Learn Hardcore Croatian: Još se nije prijavila na tečaj, iako ima dobru priliku. - She still has not registered for the course, although she has a good opportunity.

Position: Croatian clitics like se, sam/si/je/smo/ste/su, ne, etc. tend to go in “second position” in the clause, usually after the first stressed word or phrase.

In Još se nije prijavila:

Još = first stressed word
se = clitic follows it
nije (ne + je) = negative auxiliary
prijavila = main verb (past participle)

Natural wordings are:

Još se nije prijavila. (very common)
Još se nije prijavila na tečaj.
Ona se još nije prijavila. (with explicit ona)

Incorrect or very odd:

Se još nije prijavila. (clitic cannot start the sentence)

Why is the verb prijavila in the feminine form, and how would it change for a male subject?

Croatian past tense is formed with:

The auxiliary biti (in present: sam, si, je, smo, ste, su)
A past participle (often called L-participle) that agrees in gender and number with the subject.

Here:

Subject is understood as she (a woman).
3rd person singular auxiliary: je (hidden inside nije = ne + je).
Past participle of prijaviti for:
- masculine singular: prijavio
- feminine singular: prijavila
- neuter singular: prijavilo
- plural: prijavili / prijavile / prijavila, depending on gender mix.

So:

(Ona) se nije prijavila. = She hasn’t enrolled.
(On) se nije prijavio. = He hasn’t enrolled.
(Oni) se nisu prijavili. = They haven’t enrolled (group with at least one male).

Why isn’t the subject ona (“she”) written? Would it be wrong to include it?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (ja, ti, on, ona, itd.) are often omitted when the meaning is clear from context or from verb forms.

In Još se nije prijavila na tečaj, the feminine participle prijavila already shows:

person: 3rd singular
gender: feminine

So it’s clear that the subject is “she”, and ona is not needed.

You can add it, usually for emphasis or contrast:

Ona se još nije prijavila na tečaj, iako ima dobru priliku.
= She (as opposed to others) still hasn’t enrolled…

Grammatically, both versions are correct; the basic, neutral one simply leaves ona out.

What is the role of još here, and how is it different from još uvijek?

In this context, još means “still / yet”.

Još se nije prijavila na tečaj.
= She still hasn’t enrolled in the course.

Još by itself often means:

still (continuing situation): Još je ovdje. = He is still here.
yet (with negation): Još nije došla. = She hasn’t come yet.

Još uvijek is a bit more emphatic, often closer to “still (even now)”:

Još uvijek se nije prijavila na tečaj.
= She still hasn’t enrolled in the course (and you might expect she would have by now).

In many everyday situations, još and još uvijek can be used almost interchangeably, with još uvijek sounding slightly stronger or more emotional.

Why is it prijavila se / se prijavila and not something like prijavila na tečaj without se?

The meaning changes without se:

prijaviti se (na + accusative)
= to enroll / sign up / register oneself (for something)
e.g. Prijavila se na tečaj. = She enrolled in the course.
prijaviti (nekoga / nešto) (without se)
= to register / report / sign up someone or something else
e.g. Prijavila ga je na tečaj. = She enrolled him in the course.
e.g. Prijavila je problem policiji. = She reported the problem to the police.

So in your sentence, we’re talking about her own enrollment, so we need the reflexive form prijaviti se.

Why is it na tečaj and not u tečaj or za tečaj?

The verb prijaviti se normally takes na + accusative when you enroll in some organized activity:

prijaviti se na tečaj – enroll in a course
prijaviti se na natječaj – apply for a competition / job posting
prijaviti se na ispit – register for an exam

Here:

na
- accusative: na tečaj (accusative singular)
tečaj = course

u tečaj would sound wrong in this context.
za tečaj could appear in a different structure, like:

prijavnica za tečaj = application form for the course
but after prijaviti se, you normally say na tečaj.

Why is there a comma before iako, and what does iako mean compared to other conjunctions?

Iako means “although / even though” and introduces a subordinate concessive clause (something that contrasts with the main clause).

The structure is:

Main clause: Još se nije prijavila na tečaj,
Subordinate clause: iako ima dobru priliku.

In Croatian, subordinate clauses are usually separated from the main clause by a comma, so the comma before iako is standard and expected.

Compare:

iako / premda / makar (i) – all can mean although / even though
- Još se nije prijavila, iako ima dobru priliku.
- Još se nije prijavila, premda ima dobru priliku.

Iako is very common and neutral; premda is also common but sounds a bit more formal/literary in some contexts.

Why is it ima dobru priliku and not ima dobra prilika? What case is dobru priliku?

Prilika (opportunity, chance) is a feminine noun:

nominative singular: prilika
accusative singular: priliku

Here, priliku is the direct object of ima (“has”), so it must be in the accusative.

Adjective dobar (good) must agree with priliku in gender, number, and case:

feminine singular accusative: dobru

So:

(Ona) ima dobru priliku.
= She has a good opportunity.

If prilika were the subject (nominative), you’d say:

Dobra prilika. = A good opportunity.
Ovo je dobra prilika. = This is a good opportunity.

In your sentence it’s the object, so dobru priliku is correct.

Why is the tense nije prijavila (perfect) used for “hasn’t enrolled yet”? Is there a present‑perfect distinction like in English?

Croatian doesn’t have a separate present perfect vs simple past contrast like English. The same past form (called perfekt) covers both:

Nije se prijavila na tečaj.
- can be understood as:
  - She didn’t enroll in the course.
  - She hasn’t enrolled in the course.

The adverb još pushes the meaning toward “hasn’t yet”:

Još se nije prijavila na tečaj.
= She still hasn’t enrolled in the course.
(the situation is relevant “up to now”)

So, Croatian uses perfekt for many past meanings, and context/adverbs like jučer, već, još, upravo, nedavno help specify the nuance that English expresses with different past tenses.

Could we say Još nije prijavljena na tečaj instead? If yes, what’s the difference in meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Još nije prijavljena na tečaj.

This is a passive or stative form:

Literally: She is not yet enrolled/registered on the course.

Nuance:

Još se nije prijavila
focuses on her action (she hasn’t taken the step of enrolling).
Još nije prijavljena
focuses more on her state / status (she is not enrolled yet), often implying the system or someone else hasn’t registered her.

In everyday conversation, Još se nije prijavila is more idiomatic when you mean “she hasn’t signed up yet (herself).”
Još nije prijavljena might appear when you talk about administrative status, lists, etc.