Learn Hardcore Croatian: Njegov prijatelj je još uvijek malo stidljiv u novom timu. - His friend is still a bit shy in the new team.

još alone = still / yet / more / in addition, depending on context.
- još je stidljiv – he is still shy
- želiš još? – do you want more?
uvijek alone = always:
- uvijek je stidljiv – he is always shy

If you say:

Njegov prijatelj je još stidljiv u novom timu. – OK in many contexts, but sounds a bit more like “he’s still shy (for now)” and often implies a change is expected.
Njegov prijatelj je uvijek stidljiv u novom timu. – “he is always shy in the new team” (sounds odd because “always” doesn’t combine naturally with “in the new team,” unless you’re contrasting situations).

Još uvijek is the most natural way to express “still (hasn’t changed yet)” here.

Why is the verb je (is) placed after Njegov prijatelj and not right after Njegov or at the end?

Je is a clitic form of the verb biti (to be), and Croatian clitics usually go in second position in the clause.

The first “position” here is the phrase Njegov prijatelj (it counts as one unit), so je comes right after it:

Njegov prijatelj (first unit) je (clitic in second position) još uvijek malo stidljiv u novom timu.

You cannot normally put je at the very end:

❌ Njegov prijatelj još uvijek malo stidljiv u novom timu je. – ungrammatical in standard Croatian.

You can change the first element, and je will still move to second position:

Još uvijek je njegov prijatelj malo stidljiv u novom timu.
U novom timu je njegov prijatelj još uvijek malo stidljiv.

In each case, je stays in the second spot of the clause.

What case is novom timu, and why is that case used after u?

Novom timu is in the locative singular case.

tim (team) – masculine noun
u
- locative = in / at when something is static (no movement)

Patterns here:

u
- accusative = into (movement, direction)
  - u novi tim – into the new team
u
- locative = in (location, no movement)
  - u novom timu – in the new team

Forms:

nominative: novi tim (a new team)
locative: (o) novom timu, u novom timu

So u novom timu means “in the new team” in the sense of being located in that team, not entering it.

How do the adjectives and possessives agree with the nouns in Njegov prijatelj and novom timu?

In Croatian, adjectives and possessive pronouns must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify.

Njegov prijatelj
- prijatelj – masculine, singular, nominative
- njegov – masculine, singular, nominative
  They match: njegov (m.sg.nom)
  - prijatelj (m.sg.nom)
novom timu
- Preposition u requires locative here (location)
- tim – masculine, singular, locative = timu
- nov (new) – masculine, singular, locative = novom They match: novom (m.sg.loc)
  - timu (m.sg.loc)

This agreement pattern is one of the core grammar rules: whenever you change number or case of the noun, the adjective and possessive must change too.

What is the difference between stidljiv and sramežljiv? Could I use sramežljiv instead?

Stidljiv and sramežljiv are very close in meaning:

stidljiv – shy, easily ashamed; common word, completely normal here.
sramežljiv – shy, also common. Depending on region/individual, it can sound slightly:
- more bookish or
- more neutral / standard (to some speakers).

In your sentence, both are correct:

Njegov prijatelj je još uvijek malo stidljiv u novom timu.
Njegov prijatelj je još uvijek malo sramežljiv u novom timu.

There is no big meaning difference here; both mean a person is shy.

What is the role of malo in this sentence? Is it an adjective or something else?

Here malo is an adverb meaning a little / a bit / somewhat. It modifies the adjective stidljiv:

malo stidljiv – a bit shy, somewhat shy

It is not an adjective here; it’s not describing a noun like a small friend. If you wanted “a small friend,” you’d use the adjective form mali prijatelj.

Other similar modifiers:

pomalo stidljiv – kind of shy / somewhat shy (slightly more colloquial)
jako stidljiv – very shy
vrlo stidljiv – very shy (more formal/neutral)

Can I change the position of još uvijek and malo, or is the order fixed?

The order in the original sentence is very natural:

je još uvijek malo stidljiv

Alternative orders can be used, but some sound more natural than others:

Good and natural:
- Njegov prijatelj je još uvijek malo stidljiv u novom timu.
- Njegov prijatelj je malo još uvijek stidljiv u novom timu. – possible, but less natural; sounds slightly awkward.
Less natural / odd:
- ❌ Njegov prijatelj je malo stidljiv još uvijek u novom timu. – understandable but clumsy.

In practice:

Keep još uvijek together if possible.
Usually place malo immediately before the adjective it modifies: malo stidljiv.

So the safest and most natural is exactly the version you have.

Why doesn’t Croatian use an article like a or the before prijatelj and tim?

Croatian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

prijatelj can mean “a friend” or “the friend,” depending on context.
tim can mean “a team” or “the team.”

Definiteness is understood from context, word order, or additional words (like taj = that, ovaj = this) if needed:

Njegov prijatelj – his friend / the friend of his
u novom timu – in a new team or in the new team, depending on what is known in the situation.

Learners have to rely more on context instead of articles to catch the meaning.

Could you drop the je in this sentence, like sometimes you can drop is in English headlines?

In normal, full sentences in standard Croatian, you cannot drop je in this structure:

✅ Njegov prijatelj je još uvijek malo stidljiv u novom timu.
❌ Njegov prijatelj još uvijek malo stidljiv u novom timu.

You might see je omitted:

in headlines
in very informal, clipped speech
in poetry or stylized language

But as a learner, you should always include the correct form of biti (to be) in sentences like this when describing a state with an adjective in the present tense.

Why is njegov at the beginning of the sentence and capitalized? Would Njegov ever be capitalized in the middle of a sentence?

Njegov is capitalized here only because it is the first word in the sentence.

Rules:

First word of a sentence: capitalized – Njegov prijatelj …
In the middle of a sentence: normally lower-case – … i njegov prijatelj je još uvijek malo stidljiv.

Croatian does not capitalize possessive pronouns like njegov (his), njezin (her), naš (our) for emphasis or politeness (unlike, say, the German Sie). They’re capitalized only when they start a sentence or are part of a title where all words are capitalized.

What is the pronunciation and stress like in Njegov prijatelj je još uvijek malo stidljiv? Any tricky parts for English speakers?

Key points:

Njegov – pronounced roughly NYE-gov
- nj is like the ny in canyon.
prijatelj – about PREE-ya-tehly
- prij = priy (with a short i then a j glide)
- final lj is a palatal l, similar to the lli in British million.
još – like yosh (short o), with š like sh.
uvijek – roughly OO-vyek (stress usually on u or u-vje, depending on accent).
malo – MA-lo (stress on first syllable).
stidljiv – STEED-lyiv (one d, then lj again).

Stress placement varies slightly by dialect, but you’ll be understood as long as you keep vowels short and clear and pronounce nj, lj, and š distinctly.

Could I say u novoj ekipi instead of u novom timu? Is there a difference between tim and ekipa?

You can say:

u novom timu – in the new team
u novoj ekipi – in the new team/squad/crew

Differences:

tim – usually more neutral and common for sports teams and also work/project teams.
ekipa – often a bit more informal/colloquial; can mean:
- team (sports)
- group of friends / gang / crew

Both forms are grammatically correct; only the tone and nuance change slightly:

u novom timu – neutral, standard.
u novoj ekipi – a bit more conversational or more about a “group of people hanging/working together.”