Kad je nevrijeme, moja unuka oblači žutu kabanicu i ne ide kroz male lokve.

Here Kad means when.

So Kad je nevrijeme means When the weather is bad / When there is a storm.

In this kind of sentence, kad often has a general meaning, similar to English whenever:

• Kad je hladno, ostajem kod kuće. = When/Whenever it is cold, I stay at home.

Croatian can also use kada, which means the same thing but sounds a bit more formal or neutral. In everyday speech, kad is extremely common.

Nevrijeme is a neuter noun meaning bad weather, stormy weather, or sometimes a storm.

It is made from:

• ne- = a negative prefix
• vrijeme = weather or time, depending on context

So literally it suggests something like non-good weather, but you should learn it as a single word meaning bad weather/storm.

In this sentence, Kad je nevrijeme is best understood as:

• When the weather is bad
• When there is a storm

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same in feel.

• je nevrijeme = it is stormy / there is bad weather
• je loše vrijeme = the weather is bad

Nevrijeme is a fixed noun with a stronger, more weather-event-like meaning. It often suggests rough weather, storms, heavy rain, wind, and so on.

So:

• Kad je nevrijeme sounds very natural.
• Kad je loše vrijeme is also grammatical, but slightly more general.

Unuka means granddaughter.

So:

• moj unuk = my grandson
• moja unuka = my granddaughter

Because unuka is feminine singular, the possessive adjective must agree with it:

• moja = feminine singular form of my

So:

• moja unuka = my granddaughter

This is basic agreement in Croatian: adjectives and possessives change to match the noun in gender, number, and case.

Oblači is the 3rd person singular present tense of oblačiti.

Here it means:

• she puts on
• she dresses in

So:

• moja unuka oblači žutu kabanicu = my granddaughter puts on a yellow raincoat

This is the imperfective verb oblačiti. A very common perfective partner is obući:

• oblačiti = to be putting on / to put on habitually
• obući = to put on, as a completed action

Because the whole sentence describes a usual/habitual action, the imperfective oblači is a natural choice.

Good question. Both exist, but they mean slightly different things.

• oblačiti se = to get dressed
• oblačiti + object = to put clothing on someone / to put on a specific item

In this sentence we have a direct object:

• žutu kabanicu

So oblači žutu kabanicu means:

• she puts on a yellow raincoat

If you said:

• moja unuka se oblači that would mean:
• my granddaughter is getting dressed

So the absence of se is important here.

Because žutu kabanicu is the accusative singular, not the nominative.

The verb oblači takes a direct object: she is putting on a yellow raincoat. Direct objects are usually in the accusative.

Base form (nominative):

• žuta kabanica

Accusative singular:

• žutu kabanicu

Both the adjective and noun change:

• žuta → žutu
• kabanica → kabanicu

This is because kabanica is a feminine noun ending in -a.

Kabanica means raincoat.

It is a feminine noun:

• nominative singular: kabanica
• accusative singular: kabanicu

A learner might also see:

• kišna kabanica = raincoat (literally rain raincoat, but natural in Croatian)
• kaput = coat
• jakna = jacket

Here kabanica is specifically a waterproof outer garment, so raincoat is the best translation.

Ide is the 3rd person singular present tense of ići, which means to go.

So:

• ide = he/she goes
• ne ide = he/she does not go

In this sentence:

• ne ide kroz male lokve = she does not go through small puddles

The verb ići is very common and somewhat irregular, so it is worth memorizing:

• idem = I go
• ideš = you go
• ide = he/she/it goes
• idemo = we go
• idete = you go
• idu = they go

Kroz means through.

So:

• ide kroz male lokve literally means goes through small puddles

This suggests moving through them, stepping in them, or passing through them.

The preposition kroz always takes the accusative case.

That is why lokve here is in the accusative plural. For this noun, the accusative plural looks the same as the nominative plural:

• nominative plural: male lokve
• accusative plural: male lokve

So even though the form looks unchanged, it is still functioning as accusative because of kroz.

It is in the accusative plural, but for many feminine inanimate nouns, the accusative plural looks the same as the nominative plural.

Here is the pattern:

Singular:

• nominative: mala lokva
• accusative: malu lokvu

Plural:

• nominative: male lokve
• accusative: male lokve

So after kroz, the grammar requires the accusative, but the form happens to be identical to the nominative plural.

This is very common in Croatian, so learners often need to rely on the preposition and sentence function, not only on the visible ending.

Yes. Lokva means puddle, and lokve is the plural form puddles.

So:

• lokva = puddle
• lokve = puddles

In the sentence:

• kroz male lokve = through small puddles

Because lokva is feminine, the adjective agrees with it:

• mala lokva = small puddle
• male lokve = small puddles

Because Croatian often uses the present tense for habitual or repeated actions, just like English can.

So:

• Kad je nevrijeme, moja unuka oblači žutu kabanicu i ne ide kroz male lokve.

means something like:

• When it is stormy, my granddaughter puts on a yellow raincoat and does not go through small puddles.
• more naturally: Whenever the weather is bad, my granddaughter puts on a yellow raincoat and avoids going through small puddles.

This is a general truth or routine, not necessarily something happening only right now.

Yes, Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order, though not completely free.

The given sentence is natural:

• Kad je nevrijeme, moja unuka oblači žutu kabanicu i ne ide kroz male lokve.

You could also hear variations like:

• Moja unuka, kad je nevrijeme, oblači žutu kabanicu i ne ide kroz male lokve.
• Žutu kabanicu moja unuka oblači kad je nevrijeme.

But changing the order can shift emphasis or sound more marked. The original version is a very neutral, natural choice.

Because Croatian has no articles like English a/an/the.

So Croatian simply says:

• moja unuka = my granddaughter
• žutu kabanicu = a yellow raincoat or the yellow raincoat, depending on context

The exact meaning is understood from the situation, not from an article.

English learners of Croatian often want to insert the, but Croatian does not do that.

Yes, it can naturally suggest that she does not walk through puddles or does not step into them.

Literally:

• ne ide kroz male lokve = she does not go through small puddles

In real usage, that can imply:

• she avoids walking through them
• she avoids stepping in them

If you wanted to stress stepping into puddles, Croatian might also use other phrasing, but the sentence you have is perfectly natural and understandable.

Because both verbs have the same subject:

• moja unuka = my granddaughter

So Croatian uses 3rd person singular present for both:

• oblači = she puts on
• ide = she goes

And with negation:

• ne ide = she does not go

This is exactly parallel to English:

• My granddaughter puts on ... and does not go ...

The second subject is omitted because it is already clear.