Onaj golub opet sjedi na ogradi, a tata kaže da ga ne hranimo svaki dan.

Croatian does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• golub = pigeon / a pigeon / the pigeon
• onaj golub = that pigeon

Here onaj is a demonstrative, meaning that one over there. It points to a specific pigeon that the speakers both know or can see.

A rough comparison:

• ovaj golub = this pigeon
• taj golub = that pigeon / that pigeon near you or already mentioned
• onaj golub = that pigeon over there

So onaj adds a sense of distance or clear identification.

Golub is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the verb sjedi.

In this sentence:

• Onaj golub = the subject
• sjedi = the verb

So the basic structure is:

• Onaj golub sjedi = That pigeon is sitting

The noun stays in its dictionary form because subjects normally appear in the nominative.

Opet usually means again.

So:

• Onaj golub opet sjedi na ogradi = That pigeon is sitting on the fence again

Depending on context, opet can sometimes feel like:

• again
• once more
• there it is, doing the same thing again

It often carries a mild sense of repetition that the speaker notices or comments on.

Sjedi is the 3rd person singular present tense of sjediti = to sit.

So:

• ja sjedim = I sit / am sitting
• ti sjediš = you sit / are sitting
• on/ona/ono sjedi = he/she/it sits / is sitting

Because golub is singular, the verb is singular too:

• Onaj golub sjedi = That pigeon is sitting

Croatian present tense can often translate both simple present and present continuous in English, depending on context.

This is a very common Croatian case question.

After na, the case depends on meaning:

• na + accusative = movement onto something
• na + locative = being on something

Here the pigeon is already sitting there, so this is location, not movement.

That is why we get:

• na ogradi = on the fence

Compare:

• Golub sjeda na ogradu. = The pigeon is sitting down onto the fence.
• Golub sjedi na ogradi. = The pigeon is sitting on the fence.

So ogradi is locative singular of ograda.

In this sentence, a means something like and, but with a slight contrast or shift of focus.

• a often means and / while / whereas / and then
• i is more straightforwardly and

So:

• Onaj golub opet sjedi na ogradi, a tata kaže... = That pigeon is sitting on the fence again, and Dad says...

But a feels a bit more like:

• ..., and meanwhile Dad says...
• ..., but Dad says... if there is a slight contrast

It links two ideas, but not as tightly as i would.

Both can mean father, but they are used differently.

• tata = dad, informal and everyday
• otac = father, more formal or neutral

In normal family speech, tata is extremely common. It sounds natural and conversational.

So:

• tata kaže = Dad says
• otac kaže = Father says (more formal, less casual in everyday speech)

Also, even though tata ends in -a, it refers to a masculine person.

This is a good thing to notice, because it can look feminine at first.

Tata is a masculine noun referring to a male person, but it declines like many nouns ending in -a.

In the nominative singular, it is:

• tata

And with the verb, it behaves as masculine singular:

• tata kaže = Dad says

Some other forms are:

• tate = of Dad / Dad’s
• tati = to Dad
• tatu = Dad (object)
• s tatom = with Dad

So its ending looks similar to many feminine nouns, but its meaning and agreement are masculine.

Here da introduces a subordinate clause, similar to English that.

So:

• tata kaže da ga ne hranimo svaki dan = Dad says that we don’t / shouldn’t feed him every day

This is a very common pattern:

• kažem da... = I say that...
• mislim da... = I think that...
• znam da... = I know that...

So da is the word that connects the main clause and the reported statement.

Ga is the unstressed short form of njega = him.

Here it refers back to golub.

So:

• ga ne hranimo = we do not feed him

Because golub is masculine animate, the object pronoun is:

• ga = him

Compare:

• Vidim ga. = I see him/it.
• Hranimo ga. = We feed him.

In everyday Croatian, short object pronouns like ga are extremely common.

This is about clitic word order.

Ga is a clitic: a short unstressed word that has to go in a special position in the clause. In Croatian, clitics usually come very early, in a fixed order.

So the natural order is:

• da ga ne hranimo

not:

• da ne ga hranimo

You can think of ga as wanting to stay close to the beginning of the clause after da.

This kind of ordering is something learners usually need to get used to, because it does not match English word order.

Grammatically, ne hranimo is simply we do not feed.

• hranimo = we feed
• ne hranimo = we do not feed

But in a sentence like:

• tata kaže da ga ne hranimo svaki dan

the natural meaning can depend on context. It may mean:

• Dad says that we don’t feed him every day or
• Dad says not to feed him every day or
• Dad says we shouldn’t feed him every day

So the literal grammar is plain present tense, but the whole sentence can sound like reported advice or a rule.

Hranimo is the 1st person plural present tense of hraniti = to feed.

So:

• ja hranim = I feed
• ti hraniš = you feed
• mi hranimo = we feed

In this sentence, we means the speaker plus at least one other person. The exact group depends on context, for example:

• the speaker and siblings
• the family
• the people in the house

Croatian often leaves subject pronouns unstated, because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

So there is no need to say mi hranimo unless you want extra emphasis.

Svaki dan is a common time expression meaning every day.

• svaki = every
• dan = day

Croatian often uses the accusative for expressions of time duration or repeated time references like this.

So:

• svaki dan = every day
• cijeli dan = all day
• jedan dan = one day

Even though there is no movement here, accusative is very common in time expressions.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not completely free.

This sentence is very natural as:

• Onaj golub opet sjedi na ogradi, a tata kaže da ga ne hranimo svaki dan.

Some parts could move for emphasis, for example:

• Opet onaj golub sjedi na ogradi...
• Tata kaže da ga svaki dan ne hranimo...
  though this version changes the emphasis and can sound less neutral

However, clitics like ga have stricter placement rules than full words, so not everything can move around freely.

So the sentence you have is a normal, neutral everyday order.