Na televiziji često gledamo seriju u kojoj je ista glumica kao u kazalištu.

On television we often watch a series that has the same actress as the one in the theatre.

Breakdown of Na televiziji često gledamo seriju u kojoj je ista glumica kao u kazalištu.

• biti: to be
• u: in
• gledati: to watch
• često: often
• na: on
• isti: same
• kao: as
• koji: which
• kazalište: theatre
• serija: series
• televizija: television
• glumica: actress

Questions & Answers about Na televiziji često gledamo seriju u kojoj je ista glumica kao u kazalištu.

Why is it na televiziji and not u televiziji?

In Croatian, the choice between na and u is often idiomatic.

For media and surfaces, Croatian typically uses na:

• na televiziji – on TV
• na radiju – on the radio
• na internetu – on the internet

So na televiziji literally means “on television (as a medium/broadcast)”, which matches the English “on TV”.

u televiziji would mean “inside the TV set”, which sounds odd unless you literally mean something is physically inside the device.

Why is it u kazalištu and not na kazalištu?

For being inside or within a building or enclosed space, Croatian normally uses u + locative:

• u kazalištu – in the theatre
• u školi – at school / in the school
• u kući – in the house

Na is used more for surfaces or certain open places/events:

• na trgu – in the square
• na stadionu – at the stadium
• na koncertu – at a concert

So u kazalištu is “in the theatre (building / institution)”.
Na kazalištu would be wrong in standard Croatian in this meaning.

Why is it seriju but glumica (different endings)?

Because they have different grammatical roles and are in different cases:

• seriju – accusative singular (direct object of the verb)

  • We watch a series → verb + direct object → accusative: gledamo seriju

• glumica – nominative singular (subject of the verb je)

  • In the relative clause u kojoj je ista glumica, the “same actress” is the subject:
    
    • (There) is the same actress → ista glumica je …

So:

• Main clause: gledamo seriju (accusative object)
• Relative clause: je ista glumica (nominative subject with the verb “to be”).

What exactly does u kojoj refer to? Does it refer to televiziji or seriju?

U kojoj refers to seriju.

• seriju is feminine singular.
• The relative pronoun kojoj is also feminine singular (locative), agreeing with seriju in gender and number, and taking the case required by the preposition u.

So structurally it’s:

• gledamo seriju [u kojoj je ista glumica…]
  → “we watch a series in which the same actress …”

It does not refer to televiziji, because:

• The more natural and closest antecedent is seriju.
• The meaning also makes sense only that way: the actress is in the series, not in the TV.

Why is it u kojoj and not just koja?

Because the preposition u in the relative clause needs a complement in the locative case.

Compare:

• serija u kojoj je ista glumica
  “the series in which the same actress is”
• serija koja ima istu glumicu
  “the series that has the same actress”

In the first version, the structure is literally:

• u + kojoj (locative feminine singular of koja)
  → u kojoj = “in which”

If you said serija koja je ista glumica, it would mean “the series that is the same actress”, which is wrong semantically and grammatically. The series is not the actress. You need u kojoj to express “in which (series) there is the same actress”.

Why is there je (is) and not ima (there is / has) in u kojoj je ista glumica?

Je is the 3rd person singular of biti (“to be”) and works as a linking verb:

• u kojoj je ista glumica
  literally: “in which (there) is the same actress”
  grammatically: ista glumica is the subject, je is the verb “to be”.

Ima is used more like “there is” or “has” and typically goes with an object:

• U toj seriji ima jedna glumica. – “In that series there is an actress.”

In your sentence, the pattern X je Y (“X is Y” / “there is Y”) with ista glumica as subject is more natural than using ima. You could say something like u kojoj glumi ista glumica (“in which the same actress acts”), but that slightly changes the structure and meaning.

How does the ista … kao structure work here?

Ista … kao … is a common pattern meaning “the same … as …”.

In your sentence:

• ista glumica kao u kazalištu
  → “the same actress as (the one) in the theatre”

Some notes:

• ista agrees with glumica (feminine singular): ista glumica
• kao introduces the comparison: kao u kazalištu = “as in the theatre”
• You could also say kao i u kazalištu (adding i) for emphasis:
  ista glumica kao i u kazalištu – “the same actress as (also) in the theatre”.

The part after kao often omits the repeated noun, because it’s understood:

• Full form (unnatural, but clear): ista glumica kao glumica u kazalištu
• Natural form: ista glumica kao u kazalištu.

Why is there no article like “a” or “the” before seriju or ista glumica?

Croatian does not use articles (a, an, the) at all. There are no separate words that function like English definite or indefinite articles.

Definiteness and specificity are understood from:

• context
• word order
• sometimes from adding jedan / jedna / jedno (“one”) if you want to stress “a certain” or “one particular”.

So:

• gledamo seriju can mean “we watch a series” or “we watch the series”, depending on context.
• ista glumica can be “the same actress” (usually understood that way here).

You could say gledamo jednu seriju to emphasise “one (particular) series”, but it’s not required.

Can the word order change? For example, can we say Često na televiziji gledamo seriju…?

Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, and several orders are grammatically correct, though they may slightly change emphasis.

Your original:

• Na televiziji često gledamo seriju…
  → mild emphasis on na televiziji (“On TV we often watch a series…”).

Other possible orders:

• Često na televiziji gledamo seriju u kojoj…
  – Focus on često (“We often, on TV, watch a series in which…”).
• Često gledamo seriju na televiziji u kojoj…
  – Neutral-sounding, with često early and the place later.
• Seriju u kojoj je ista glumica kao u kazalištu često gledamo na televiziji.
  – Strong emphasis on seriju u kojoj… (“That series (the one with the same actress as in the theatre) we often watch on TV.”)

All are grammatical; position mainly affects what is foregrounded.

Why is there no comma before u kojoj?

In Croatian, commas with relative clauses depend on whether the clause is:

• Restrictive / defining (essential information) → no comma
• Non-restrictive / non-defining (extra, non-essential information) → comma

Here:

• seriju u kojoj je ista glumica kao u kazalištu
  The relative clause u kojoj je ista glumica kao u kazalištu tells us which series we are talking about. It is essential to identify the series (defining clause), so no comma is used.

If it were just additional information about a series already uniquely identified, you could use a comma:

• Gledamo tu seriju, u kojoj je ista glumica kao u kazalištu.
  – “We’re watching that series, in which the same actress appears as in the theatre.”

In your original sentence, the clause is defining, so no comma is correct.