Learn Hardcore Croatian: Jutros sam odmoren i spreman za ispit. - This morning I am rested and ready for the exam.

jutro = morning (a noun)
- Jutro je hladno. = The morning is cold.
ujutro = in the morning / in the mornings (general, habitual)
- Ujutro pijem kavu. = In the morning I drink coffee.
jutros = this morning (earlier today) (an adverb of time)
- Jutros sam odmoren. = This morning I am rested.

So in your sentence you must use jutros, not jutro, because you are saying when you are rested (this morning), not talking about the morning as a thing.

Why is there no ja (I) in the sentence? Can I say Ja jutros sam odmoren…?

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns when the verb form already shows the person.

sam = I am (1st person singular of biti, “to be”)

Because sam clearly shows the subject is I, you normally don’t need ja:

Jutros sam odmoren i spreman za ispit. = natural, standard
Ja jutros sam odmoren… = ungrammatical word order

If you really want to emphasize I, you can say:

Ja sam jutros odmoren i spreman za ispit.

Here ja is allowed because the clitic sam is in the “second position” (after the first stressed word ja), which is required in Croatian.

Why is sam in the second position (after Jutros) and not at the beginning?

In Croatian, sam, si, je, smo, ste, su (forms of biti) are clitics. Clitics:

cannot normally stand at the very beginning of a sentence
like to appear in second position, after the first stressed word or phrase

So:

Jutros sam odmoren…
- Jutros (first stressed element)
- sam (clitic in second position) ✔

Other correct options (with a different emphasis) include:

Ja sam jutros odmoren i spreman za ispit.
- Ja is first, sam is second.

But:

Sam jutros odmoren… ❌ (sounds wrong; clitic at the start)
Jutros odmoren sam i spreman… sounds marked/poetic; not neutral everyday speech.

Do I have to say sam at all? Could I just say Jutros odmoren i spreman za ispit?

In standard Croatian, you must use a form of biti (to be) in sentences like this:

Jutros sam odmoren i spreman za ispit. ✔

Without sam, the sentence is considered incomplete or dialectal:

Jutros odmoren i spreman za ispit. ❌ in standard language
(sounds like something is missing)

Some dialects in the region do drop biti in the present tense, but for correct standard Croatian you should always keep sam / si / je / smo / ste / su in such sentences.

Why is it odmoren and not odmoran? Are both possible?

Both odmoren and odmoran exist, but they are slightly different:

odmoren is originally a past participle of odmoriti (se) – it highlights the result of a completed rest:
- “(I am) rested” after having rested.
odmoran is a regular adjective – it can mean:
- “rested / well-rested / energetic (in general)”

In practice:

Jutros sam odmoren. – neutral, “This morning I’m rested (after resting).”
Jutros sam odmoran. – also fine and very common; sounds a bit more like a description of your condition.

Most speakers would accept both in this sentence with almost no difference in meaning.
Also note gender agreement:

male speaker: odmoren / odmoran
female speaker: odmorena / odmorna

Your sentence is for a male speaker: Jutros sam odmoren…

Why is the verb biti in the present (sam), not in the past (bio sam)? What would Jutros sam bio odmoren… mean?

Sam is present tense: I am.
The sentence describes your current state this morning:

Jutros sam odmoren… = This morning I am (feeling) rested.

If you say:

Jutros sam bio odmoren i spreman za ispit.

you are putting the whole situation in the past:

This morning I was rested and ready for the exam (implying you’re now talking later in the day, looking back at how you felt this morning).

So:

use sam odmoren when describing how you feel right now, this morning
use sam bio odmoren when telling a story about earlier today

What case is ispit in here, and why does the form look the same as the dictionary form?

The dictionary form ispit is nominative singular, masculine.

After the preposition za, Croatian uses the accusative case:

za
- accusative

For masculine inanimate nouns like ispit, the nominative and accusative singular look the same:

Nominative: ispit
Accusative: ispit

So in your sentence:

za ispit = “for the exam” (accusative case, even though the form doesn’t change)

Why is it spreman za ispit and not something like spreman na ispit?

With spreman in the sense of ready for something (prepared for it), Croatian normally uses za:

spreman za ispit – ready for the exam (prepared to take it)
spreman za put – ready for the trip
spreman za sve – ready for anything

The preposition na with ispit has a different meaning:

ići na ispit – to go to the exam
biti na ispitu – to be at the exam

So:

spreman za ispit = you are prepared for it
ići na ispit = you are going to it

Can I change the word order, for example put jutros at the end?

Yes, Croatian word order is quite flexible, but the neutral version is:

Jutros sam odmoren i spreman za ispit.

Some alternatives:

Ja sam jutros odmoren i spreman za ispit.
- Emphasizes ja (“I”), still quite natural.
Odmoren sam i spreman za ispit jutros.
- Puts extra emphasis on jutros (the time), but can sound a bit marked or slightly awkward in isolation.
Jutros sam spreman i odmoren za ispit.
- Swaps the adjectives; stylistically okay, but the original order is more usual.

All of these are grammatical; the differences are mainly in emphasis and style. For learners, Jutros sam odmoren i spreman za ispit is the best default.

Why do we only say sam once, even though there are two adjectives (odmoren and spreman)?

In Croatian, one form of biti (sam) can link the subject to several predicate adjectives joined by i:

Jutros sam odmoren i spreman za ispit. ✔
(I am rested and (I am) ready for the exam.)

You don’t repeat sam:

Jutros sam odmoren i sam spreman za ispit. ❌ (sounds wrong/overdone)

This is the same as in English: you say “I am rested and ready”, not “I am rested and am ready” (unless you’re emphasizing something special).