Ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu, jer preglednik ne radi.

In Croatian, negation is usually formed by putting ne directly before the verb.

• mogu = I can
• ne mogu = I cannot / I can’t

So Ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu literally means I cannot open the link.

This is the normal way to negate most verbs in Croatian.

Mogu is the 1st person singular present tense of moći, which means to be able to / can.

So:

• ja mogu = I can
• ja ne mogu = I can’t

Croatian often drops the subject pronoun ja because the verb ending already shows who the subject is. That is why the sentence says Ne mogu... rather than Ja ne mogu...

After modal verbs like moći (can), Croatian normally uses an infinitive.

So:

• mogu otvoriti = can open
• ne mogu otvoriti = cannot open

This works much like English:

• I can open
• I cannot open

The infinitive here is otvoriti = to open.

This is a question of aspect, which is very important in Croatian.

• otvoriti is perfective
• otvarati is imperfective

Otvoriti focuses on opening as a completed action: getting the link to open successfully.

So Ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu means something like I can’t get the link open or I’m unable to open the link.

If you used otvarati, it would sound more like repeated or ongoing opening, which does not fit this situation as naturally.

Because it is the direct object of the verb otvoriti, it is in the accusative case.

The dictionary form is:

• poveznica = link

But as a direct object in the singular, it becomes:

• poveznicu

This is normal for many feminine nouns ending in -a:

• knjiga → knjigu
• stranica → stranicu
• poveznica → poveznicu

So:

• otvoriti poveznicu = to open the link

Yes. Poveznica is the standard Croatian word for link, especially in computing or on the internet.

In everyday speech, many people also use link, especially informally. But poveznica is the more fully Croatian, standard form.

So all of these may be understood:

• poveznica = standard Croatian
• link = common informal borrowing from English

Because jer introduces a subordinate clause meaning because.

The sentence has two parts:

• Ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu
• jer preglednik ne radi

Croatian normally uses a comma before jer, just as English often uses a comma before because in similar sentence structures.

Jer means because.

So:

• jer preglednik ne radi = because the browser is not working

You could sometimes replace it with zato što, which also means because:

• Ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu jer preglednik ne radi.
• Ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu zato što preglednik ne radi.

Both are correct. Jer is very common and natural here.

Preglednik is the standard Croatian word for browser.

It comes from the idea of browsing/viewing. In everyday speech, some people may also say browser, especially in tech contexts, but preglednik is the recommended standard word.

So:

• preglednik = browser

Because preglednik is the subject of the clause preglednik ne radi.

Subjects are usually in the nominative case, which is the basic dictionary form.

So:

• preglednik = nominative singular
• it stays unchanged because it is the thing doing the action, or in this case, the thing not working

Compare:

• Poveznicu is the object of open → accusative
• Preglednik is the subject of is not working → nominative

Literally, radi means works or is working.

So:

• radi = works / is functioning
• ne radi = doesn’t work / is not working

In this sentence, preglednik ne radi means the browser is not functioning properly.

Croatian often uses raditi in exactly this way for devices, programs, systems, and machines:

• Računalo ne radi. = The computer isn’t working.
• Internet ne radi. = The internet isn’t working.
• Preglednik ne radi. = The browser isn’t working.

Croatian does not have articles like English a and the.

So:

• poveznica can mean a link or the link
• preglednik can mean a browser or the browser

You understand which one is meant from the context.

In this sentence, English naturally uses the link and the browser, but Croatian does not need any separate word for that.

The given word order is natural and standard:

• Ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu, jer preglednik ne radi.

Croatian word order is more flexible than English, because cases show grammatical roles. However, not every possible order sounds equally natural.

For example, you could also hear:

• Jer preglednik ne radi, ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu.

This puts more emphasis on the reason first:

• Because the browser isn’t working, I can’t open the link.

But the original sentence is the most neutral and straightforward.

Yes, in everyday speech that is very common.

• Ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu = more standard Croatian
• Ne mogu otvoriti link = very common informal usage

A native speaker would understand both. If you are learning more formal or standard Croatian, poveznicu is a very good word to know.

Croatian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.

• mogu already tells us the subject is I
• radi tells us the subject is he/she/it, and here the noun preglednik makes that clear

So Ja ne mogu otvoriti poveznicu is possible, but it would add emphasis, something like:

• I can’t open the link

Without ja, the sentence sounds more neutral and natural.

Yes, it is perfectly natural.

Croatian commonly uses otvoriti with things like:

• otvoriti datoteku = open a file
• otvoriti stranicu = open a page
• otvoriti poveznicu = open a link

Depending on context, someone might also say kliknuti na poveznicu = click on the link, but that is a different action. Otvoriti focuses on the result: the link/page opening.