked by rain.

So Djeca su pokisnula means they did not just become wet in general — they got wet because of rain.

That is different from a more general idea like being wet.

Also, pokisnuti is a perfective verb, so it presents the action as a completed event: they ended up soaked.

Literally, it means on the way home.

Breakdown:

• na putu = on the way / on the journey
• kući = home

So:

• na putu kući = on the way home

This is a very common Croatian expression.

Because kući is a very common fixed adverbial form meaning home or to home / homeward.

Croatian often says:

• Idem kući = I’m going home
• Vraćam se kući = I’m returning home

So in na putu kući, kući keeps that same idiomatic meaning: home.

Even though learners may want a preposition here, Croatian usually does not need one with kući in this kind of expression.

Because presvući se means to change one’s clothes.

The se is reflexive and is part of the verb expression.

• presvući se = to get changed / change clothes
• without se, presvući usually means changing or covering someone/something else

So here the children changed themselves / their clothes, which is why se is needed.

Because su and se are clitics in Croatian. Clitics are short unstressed words that usually stand near the beginning of the clause.

So after ali (but), Croatian naturally places them early:

• ali su se brzo presvukla

This is normal Croatian word order.

English speakers often expect a more fixed order, but Croatian is more flexible — especially with clitics. Still, clitics have their own placement rules, and this sentence follows them.

Because it is already clear that the same subject continues.

The sentence says:

• Djeca su pokisnula...
• ali su se brzo presvukla i popila topli čaj

Croatian, like English, often leaves out a repeated subject when it is obvious.

So this is equivalent to:

• The children got soaked on the way home, but (they) quickly changed and drank warm tea.

Repeating djeca would be possible, but it would usually sound unnecessary here.

Because one auxiliary can serve both coordinated verbs when the subject is the same.

So:

• ali su se brzo presvukla i popila topli čaj

means:

• but they quickly changed clothes and drank warm tea

The su belongs to both past participles:

• presvukla
• popila

Croatian often avoids repeating the auxiliary when it is not needed.

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun.

Here:

• čaj = masculine singular
• after popila, it is the object, so it is in the accusative

Since čaj is masculine and inanimate, its accusative form looks the same as the nominative form. The adjective agrees with it:

• topli čaj = warm tea

The most important thing for a learner is: adjectives in Croatian must match the noun in gender, number, and case.

Because čaj is a masculine inanimate noun, and in Croatian the accusative singular of masculine inanimate nouns is the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: čaj
• accusative: čaj

That is why after popila you still see čaj.

Compare that with a masculine animate noun, where the accusative would usually change form.

Yes, all three main verbs here are perfective, and that gives the sentence a strong sense of completed events:

• pokisnuti = get soaked
• presvući se = change clothes
• popiti = drink up / drink

That is why the sentence sounds like a sequence of finished actions:

1. they got soaked
2. they changed clothes
3. they drank warm tea

This is very typical in Croatian narrative style. Perfective verbs are often used to present events as complete and bounded.