Policija čita nalog.

In Croatian, policija is grammatically singular. It works like collective nouns in English such as the police force rather than the police.

So:

• Policija čita nalog. = singular verb
• not Policija čitaju...

Even though it refers to an institution or group of officers, the noun itself is feminine singular, so the verb agrees with it in singular form.

Policija is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence.

In this sentence:

• Policija = the subject, so nominative
• nalog = the direct object, so accusative

For this noun, the nominative singular form is policija.

Čita is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb čitati = to read.

It matches the subject policija, which is singular.

A quick comparison:

• ja čitam = I read / am reading
• ti čitaš = you read
• on/ona/ono čita = he/she/it reads
• oni/one/ona čitaju = they read

Since policija is singular, čita is the correct form.

It can mean both, depending on context.

Croatian present tense often covers both:

• reads
• is reading

So Policija čita nalog. could mean:

• The police are reading the order/warrant.
• The police read the order/warrant.

Context tells you which English translation sounds best.

Nalog is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of čita.

The verb čitati normally takes a direct object in the accusative:

• čitati knjigu = to read a book
• čitati pismo = to read a letter
• čitati nalog = to read an order/warrant

For this masculine inanimate noun, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular:

• nominative: nalog
• accusative: nalog

Because nalog is a masculine inanimate noun.

In Croatian, masculine singular nouns split into two important groups in the accusative:

• masculine animate: accusative usually changes to match the genitive
• masculine inanimate: accusative usually stays the same as the nominative

So:

• nalog is inanimate, so nominative = accusative
• that is why you see nalog, not a changed form

No, Croatian word order is fairly flexible because cases show the grammatical roles.

The neutral, straightforward order is:

• Policija čita nalog.

But other orders are also possible, depending on emphasis:

• Nalog čita policija. = emphasizes nalog
• Čita policija nalog. = can sound more marked or stylistic

Even when the order changes, the cases still help identify subject and object.

A simple English-friendly guide:

• Policija ≈ po-lee-TSEE-ya
• čita ≈ CHEE-ta
• nalog ≈ NA-log

A few notes:

• č sounds like ch in church
• c in policija sounds like ts
• stress can vary by dialect and teaching style, but the above guide is a good start

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

So Policija čita nalog. can correspond to English with or without an article, depending on context:

• The police are reading the warrant.
• Police are reading a warrant.
• The police read the order.

The exact English article is supplied by context, not by a separate Croatian word.

It can mean different things depending on context. Nalog is a broad word that often means:

• order
• instruction
• command
• sometimes warrant

If the sentence is in a police or legal context, nalog may very naturally mean warrant or an official order. In another context, it could simply mean an instruction or directive.

So the exact English translation depends on the situation.

The dictionary forms are:

• policija = policija
• čita comes from čitati
• nalog = nalog

So if you want to look them up, use:

• policija = police
• čitati = to read
• nalog = order, instruction, warrant

Čitati is imperfective.

That means it is used for:

• ongoing actions
• repeated actions
• general statements

So čita fits well for a present-tense sentence like this.

Its perfective partner is often pročitati, which means something more like to read through / to finish reading.

Compare:

• Policija čita nalog. = The police are reading the warrant.
• Policija je pročitala nalog. = The police read through / finished reading the warrant.

Croatian usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

Because the verb form and the noun already show who is doing the action, you do not need an extra pronoun.

So:

• Policija čita nalog. is natural
• adding a pronoun would usually be unnecessary

Croatian often works this way:

• Čitam. = I am reading.
• Čita. = He/she/it is reading.
• Policija čita. = The police force is reading.

Yes. Because the present tense in Croatian is broad, it can describe:

• what is happening now
• what usually happens
• a general fact

So depending on context, Policija čita nalog. could mean:

• The police are reading the order right now.
• The police read the order.
• less commonly, something habitual like The police read orders if the context supports that meaning

Context decides the most natural interpretation.