Pijetao nas je probudio prije šest čim smo prošli pokraj kokošinjca.

Because nas is the object form of we/us.

• mi = we (subject)
• nas = us (object)

In this sentence, the rooster did the action, and us received it:

• Pijetao = the rooster
• nas je probudio = woke us up

So mi would be wrong here, because mi cannot be used as a direct object.

This is the Croatian perfect tense, which is very common for past actions.

It is formed with:

• the present tense of biti (je = is/has as an auxiliary here)
• the past participle (probudio)

So:

• je probudio = woke up / has woken up

Similarly:

• smo prošli = we passed

Croatian usually uses this structure for completed past events in everyday language.

This is about clitic word order.

Words like je, smo, and short object pronouns like nas are clitics. Croatian clitics usually go near the second position in the clause, and they follow a fixed internal order.

In this sentence:

• Pijetao nas je probudio

After the first stressed word Pijetao, the clitic group appears:

• nas
  • je

That order is normal:

• object clitic first
• auxiliary clitic after it

So nas je is the expected order here.

Again, this is clitic placement.

In the clause:

• čim smo prošli pokraj kokošinjca

the conjunction čim counts as the first element, and the clitic smo comes right after it.

So Croatian naturally says:

• čim smo prošli = as soon as we passed

This is very typical:

• kad sam došao = when I came
• čim je stigao = as soon as he arrived

Čim means as soon as.

It introduces an action that happens immediately when another action occurs.

So:

• čim smo prošli pokraj kokošinjca = as soon as we passed by the chicken coop

It is stronger and more immediate than a simple when.

Compare:

• kad smo prošli... = when we passed...
• čim smo prošli... = as soon as we passed...

Because prošli comes from the perfective verb proći, which suggests a completed action: we passed / went past.

Here the sentence describes a single completed moment:

• we passed by the chicken coop
• then the rooster woke us up

If you used an imperfective verb like prolaziti, it would sound more ongoing or repeated.

So the perfective proći fits better for one completed event.

This is also about aspect.

• probuditi = perfective, to wake someone up as a completed result
• buditi = imperfective, to be waking / wake repeatedly / wake in general

In this sentence, the waking is treated as a completed event:

• the rooster woke us up

So probudio is the natural choice.

Because pokraj requires the genitive case.

The noun kokošinjac changes in the genitive singular to:

• kokošinjca

So:

• pokraj kokošinjca = by / beside / past the chicken coop

This is the same pattern as:

• pokraj kuće = by the house
• pokraj ceste = by the road

It is genitive singular.

The base form is:

• kokošinjac = chicken coop

After pokraj, you need genitive:

• pokraj kokošinjca

This is something worth memorizing with prepositions, because Croatian prepositions often control a specific case.

Both are possible, but prije šest is very normal and natural.

Croatian often omits words like sati when telling time, just like English often says:

• before six instead of
• before six o’clock

So:

• prije šest = before six
• prije šest sati = before six o’clock / before six hours, depending on context

In this sentence, the time meaning is clear, so sati is unnecessary.

Yes. In everyday Croatian, prije šest very naturally means before six o’clock when the context is about time of day.

Croatian often leaves out the word for hours/o’clock when it is obvious.

For example:

• Doći ću prije pet. = I’ll come before five.
• Ustao je u sedam. = He got up at seven.

So this sentence sounds completely normal without adding sati.

Because it is the first word of the sentence.

The noun itself is not normally capitalized in the middle of a sentence unless it is part of a name.

So:

• Pijetao nas je probudio... = correct at the beginning
• Vidjeli smo pijetla. = lowercase in the middle

Croatian has no articles like a/an/the.

So pijetao can mean:

• a rooster
• the rooster

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English may use the rooster, but Croatian simply says pijetao.

It is the nominative singular form, used because it is the subject of the sentence.

The noun is masculine:

• pijetao = rooster

As the subject, it stays in nominative:

• Pijetao nas je probudio.

Some learners notice the ending looks unusual. That is normal; Croatian masculine nouns do not all end in the same way in the nominative singular.

Yes, in many contexts pokraj and pored are very similar and both can mean beside / by / past.

So you could also hear:

• čim smo prošli pored kokošinjca

That would sound natural too.

There can be slight stylistic or regional preferences, but for a learner, they are often interchangeable in sentences like this.

Because Croatian is describing two completed past events:

1. smo prošli = we passed by the chicken coop
2. je probudio = the rooster woke us up

The conjunction čim already shows the immediate relationship between them, so Croatian does not need a different tense to express that sequence.

English also often does something similar:

• As soon as we passed by the coop, the rooster woke us up.

The timing relationship comes from čim, not from changing the tense.