Learn Hardcore Croatian: Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu pišu kratku priču. - Every male pupil and every female pupil in the class are writing a short story.

The subject here is svaki učenik i svaka učenica (every male student and every female student). That’s two noun phrases joined by i (and), so together they form a plural subject.

Therefore the verb has to be plural:

učenik + učenica → oni (they) → pišu (they write)

If you only had one of them, you’d use the singular:

Svaki učenik u razredu piše kratku priču.
Svaka učenica u razredu piše kratku priču.

But once you join them with i, you must say pišu, not piše.

What is the difference between svaki and svaka?

Both mean every (or each), but they agree with the gender of the noun:

svaki učenik – masculine singular (every male student)
svaka učenica – feminine singular (every female student)

Croatian adjectives and determiners must match the noun in:

gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
number (singular, plural)
case (nominative, accusative, etc.)

Here:

svaki = masculine nominative singular form of svaki
svaka = feminine nominative singular form of svaki

Why are there two different words, učenik and učenica? Do I always have to show both genders?

učenik is the masculine form (male student) and učenica is the feminine form (female student).

In careful, inclusive language, you often see both forms mentioned, especially in schools, official documents, and public speech:

učenici i učenice – male and female students
studenti i studentice – male and female university students

However, in everyday speech, many people use only the masculine plural to refer to mixed groups:

Svaki učenik u razredu piše kratku priču.
– Grammatically: every male student
– In practice: often understood as every student (boys and girls) in the class.

So no, you don’t always have to show both. Using just učenik/učenici is very common and usually understood as generic. Using both (učenik i učenica) is more explicitly inclusive.

Why is it u razredu and not something like u razred or u razreda?

The preposition u can take either the locative or accusative case, depending on meaning:

u
- locative = in / inside (location, where something happens)
u
- accusative = into (movement, where something goes)

Here we have a location: the action happens in the classroom, not into it. So we use locative singular:

razred – nominative singular (class)
u razredu – locative singular (in the class)

If you talked about going into the classroom, you’d use the accusative:

Idem u razred. – I’m going into the classroom.

Why is it kratku priču, not kratka priča?

After most verbs that take a direct object (like pisati – to write), Croatian uses the accusative case for that object.

The basic form is:

kratka priča – nominative singular feminine (short story; used for the subject)

But here kratku priču is the object of pišu (they write what? → a short story), so we need the accusative:

kratka priča → kratku priču (feminine singular accusative)

Both the adjective (kratku) and noun (priču) change their ending to mark the case and still agree in gender, number, and case:

gender: feminine
number: singular
case: accusative

Is there any difference in meaning between kratka priča and kratku priču, or is it only grammar?

The meaning of the words themselves is the same: short story.

The difference is purely grammatical:

kratka priča – nominative, used as a subject
- Kratka priča je zanimljiva. – The short story is interesting.
kratku priču – accusative, used as a direct object
- Pišem kratku priču. – I’m writing a short story.

Croatian shows the function of a noun in the sentence mainly through case endings, not through word order like English does.

Can I change the word order, for example say U razredu svaki učenik i svaka učenica pišu kratku priču?

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than in English.

All these are grammatically correct and mean basically the same thing (with slightly different emphasis):

Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu pišu kratku priču.
U razredu svaki učenik i svaka učenica pišu kratku priču.
Svaki učenik i svaka učenica pišu kratku priču u razredu.

The core information comes from the endings and agreement, not the position in the sentence. Changing the order mostly changes what you emphasize:

Starting with U razredu emphasizes the place (in the class …).
Starting with Svaki učenik… emphasizes who is doing the action.

Could I say Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu piše kratku priču, with piše in the singular?

This is a very common learner error, and it sounds wrong to native speakers in standard Croatian.

Because svaki učenik i svaka učenica together form a plural subject, the verb must also be plural:

✅ Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu pišu kratku priču.
❌ Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu piše kratku priču.

You will sometimes hear singular agreement with similar structures in colloquial speech, especially if the speaker kind of “forgets” the second part. But in standard language and in writing, you should always use pišu here.

What is the difference between pišu and something like napisat će (future with napisati)? Why pišu here?

Pišu is the present tense of the imperfective verb pisati (to write, be writing).

(oni) pišu – they write / they are writing

If you use napisati, that’s a perfective verb, focusing on completing the action:

napisat će (kratku priču) – they will write (and finish) a short story

In the given sentence, pišu can mean:

they are currently writing short stories
as a repeated action: they (regularly) write short stories in class

If you wanted to emphasize that they will finish writing a short story (e.g. homework for the future), you might say:

Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu napisat će kratku priču.
– Every student in the class will write (and complete) a short story.

Is there an implied pronoun like oni or one before pišu?

Yes, you can think of it as if there were an implied oni (they), but in Croatian the subject pronoun is usually dropped because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

So instead of:

Oni pišu kratku priču. – They write a short story.

you normally just say:

Pišu kratku priču.

In the full sentence, svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu is the explicit subject, so you do not add oni:

❌ Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu oni pišu kratku priču. (incorrect)
✅ Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu pišu kratku priču.

Could I just say Svaki učenik u razredu piše kratku priču and mean both boys and girls?

In real-life usage, yes, many speakers do that.

Svaki učenik u razredu piše kratku priču.

Literally: every male student in the class writes a short story.
But in practice, especially in everyday conversation, učenik (masculine) is often used generically for student without focusing on gender.

However:

If you want to be formally inclusive or very clear that you are talking about both genders, you say:
- Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu pišu kratku priču.

That’s why this sentence uses both forms: it explicitly mentions both male and female students.

Why isn’t there a comma before i (between učenik and svaka učenica)?

In Croatian, you normally don’t put a comma before i when it simply joins two parts of the same function (like two parts of the subject):

Svaki učenik i svaka učenica u razredu… (no comma)

You would use a comma before i only in certain special structures (for example, if i is joining whole clauses and there is a pause in speech, or for emphasis, or in some lists with stylistic choices). But as a regular rule:

two subjects: učenik i učenica → no comma
two objects: jabuke i kruške → no comma

What are the basic dictionary forms of the main words in this sentence?

Here are the dictionary (nominative singular) forms:

svaki – every, each (masculine form; entry is usually svaki/svak in dictionaries)
učenik – student (male pupil)
učenica – student (female pupil)
razred – class (school class; also “grade” in school context)
pisati – to write
kratak – short (adjective; feminine singular nominative is kratka)
priča – story

In the sentence, most of them are declined (changed) to match gender, number, and case:

svaki učenik – masc. nom. sg.
svaka učenica – fem. nom. sg.
u razredu – locative sg.
pišu – 3rd person plural present of pisati
kratku priču – fem. acc. sg.