Možete li mi, molim vas, reći je li zoološki vrt otvoren i u ponedjeljak?

Možete li is a very common polite way to ask Can you... ? / Could you... ?

• možete = you can (2nd person plural / polite singular)
• li = a question particle that helps turn the statement into a yes/no question

So:

• Možete mi reći. = You can tell me.
• Možete li mi reći...? = Can/Could you tell me...?

In Croatian, using the plural form is also the normal polite way to address one person, much like using a more formal you.

Li is a question particle used in yes/no questions.

It usually comes in second position in the clause. That is why you get:

• Možete li...?
• not normally Li možete...?

It does not have a direct English equivalent. You usually just translate it by using English question word order:

• Možete li...? = Can you...?

Croatian often uses li after the first stressed word or phrase to mark a question.

Mi means to me.

It is the short dative form of ja:

• ja = I
• meni = to me (full form)
• mi = to me (short clitic form)

So:

• Možete li mi reći...? = Can you tell me...? Literally: Can you tell to me...?

Croatian often uses these short pronoun forms in very natural everyday speech.

Molim vas is a polite inserted phrase, like please.

Because it is parenthetical, it is often set off with commas:

• Možete li mi, molim vas, reći...?

This is similar to English writing:

• Could you, please, tell me...?

In speech, the commas reflect a small pause. You may also hear people say it without such a noticeable pause, but the comma version is very normal in writing.

After modal verbs like moći (can / to be able to), Croatian normally uses the infinitive.

So:

• možete reći = you can tell / say
• mogu doći = I can come
• možemo vidjeti = we can see

Here:

• Možete li mi reći...? = Can you tell me...?

So reći is simply the infinitive to say / to tell used after možete.

Je li is a standard way to introduce a yes/no question, especially an embedded one like this.

Here the speaker is asking someone to tell them whether the zoo is open on Monday:

• ...reći je li zoološki vrt otvoren...
• ...tell me whether the zoo is open...

You may also hear da li in everyday speech, but je li is generally preferred in more standard Croatian.

So this sentence is very natural and standard.

Because otvoren is the predicate adjective, and je is already the verb is.

The clause is:

• zoološki vrt je otvoren = the zoo is open

When turned into a yes/no question with li, the auxiliary je moves before li:

• Je li zoološki vrt otvoren? = Is the zoo open?

So the verb is already there in je li. You do not add another je at the end.

Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but some small words follow strict placement rules.

In this sentence, two important things affect word order:

1. li tends to go in second position.
2. Short pronouns like mi also prefer certain early positions in the clause.

That is why you get:

• Možete li mi, molim vas, reći...
• je li zoološki vrt otvoren...

A literal word-for-word English order would sound strange in Croatian. So it is best to learn these as natural Croatian patterns rather than trying to match English structure exactly.

Yes, kazati could also be used here.

• reći = to say / tell
• kazati = to say / tell

In many contexts they are interchangeable. Reći is often more common in everyday use, so:

• Možete li mi reći...? sounds very natural.

You could also say:

• Možete li mi, molim vas, kazati je li...

That is correct too, though reći is probably the version most learners will hear more often.

In Croatian, zoološki vrt is a normal adjective + noun phrase:

• zoološki = zoological
• vrt = garden

So literally it means zoological garden, just like older English zoological garden, but in actual meaning it is zoo.

This is the standard Croatian expression for zoo.

Otvoren means open.

It agrees with vrt, which is a masculine singular noun:

• vrt = masculine singular
• therefore otvoren = masculine singular form

Compare:

• dućan je otvoren = the shop is open (masculine)
• trgovina je otvorena = the store is open (feminine)
• vrata su otvorena = the door is open / the doors are open (neuter plural form, same shape as feminine singular)

So otvoren is used because it matches zoološki vrt.

With days of the week, Croatian often uses u + accusative to mean on a particular day:

• u ponedjeljak = on Monday
• u utorak = on Tuesday

So:

• otvoren i u ponedjeljak = open on Monday too / also open on Monday

This is a very common pattern and should be learned as a set expression.

Here i means also / too / as well.

So the speaker is not just asking whether the zoo is open, but whether it is open on Monday as well.

That often suggests some background idea, for example:

• maybe it is open on other days, and the speaker wants to know if Monday is included too
• maybe many places are closed on Monday, so the speaker is checking whether this one is an exception

So i u ponedjeljak is best understood as:

• also on Monday
• on Monday too
• including Monday

Sometimes yes, but the nuance is slightly different.

• u ponedjeljak = on Monday
  often understood as a particular Monday or simply on Monday in the schedule being discussed
• ponedjeljkom = on Mondays
  more clearly habitual or recurring

So:

• Je li zoološki vrt otvoren u ponedjeljak? = Is the zoo open on Monday?
• Je li zoološki vrt otvoren ponedjeljkom? = Is the zoo open on Mondays?

In real life, both can appear when asking about opening hours, but ponedjeljkom emphasizes the regular weekly pattern more strongly.

It is polite and fairly neutral, not overly stiff.

The politeness comes from:

• Možete li... = polite question
• molim vas = please
• plural/polite možete

So it would sound appropriate in situations like:

• asking a receptionist
• asking at a ticket office
• asking a stranger politely
• writing a polite message

A less formal version might be:

• Možete mi reći je li zoološki vrt otvoren i u ponedjeljak?

Still polite, just without molim vas.

Yes. Some natural alternatives are:

• Možete li mi reći je li zoološki vrt otvoren i u ponedjeljak?
• Možete li mi, molim vas, reći je li zoo otvoren i u ponedjeljak?
• Znate li je li zoološki vrt otvoren i u ponedjeljak?
• Je li zoološki vrt otvoren i u ponedjeljak?

The original sentence is especially good if you want to sound polite and indirect. The last version is more direct: just Is the zoo open on Monday too?