Sada spremam ručak za djecu.

Spremam is the 1st person singular present tense of spremati / spremiti, a verb that can mean to prepare, to get ready, to tidy up, or to put away, depending on context.

In this sentence, spremam ručak means I’m preparing lunch.

A learner may also meet pripremam ručak, which also means I’m preparing lunch. In everyday Croatian, spremati ručak is very natural and common.

Sada means now. It is placed first here for a very natural English-like emphasis:

• Sada spremam ručak za djecu. = Now I’m preparing lunch for the children.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, so you could also hear:

• Spremam sada ručak za djecu.
• Spremam ručak za djecu sada.

But the version with sada first is simple, neutral, and common.

Croatian usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb already shows who is doing the action.

• spremam = I prepare / I am preparing

Because the ending -am already tells you it is 1st person singular, adding ja is often unnecessary.

You could say:

• Ja sada spremam ručak za djecu.

But that sounds more emphatic, like I am the one preparing lunch now.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Croatian present tense often covers both:

• I prepare
• I am preparing

In this sentence, because of sada (now), the most natural meaning is:

• I am preparing lunch now for the children.

So sada helps make the ongoing meaning clearer.

Ručak is in the accusative singular because it is the direct object of the verb spremam.

The noun is masculine and inanimate. For many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: ručak = lunch
• accusative: ručak = lunch as the object

That is why you see:

• spremam ručak = I’m preparing lunch

After the preposition za, Croatian often uses the accusative case when it means for.

The basic form is:

• djeca = children (nominative plural)

But after za, it changes to the accusative form:

• za djecu = for the children

This is an important pattern:

• za mene = for me
• za tebe = for you
• za djecu = for the children

So djecu is the correct case form after za here.

That is because djeca is an irregular noun.

Although it means children, it behaves differently from many regular plural nouns. Its forms have to be learned individually.

Here are some useful forms:

• nominative: djeca = children
• genitive: djece
• dative: djeci
• accusative: djecu
• locative: djeci
• instrumental: djecom

So in za djecu, the form djecu is simply the correct accusative form of this irregular noun.

Usually, yes. Ručak most often means lunch, especially the main midday meal.

Depending on context, it can also feel a bit like the main cooked meal of the day, since meal patterns are not always exactly the same as in English-speaking cultures.

Still, in most beginner contexts, translating ručak as lunch is perfectly fine.

Yes. That is a very natural way to understand it.

Because spremati can mean prepare / get ready, these are all good English equivalents:

• I’m preparing lunch for the children.
• I’m making lunch for the children.
• I’m getting lunch ready for the children.

The exact English wording depends on style, not on a major difference in meaning.

Spremam here is from the imperfective verb spremati.

That matters because imperfective verbs are commonly used for:

• ongoing actions
• repeated actions
• general habits

So sada spremam fits very well with I am preparing now.

The related perfective verb is often spremiti. A perfective present tense usually does not mean an action happening right now in the same way. It often refers to a completed future action or has a different nuance depending on context.

So for an action in progress, spremam is the natural choice.

Yes. Sad is a very common shorter form of sada in everyday speech.

So both are correct:

• Sada spremam ručak za djecu.
• Sad spremam ručak za djecu.

Sada may sound slightly more full or careful, while sad is very common in conversation.

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

So ručak can mean:

• lunch
• the lunch
• sometimes a lunch

The exact meaning depends on context.

Likewise, za djecu can mean for children or for the children, but in this sentence it most naturally means for the children.

English learners often want to add article meanings word-for-word, but Croatian usually leaves that to context.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.

These can all be possible, depending on emphasis:

• Sada spremam ručak za djecu.
• Ručak sada spremam za djecu.
• Za djecu sada spremam ručak.

The basic meaning stays the same, but the focus shifts a little:

• Sada first emphasizes now
• ručak first emphasizes lunch
• za djecu first emphasizes for the children

The original sentence is a very neutral and natural way to say it.