Learn Hardcore Croatian: U ormaru leže stara deka i veliki jastuk. - In the wardrobe there is an old blanket and a big pillow.

u – in
ormaru – wardrobe (in the locative case: in the wardrobe)
leže – lie / are lying (3rd person plural of ležati)
stara – old (feminine singular form of the adjective star)
deka – blanket (feminine singular)
i – and
veliki – big (masculine singular form of the adjective velik / veliki)
jastuk – pillow (masculine singular)

So literally: In (the) wardrobe lie (an) old blanket and (a) big pillow.

Why is it u ormaru and not u ormar?

Croatian uses different cases with u depending on the meaning:

u + locative = location (where something is)
- u ormaru = in the wardrobe (static location)
u + accusative = movement into (where something is going)
- u ormar = into the wardrobe (movement)

In this sentence, the blanket and pillow are already in the wardrobe (no movement), so locative is used: u ormaru.

What case is ormaru, and what is the base form of that noun?

The base (dictionary) form is ormar – wardrobe (nominative singular).
ormaru is locative singular of ormar.

A shortened declension (singular):

Nominative: ormar – wardrobe
Genitive: ormara – of the wardrobe
Dative: ormaru – to/for the wardrobe
Accusative: ormar – (into) the wardrobe
Locative: u ormaru – in the wardrobe
Instrumental: ormarom – with the wardrobe

Here, u ormaru uses the locative to express location.

Why is the verb leže used instead of something like su (are)?

Croatian often uses a more concrete verb of position instead of the verb to be.

leže is 3rd person plural of ležati = to lie, to be lying.

So instead of saying:

In the wardrobe there are an old blanket and a big pillow, Croatian prefers:
U ormaru leže stara deka i veliki jastuk.
Literally: In the wardrobe lie an old blanket and a big pillow.

You can say U ormaru su stara deka i veliki jastuk, but leže gives a more physical, visual sense of the objects lying there.

What is the full present tense conjugation of ležati?

Present tense of ležati (to lie, be lying):

ja ležim – I lie / am lying
ti ležiš – you lie
on/ona/ono leži – he/she/it lies
mi ležimo – we lie
vi ležite – you (pl/formal) lie
oni/one/ona leže – they lie

In the sentence, the subject is plural (an old blanket and a big pillow), so the verb is leže (they lie).

Why does the adjective change: stara deka but veliki jastuk?

Because adjectives must agree with the noun in:

gender
number
case

Here, both nouns are nominative singular, but they have different genders:

deka – blanket – feminine
→ adjective must be feminine, nominative singular: stara deka (old blanket)
jastuk – pillow – masculine
→ adjective must be masculine, nominative singular: veliki jastuk (big pillow)

Base adjectives in dictionaries are given in masculine form (e.g. star, velik/veliki), but in real sentences they change to match the noun.

Could it also be stara deka i velik jastuk instead of veliki jastuk?

Yes, you can also hear:

stara deka i velik jastuk

velik and veliki are both masculine nominative singular forms of the same adjective. The difference:

veliki – a bit more neutral/standard in many contexts
velik – slightly shorter form; often sounds a bit more colloquial or stylistic

In this sentence, both velik jastuk and veliki jastuk are grammatically correct and natural.

Why is the verb leže plural?

Because the subject is plural: it consists of two items joined by i (and):

stara deka (an old blanket)
(i) veliki jastuk (and a big pillow)

Together they form a plural subject: an old blanket and a big pillow → they.

So the verb must be 3rd person plural:

leže = they lie / are lying.

Could the word order also be Stara deka i veliki jastuk leže u ormaru? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, that word order is also correct:

Stara deka i veliki jastuk leže u ormaru.

Difference:

U ormaru leže stara deka i veliki jastuk.
– Slight emphasis on location first: In the wardrobe lie...
Stara deka i veliki jastuk leže u ormaru.
– Slight emphasis on what is lying there: An old blanket and a big pillow lie in the wardrobe.

The basic meaning is the same. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, and nuance is mostly about emphasis, not grammar here.

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” in the Croatian sentence?

Croatian has no articles (a/an, the). Definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from:

context
word order
stress
previous mention in the conversation

So stara deka can mean:

an old blanket or
the old blanket,

depending on context, and the same for veliki jastuk (a/the big pillow). The sentence structure itself doesn’t mark this difference.

Why do we use u and not na in this sentence?

Both mean roughly in/on/at, but are used in different situations:

u – literally in, inside something
- u ormaru – in the wardrobe (inside the wardrobe)
na – usually on, on top of or at certain places/events
- na stolu – on the table
- na krevetu – on the bed
- na poslu – at work

Since a wardrobe is an enclosed space and the objects are imagined inside it, u ormaru is correct.

How would I make the nouns plural in a similar sentence?

If you wanted plural blankets and pillows, you’d change both nouns and adjectives to plural nominative:

singular: stara deka i veliki jastuk
plural: stare deke i veliki jastuci

A possible plural sentence:

U ormaru leže stare deke i veliki jastuci.
= In the wardrobe lie old blankets and big pillows.

Notice:

stara → stare (feminine plural)
deka → deke (feminine plural)
jastuk → jastuci (masculine plural, with a consonant change k → c before -i)
veliki happens to look the same in masculine singular and masculine plural nominative, but it’s grammatically plural in veliki jastuci.