Learn Hardcore Croatian: Umjesto da gleda televiziju, ona sada u tihoj sobi uči matematiku. - Instead of watching television, she is now studying mathematics in a quiet room.

In standard Croatian, umjesto da + finite verb (present tense) is the normal way to say “instead of doing X” when you follow it with a whole clause:

Umjesto da gleda televiziju… = Instead of watching TV… (literally: Instead of that she watches TV…)

So:

umjesto da = instead of (that)
gleda = 3rd person singular present of gledati (to watch)

You can hear people say things like „Umjesto gledati televiziju…” in speech, but that’s considered colloquial and less standard. In careful/standard language, you use umjesto da + [personally conjugated verb].

Why is “gleda” in the present tense when English says “watching”?

Croatian doesn’t use a special -ing form the way English does. The present tense often covers both:

Ona gleda televiziju.
- She watches TV. / She is watching TV.

In umjesto da gleda televiziju, the verb gleda is in the present tense, but in this construction it matches the English gerund watching in meaning. Croatian doesn’t need a separate gerund form here; the finite present is enough.

Why is it “televiziju” and not “televizija”?

Televiziju is the accusative singular form of televizija, used because it is the direct object of the verb gledati (to watch).

Nominative (subject): televizija – Televizija je pokvarena. (The TV is broken.)
Accusative (object): televiziju – Gledam televiziju. (I’m watching TV.)

So in your sentence:

gleda (što?) televiziju – watches what? TV → accusative televiziju is required.

Could you say “Umjesto da gleda TV” or “Umjesto da gleda televizor”?

Yes, both are possible, with small differences in nuance:

Umjesto da gleda TV…
- TV is a common colloquial abbreviation; sounds more casual.
Umjesto da gleda televizor…
- televizor = the physical device (television set).
- In practice, this often still just means watch TV, but it can sound slightly more literal.

The most neutral, textbook version is “gledati televiziju”, which refers to watching TV programs in general.

What does “u tihoj sobi” literally mean, and why is “sobi” in that form?

U tihoj sobi literally means “in a quiet room.”

u = in
tihoj = quiet (feminine, singular, locative)
sobi = room (feminine, singular, locative form of soba)

In Croatian, the preposition u takes:

locative case when it means in / inside (location):
- u sobi – in the room
accusative case when it means into (movement):
- u sobu – into the room

Here we’re talking about her current location (in a quiet room), so u + locative → u tihoj sobi.

Why does the adjective “tihoj” end in -oj?

Tihoj is the feminine singular locative form of the adjective tih (quiet), agreeing with soba (room), which is feminine.

Nominative feminine: tiha soba – a quiet room
Locative feminine: u tihoj sobi – in a quiet room

The -oj ending is typical for feminine singular dative/locative in many adjective patterns:

nova knjiga → u novoj knjizi
velika kuća → u velikoj kući
tiha soba → u tihoj sobi

Why is there a comma after “Umjesto da gleda televiziju”?

In Croatian, you normally put a comma between a dependent clause and the main clause, especially when the dependent clause comes first.

Dependent clause: Umjesto da gleda televiziju
Main clause: ona sada u tihoj sobi uči matematiku

So you write:

Umjesto da gleda televiziju, ona sada u tihoj sobi uči matematiku.

Leaving the comma out would look incorrect in standard writing.

Can you leave out the pronoun “ona”?

Yes. Croatian is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns are usually omitted when the verb ending already shows the person.

So you can say:

Umjesto da gleda televiziju, sada u tihoj sobi uči matematiku.

This is perfectly natural and probably more common.
Keeping ona adds a slight emphasis, often contrastive, like:

Umjesto da gleda televiziju, ona sada…
- She (as opposed to someone else, or as opposed to what you might expect) is now studying…

Why is the word order “ona sada u tihoj sobi uči matematiku”? Could it be different?

Croatian word order is fairly flexible. The given order:

ona sada u tihoj sobi uči matematiku

roughly follows a pattern: subject (ona) + time (sada) + place (u tihoj sobi) + verb + object.

You could also say, for example:

Ona u tihoj sobi sada uči matematiku.
Sada ona u tihoj sobi uči matematiku.
Ona sada uči matematiku u tihoj sobi.

All are grammatically correct. Changing the order usually changes emphasis and rhythm, but not the basic meaning. The original sounds quite natural and neutral.

Why is it “uči matematiku” and not something like “nauči matematiku”?

Uči is the present tense of učiti, an imperfective verb that focuses on the process of studying/learning.

uči matematiku = is studying mathematics / studies mathematics (ongoing activity)

Naučiti is a perfective verb, focused on completion or the result:

Naučila je matematiku. = She has learned (mastered) mathematics.

In your sentence, we are describing what she is doing right now, so the imperfective učiti in the present (uči) is the natural choice.

Why is “matematiku” in that form, and not “matematika”?

Matematiku is the accusative singular of matematika (mathematics), again because it’s the direct object of učiti (to study/learn).

Nominative: matematika – Matematika je teška. (Math is hard.)
Accusative: matematiku – Uči matematiku. (She is studying math.)

So: uči (što?) matematiku → needs the accusative matematiku.

Where else can “sada” go in the sentence, and does it change the meaning?

Sada (now) is quite mobile. All of these are possible:

Ona sada u tihoj sobi uči matematiku.
Ona u tihoj sobi sada uči matematiku.
Sada ona u tihoj sobi uči matematiku.
U tihoj sobi ona sada uči matematiku.

The basic meaning (now, in a quiet room, she is studying math instead of watching TV) stays the same. Moving sada usually only changes rhythm and which part of the sentence feels more highlighted, not the core meaning.