Ergonomija proučava navike kao što je odmor.

Proučava means studies, examines, or investigates.

It is:

• the 3rd person singular
• present tense
• from the verb proučavati = to study / to examine in detail

So Ergonomija proučava... means Ergonomics studies...

Because navike is the accusative plural form of navika (habit).

The verb proučavati takes a direct object, and that object is put in the accusative:

• navika = a habit / habit (dictionary form, nominative singular)
• navike = habits (nominative plural or accusative plural)

In this sentence, navike means habits as the thing being studied.

Here je means is.

The phrase kao što je... means such as... or more literally as is...

So:

• kao što je odmor = such as rest

The verb je is singular because it agrees with odmor, which is singular:

• odmor = rest

If the example were plural, Croatian would use su:

• kao što su pauze = such as breaks

Because je/su here does not agree with navike. It agrees with the example that follows.

In this sentence:

• navike = habits
• example given = odmor = rest

Since odmor is singular, Croatian uses:

• kao što je odmor

If the examples were plural:

• Ergonomija proučava navike kao što su pauze.
• Ergonomics studies habits such as breaks.

So the agreement is with the item after kao što je/su, not with the earlier noun.

Odmor is in the nominative singular here.

That may seem surprising, because English learners often expect everything after such as to behave like a direct object. But in Croatian, the structure kao što je odmor works more like such as rest / as is rest, where odmor is the subject/complement of je.

So:

• proučava navike = studies habits
• kao što je odmor = such as rest

Kao što often means as or just as, but in this kind of sentence it helps introduce an example.

So:

• kao što je odmor = such as rest

This is a very natural Croatian way to give an example.

A learner should note that kao što can appear in different meanings depending on context:

• Radi kao što mu je rečeno. = He works as he was told.
• navike kao što je odmor = habits such as rest

So here it is best understood as an example-giving expression.

Yes. A few natural alternatives are possible, for example:

• Ergonomija proučava navike poput odmora.
• Ergonomija proučava navike kao što su odmor i pauze.
• Ergonomija proučava navike, na primjer odmor.

These all express something close to Ergonomics studies habits such as rest, though the exact nuance may differ slightly.

The original sentence is grammatical and understandable, but depending on context, some speakers might prefer another phrasing.

Because Croatian has no articles.

English says:

• the habit
• a habit
• the rest

Croatian simply uses the noun:

• navika
• odmor

Whether it means a, the, or a general concept depends on context.

So:

• Ergonomija proučava navike... = Ergonomics studies habits... not because Croatian omitted a word, but because Croatian does not use articles at all.

Not completely. Croatian word order is fairly flexible because case endings show grammatical roles.

The neutral order here is:

• Ergonomija proučava navike kao što je odmor.

But other orders may be possible for emphasis, for example:

• Navike kao što je odmor proučava ergonomija.

That sounds more marked or stylistically different, not the basic neutral order. For learners, the original version is the safest model.

Yes, ergonomija is a singular feminine noun meaning ergonomics.

Even though ergonomics in English ends in -s, it is usually treated as a singular field of study:

• Ergonomics studies...

Croatian does the same:

• Ergonomija proučava...

So the singular verb proučava matches the singular subject ergonomija.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Er-go-NO-mee-ya proo-CHA-va NA-vee-ke KA-o shto yeh OD-mor

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• j is pronounced like English y
• č sounds like ch in church
• š sounds like sh
• r is a rolled or tapped r
• lj, nj, and ć are special Croatian sounds, though they do not appear here

So:

• proučava has č = ch
• što has š = sh
• je sounds roughly like yeh