Learn Hardcore Croatian: Njene tenisice stoje u hodniku ispod police s kaputima. - Her sneakers are standing in the hallway under the shelf with the coats.

The base pronoun is ona (she), and the possessive is njezin / njezina / njezino (her). In everyday speech, the shorter forms njen / njena / njeno are extremely common.

In this sentence:

tenisice is feminine plural, nominative (they are the subject).
The possessive adjective must agree with the noun, so it must also be feminine plural, nominative → njezine / njene.
Njene tenisice = Her sneakers.

So:

njezina tenisica – feminine singular (one sneaker), nominative
njezine / njene tenisice – feminine plural (sneakers), nominative → this is what we need here.

Njene tenisice is slightly more colloquial; njezine tenisice sounds a bit more “bookish”/formal, but both are correct.

What does stoje literally mean here? Why not just say Njene tenisice su u hodniku?

Stoje is the 3rd person plural of stajati = to stand.

In Croatian you often specify how something is located:

stajati – to stand (upright position; objects standing on something)
ležati – to lie (lying flat; e.g. a book lying on a table)
visjeti – to hang

So:

Njene tenisice stoje u hodniku…
literally: Her sneakers stand in the hallway…
idiomatically: Her sneakers are (standing) in the hallway…

You can say:

Njene tenisice su u hodniku. – grammatical and fine, just a bit more neutral/less visual.

Using stoje paints a more concrete picture of where/how the shoes are placed.

Which case is u hodniku and why do we use it here?

U hodniku is locative singular of hodnik (hall, hallway).

Base noun: hodnik (masc. sg. nominative)
Locative singular: hodniku

With u:

u + locative = location (where something is)
- u hodniku – in the hallway
- u kući – in the house
u + accusative = direction (movement into)
- u hodnik – into the hallway
- u kuću – into the house

Here, the sneakers are already there, not moving there, so we use u + locative → u hodniku.

Why is it u hodniku and not na hodniku?

Both u (in) and na (on, at) can translate as “in” depending on the place, but they are not freely interchangeable.

u hodniku – literally “in the hallway”, i.e. inside that space.
na hodniku is possible, but it suggests more “out in the hallway area” as a location compared to some other reference point (e.g. He’s not in the room, he’s out in the hallway).

For physical places that are enclosed or conceived as an interior space, u is the standard choice:

u sobi – in the room
u hodniku – in the hallway
u kući – in the house

So u hodniku is the neutral, expected phrase for where something is located.

What case is ispod police, and why is it police and not polica?

The phrase ispod police uses the genitive singular of polica (shelf).

Base noun: polica (fem. sg. nominative) – shelf
Genitive singular: police

The preposition ispod (under, below) always takes the genitive:

ispod stola – under the table
ispod kreveta – under the bed
ispod police – under the shelf

So police here is genitive singular, even though it looks like a nominative plural form – you can only tell from context and the preposition.

Meaning: ispod police = under/below the shelf.

What is the difference between ispod and pod? Could I say pod policom instead of ispod police?

Both ispod and pod can be translated as under, but they’re used a bit differently.

ispod:

Takes genitive: ispod police
Often emphasises position “below” something, often right underneath it.

pod:

With accusative – motion under: idemo pod most (we are going under the bridge).
With instrumental – location under: pod mostom (under the bridge).

In your example:

ispod police (gen.) = under the shelf
pod policom (instr.) = also under the shelf

Both are correct and common here. Ispod police is maybe slightly more specific about being “just below” the shelf; pod policom sounds very natural too. You can safely use either.

What does s kaputima literally mean, and which case is kaputima?

S kaputima literally means with coats.

Base noun: kaput (coat), masculine
Instrumental plural: kaputima

The preposition s (or sa) when meaning “with” takes the instrumental:

s prijateljima – with friends
s kaputima – with coats

In this sentence, polica s kaputima = literally a shelf with coats.
In English we’d more naturally say the coat shelf or the shelf where the coats are hanging.

So:

s kaputima = “with coats”
kaputima = instrumental plural form.

Why is it s kaputima and not sa kaputima?

Croatian has two forms of this preposition: s and sa.

The core meaning is the same (“with”); sa is used mainly:

for easier pronunciation (before certain consonant clusters)
or occasionally for emphasis/style.

Typical patterns:

s kapom (with a hat)
sa psom (with a dog – easier to pronounce than s psom)
s kaputima is fine and easy to say, so s is used.

You could say sa kaputima, and it would still be grammatical, but the short s form is more natural here.

What is the grammatical gender and number of tenisice, and is there a singular form?

Tenisice is:

feminine plural, nominative in this sentence.

It normally means trainers / sneakers (a pair), and is almost always used in the plural, just like English “shoes” or “trousers”.

Theoretically:

singular: tenisica (one sneaker)
plural: tenisice (two or more sneakers / a pair)

In real usage, you’ll mostly hear the plural:

Nove tenisice – new sneakers
Gdje su moje tenisice? – Where are my sneakers?

Other words you might see:

cipele – shoes (more general, often dress shoes)
patike – sneakers/trainers (regional/colloquial)

Could I change the word order, for example: U hodniku ispod police s kaputima stoje njene tenisice? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, Croatian word order is quite flexible, and your alternative is correct:

Njene tenisice stoje u hodniku ispod police s kaputima.
Neutral focus on njene tenisice (her sneakers) as the topic.
U hodniku ispod police s kaputima stoje njene tenisice.
Now the sentence starts by setting the place as the frame (In the hallway under the shelf with coats…), and then tells you what is there.

The basic meaning (where the shoes are) stays the same.
The difference is in emphasis and what you present first:

Start with njene tenisice → talking about her sneakers.
Start with u hodniku… → talking about that location, then mentioning what’s found there.

Can I drop njene and just say Tenisice stoje u hodniku ispod police s kaputima?

Yes, you can drop njene if it’s already clear from context whose sneakers you’re talking about.

Njene tenisice stoje… – explicitly her sneakers.
Tenisice stoje… – just “the sneakers” / “(some) sneakers”.

Croatian doesn’t have articles (no the / a), so tenisice by itself is context-dependent. In a conversation where the owner is obvious, people might naturally omit njene.

Is there a difference in nuance between Njene tenisice stoje u hodniku… and Njene tenisice su u hodniku…?

Both are correct and understandable:

Njene tenisice stoje u hodniku…
Literally Her sneakers stand in the hallway… – it suggests how they are positioned (standing on the floor), gives a bit more of a physical “picture”.
Njene tenisice su u hodniku…
Just Her sneakers are in the hallway… – more neutral, only states the location.

In everyday speech, both are used; stoje sounds a bit more descriptive/visual, su is more basic and matter‑of‑fact.