Learn Hardcore Croatian: Na stolu je tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica. - On the table there is a plate with meat, a glass of water, a knife and a fork.

Na stolu je tanjur… = A plate is on the table (location → locative)
Stavljam tanjur na stol. = I’m putting the plate onto the table (movement → accusative)

Na stola would be genitive, and na does not use the genitive in this meaning, so na stola is wrong here.

Why is the verb je singular even though there are four objects on the table?

Literally the sentence is:

Na stolu je tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica.
On the table is a plate with meat, a glass of water, a knife and a fork.

In both English and Croatian, we sometimes use a singular verb when we present a list as a single group or “set”:

English: On the table *is a plate, a glass, a knife and a fork.*
Croatian: Na stolu je tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica.

Here je (3rd person singular of biti – to be) matches the idea “there is the following on the table:”, treating the whole list as one collection.

Grammatically, you can also make the verb agree with the plural subject:

Na stolu su tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica.

Both are used. As a learner, using the plural su with a clearly plural subject is always safe; the singular je here is a stylistic choice that sounds very natural in “there is …” type sentences.

What cases and genders are used for each noun in the sentence?

Here is a breakdown:

Na stolu
- Dictionary form: stol (table)
- Form in the sentence: stolu
- Case: locative singular
- Gender: masculine
- Reason: after na with the meaning on (location), Croatian uses the locative.
tanjur
- Dictionary form: tanjur (plate)
- Form: tanjur
- Case: nominative singular
- Gender: masculine
- Reason: it is part of the subject of the verb je.
mesom (in s mesom)
- Dictionary form: meso (meat)
- Form: mesom
- Case: instrumental singular
- Gender: neuter
- Reason: after s meaning with, Croatian uses the instrumental.
čaša
- Dictionary form: čaša (glass)
- Form: čaša
- Case: nominative singular
- Gender: feminine
- Reason: another item in the subject list.
vode (in čaša vode)
- Dictionary form: voda (water)
- Form: vode
- Case: genitive singular
- Gender: feminine
- Reason: genitive of content → a glass of water.
nož
- Dictionary form: nož (knife)
- Form: nož
- Case: nominative singular
- Gender: masculine
- Reason: item in the subject list.
vilica
- Dictionary form: vilica (fork)
- Form: vilica
- Case: nominative singular
- Gender: feminine
- Reason: item in the subject list.

So only stolu, mesom, and vode are inflected away from their dictionary forms; all the rest are nominative singular.

What exactly does s in s mesom mean, and why is mesom in that form?

In s mesom, the preposition s means with.

When s = with, it takes the instrumental case.
meso (meat) in instrumental singular is mesom.

So:

s mesom = with meat.

Compare:

s prijateljem = with a friend (instrumental)
s djecom = with children (instrumental plural)

You might also see sa instead of s. s and sa are the same preposition; sa is used when s would be hard to pronounce, e.g.:

sa sestrom (with (my) sister)
sa mnom (with me)

Here s mesom is easy to pronounce, so s is used.

Note: s can also mean from/off with the genitive (e.g. pasti sa stola – fall off the table), but in s mesom the meaning is clearly with, so we use the instrumental.

Why is it čaša vode and not čaša voda or čaša od vode?

Croatian normally uses the genitive to show the content of a container:

čaša vode = a glass of water
boca vina = a bottle of wine
šalica kave = a cup of coffee

Here:

voda (water) → vode (genitive singular)
čaša vode literally = a glass of (some) water.

So:

čaša voda – two nouns both in nominative – sounds wrong; the second noun should be in genitive to show content.
čaša od vode would mean a glass made of water (nonsense).
od
- genitive is for material:
  - čaša od stakla = glass made of glass
  - stol od drva = table made of wood

So for “a glass of water”, the natural expression is čaša vode.

How can I tell whether this means on a table or on the table when there are no articles?

Croatian has no articles like a/an or the, so:

Na stolu je tanjur s mesom… can mean either:
- There is a plate with meat on a table…
- There is a plate with meat on the table…

The difference is understood from context, not from grammar.

To make it more specific, Croatian often uses demonstratives:

Na tom stolu je tanjur… = On that table there is a plate…
Na jednom stolu je tanjur… = On one (some) table there is a plate…

But the simple Na stolu je… stays neutral; the English translator has to choose a or the based on the situation.

Can I change the word order, for example by moving na stolu to the end?

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English; the cases show who does what, so you can move parts around for emphasis.

All of these are grammatically possible:

Na stolu je tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica.
Neutral; slightly emphasises the location first: On the table, there is…
Tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica su na stolu.
Emphasises what is there; The plate with meat, the glass of water, the knife and the fork are on the table.
Na stolu su tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica.
Same elements, but verb now agrees in plural; still starts from the location.
Tanjur s mesom je na stolu, kao i čaša vode, nož i vilica.
Emphasises the plate first, then adds the other items.

The basic rule: the part you place earlier in the sentence is often the topic or what you are highlighting. But grammatically, several orders are fine as long as cases and verb agreement are correct.

Could I say Na stolu su tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica instead of je?

Yes, you can, and many speakers would naturally say it with su.

Na stolu je…
Tends to sound like a presentation: On the table there is (the following): …
Singular je treats the list as one “set”.
Na stolu su…
Treats the four items as clearly plural; the verb agrees with the coordinated subject: On the table are a plate with meat, a glass of water, a knife and a fork.

Both versions are acceptable. For learners, using Na stolu su… is fully correct and maybe simpler because it matches the plural subject explicitly.

Why are there commas between some items in the list but no comma before i vilica?

Croatian list punctuation is similar to standard British English (without the Oxford comma):

Items in a list are separated by commas.
Normally there is no comma before the final i (and).

So:

tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica

Commas between:

tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož

No comma before:

i vilica

You would only put a comma before i in special cases (for example, to avoid ambiguity or in some emphatic styles), but in a simple list like this, the version without a comma before i is standard.

How would the sentence change if everything were plural (plates, glasses, knives, forks)?

You need to put the nouns (and the verb) into the plural nominative:

Singular:

Na stolu je tanjur s mesom, čaša vode, nož i vilica.

Plural version could be:

Na stolu su tanjuri s mesom, čaše vode, noževi i vilice.
On the table there are plates with meat, glasses of water, knives and forks.

Forms used:

tanjur → tanjuri (plates)
čaša → čaše (glasses)
nož → noževi (knives)
vilica → vilice (forks)
je → su (because the subject is now clearly plural)

Notice vode stays the same form in čaše vode; it’s still genitive of content (glasses of water), just now with a plural container.