Spremi kišobran u torbu ako se vrijeme razvedri.

Spremi is the imperative form of spremiti, meaning put away, pack, store, or place somewhere neatly.

In this sentence, spremi is a perfective imperative, so it sounds like a single complete action: put the umbrella into the bag.

Spremaj would come from spremati, the imperfective partner. That form usually suggests an ongoing, repeated, or less bounded action, so it would not fit as well here.

So:

• spremi = put it away / do it completely
• spremaj = be putting it away / keep putting it away / put it away repeatedly

Spremi is the 2nd person singular imperative, so it means you (one person).

It is normally used for:

• one person you speak to informally
• one clear instruction directed at one person

If you were speaking to:

• more than one person, or
• one person formally

you would usually say spremite.

So:

• Spremi kišobran... = Put the umbrella away... (to one person, informal)
• Spremite kišobran... = Put the umbrella away... (to several people or formal singular)

Here kišobran is the direct object of spremi, so it is in the accusative case.

For inanimate masculine nouns in Croatian, the accusative singular is usually the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: kišobran
• accusative: kišobran

That is why the form does not change.

Compare that with an animate masculine noun, where the accusative often matches the genitive instead.

This is a very common and important pattern.

With u:

• u + accusative = movement into
• u + locative = location in

So:

• u torbu = into the bag
• u torbi = in the bag

Because the sentence describes moving the umbrella from somewhere else into the bag, Croatian uses the accusative: torbu.

Ako means if.

It introduces a condition:

• ako se vrijeme razvedri = if the weather clears up

So the whole structure is:

• main instruction: Spremi kišobran u torbu
• condition: ako se vrijeme razvedri

Croatian uses ako very much like English if in ordinary conditional sentences.

Se is a very common Croatian particle used with many verbs. In this sentence it is part of the verb razvedriti se.

Here razvedriti se means something like:

• to clear up
• to become fair
• to improve, when talking about weather

So vrijeme se razvedri means the weather clears up.

This is not a literal reflexive like English the weather clears itself up. For many Croatian verbs, se is just a normal part of the verb you have to learn together with it.

So it is best to learn:

• razvedriti = to brighten / clear something
• razvedriti se = to clear up / become brighter

Razvedri is the 3rd person singular present form of razvedriti se.

So:

• vrijeme se razvedri = the weather clears up

Even though English often uses will in future-looking conditions, Croatian commonly uses the present tense after ako when talking about a real possible future condition.

That is why Croatian says literally:

• if the weather clears up

not something that directly matches if the weather will clear up.

Yes, vrijeme can mean both time and weather.

This is completely normal in Croatian, and context tells you which meaning is intended.

In this sentence, because of the umbrella and razvedri se, it clearly means weather.

Examples:

• Nemam vremena. = I don’t have time.
• Vrijeme je loše. = The weather is bad.

So learners need to get used to vrijeme having both meanings.

Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The given sentence is natural:

• Spremi kišobran u torbu ako se vrijeme razvedri.

But other orders are also possible, depending on emphasis, for example:

• Ako se vrijeme razvedri, spremi kišobran u torbu.
• Kišobran spremi u torbu ako se vrijeme razvedri.

The first version puts the condition first, like If the weather clears up, put the umbrella in the bag.

The second gives more emphasis to kišobran.

So the original order is natural, but not the only possible one.

Croatian does not have articles like English a and the.

So:

• kišobran can mean an umbrella or the umbrella
• torbu can mean a bag or the bag

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

In this sentence, English would probably naturally say the umbrella and the bag, but Croatian does not need separate words for that.

Yes, you often could, but the nuance changes a little.

• stavi kišobran u torbu = put the umbrella in the bag
• spremi kišobran u torbu = put the umbrella away in the bag / store it in the bag

Staviti is a more general verb for put/place.

Spremiti often suggests:

• putting something away neatly
• storing it
• packing it
• getting it out of the way

So spremi feels slightly more like put it away, not just place it.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Spremi ≈ SPREH-mee
• kišobran ≈ KEE-shoh-brahn
• u torbu ≈ oo TOR-boo
• ako ≈ AH-koh
• se ≈ seh
• vrijeme ≈ roughly VRYEH-meh
• razvedri ≈ rahz-VEH-dree

A few useful notes:

• š sounds like English sh
• j sounds like English y
• r is rolled or tapped
• in vrijeme, the vr cluster can feel difficult for English speakers at first

A natural rhythm for the whole sentence is:

SPREH-mee KEE-shoh-brahn oo TOR-boo AH-koh seh VRYEH-meh rahz-VEH-dree