Learn Hardcore Croatian: Na tečaju sjedi radoznala strankinja koja stalno postavlja pitanja. - In the course there is a curious foreign woman sitting who keeps asking questions.

na is used for: surfaces, open areas, events, courses, activities, etc.
- na tečaju = on/at a course, in a class
- na sastanku = at a meeting
- na koncertu = at a concert
u is used more for: closed spaces, buildings, cities, countries, etc.
- u sobi = in the room
- u školi = in (the) school
- u Zagrebu = in Zagreb

A course is treated as an event/activity, so Croatian uses na tečaju, not u tečaju.

What case is tečaju, and why does it end in -u?

Tečaju is locative singular of tečaj (a masculine noun).

Nominative: tečaj (the basic dictionary form)
Locative singular (with na/u meaning “at/in”): na tečaju

Masculine nouns ending in -aj typically form the locative in -aju:

tečaj → na tečaju
rodaj → u rodaju (hypothetical example; more natural real ones: kraj → u kraju, kraju is locative)

So na + locative → na tečaju. The -u is just part of that -aju ending.

Why does the sentence start with Na tečaju instead of the subject, like in English?

Croatian word order is more flexible than English because of its case system.
Both of these are grammatically correct:

Na tečaju sjedi radoznala strankinja.
Radoznala strankinja sjedi na tečaju.

The difference is focus:

Starting with Na tečaju emphasizes where this is happening.
- In the course, (there) sits a curious foreign woman…
Starting with Radoznala strankinja would emphasize who is sitting.

Croatian often puts known or contextual information first (here: on the course) and new information later (here: a curious foreign woman).

Is sjedi more like “sits” or “is sitting”?

Croatian doesn’t have a special continuous tense (like English is sitting).
The present tense sjedi can mean:

She sits (general/habitual)
She is sitting (right now)

Which one it is depends on context. In this sentence, it is naturally understood as “is sitting” (a current scene: In the course, a curious foreign woman is sitting…).

Why is radoznala before strankinja?

In Croatian, adjectives usually come before the noun they describe, just like in English:

radoznala strankinja = a curious foreign woman
velika kuća = a big house
dobar učitelj = a good teacher

So radoznala is simply the adjective curious, agreeing with strankinja in:

gender: feminine
number: singular
case: nominative

That’s why both forms are radoznala strankinja.

What exactly does strankinja mean? Is it “stranger” or “foreigner”?

Strankinja is:

the feminine form of stranac
primarily means a foreign woman, i.e., a woman from another country

Nuances:

stranac / strankinja: mainly foreigner (nationality/origin)
For a stranger in the sense “someone I don’t know,” Croatian more often uses other expressions (e.g. nepoznata osoba).

So here, radoznala strankinja is best understood as “a curious foreign woman.”

Why is the relative pronoun koja used here, and what does it agree with?

Koja is a relative pronoun meaning who/that/which (feminine singular nominative).

It agrees with the noun it refers to, which is strankinja:

strankinja: feminine, singular, nominative (subject)
relative pronoun: koja (also feminine, singular, nominative)

The structure is:

radoznala strankinja (subject)
koja stalno postavlja pitanja (relative clause describing strankinja)

So: koja = who (= the woman)

Why is it stalno postavlja pitanja and not just pita?

There are two key points: vocabulary and aspect.

Vocabulary
- pitati (nekoga) = to ask (someone)
  - Pita učitelja. = She asks the teacher.
- postavljati pitanja = to pose/ask questions (literally: set questions)
You can say:
- stalno pita (she keeps asking)
- stalno postavlja pitanja (she constantly asks questions)
Verb aspect
- postavljati is imperfective (ongoing, repeated action)
- postaviti would be perfective (one-time, completed: to pose/ask (a question) once)

Here, stalno + imperfective (postavlja) nicely expresses repeated, annoying or persistent behavior:
koja stalno postavlja pitanja = who keeps asking questions all the time.

What form is pitanja, and why isn’t it just pitanje?

Pitanja here is:

accusative plural of pitanje (a neuter noun meaning question).

Forms:

singular:
- nominative: pitanje (a question)
- accusative: pitanje (same as nominative)
plural:
- nominative: pitanja (questions)
- accusative: pitanja (same as nominative)

The verb postavljati takes a direct object in the accusative:

one question: postavlja jedno pitanje
many questions: postavlja pitanja

Because she asks more than one question, we need the plural: pitanja.

Why is there no word for “there” like tamo or ondje in “Na tečaju sjedi radoznala strankinja…”?

English often says:

There is a curious foreign woman sitting in the course.

Croatian expresses the same idea without an explicit “there”:

Na tečaju sjedi radoznala strankinja.

The meaning “there” is kind of built into the structure:

Na tečaju = in the course / in that class (gives the location)
sjedi radoznala strankinja = a curious foreign woman is sitting

You would use tamo/ondje when you want to emphasize “over there (not here)”, which is not needed in this neutral description.

Could the sentence be Na tečaju radoznala strankinja sjedi…? Is that wrong?

It’s not wrong; it’s just a different word order and therefore a slightly different rhythm/focus.

Possible versions:

Na tečaju sjedi radoznala strankinja.
Na tečaju radoznala strankinja sjedi.

Both are grammatical. Subtle differences:

Version 1 (verb earlier) is very natural and neutral in describing a scene.
Version 2 puts more emphasis on radoznala strankinja by moving it closer to the end.

In everyday speech, Version 1 is more typical in this context.

Is there a difference between stalno and uvijek here?

Both can often be translated as always, but they have different nuances:

uvijek = always (in all cases, every time, without exception)
stalno = constantly, continually, all the time (often with a hint of annoyance)

So:

koja uvijek postavlja pitanja
- more like: who always asks questions (whenever she can)
koja stalno postavlja pitanja
- more like: who keeps asking questions all the time
- can sound slightly more complaining or annoyed in tone

In this sentence, stalno fits well with the idea that she is very persistent in asking.

Could I say radoznata strankinja instead of radoznala strankinja?

The correct form here is radoznala, not radoznata.

The adjective from radoznao (curious) is:
- masculine: radoznao
- feminine: radoznala
- neuter: radoznalo

Radoznat/radoznata is not the standard form in Croatian; radoznao/radoznala is.
So radoznala strankinja is the grammatically correct and natural phrase.

Is sjedi from sjesti or sjediti, and is aspect important here?

Sjedi here is from sjediti (to sit), which is imperfective.

sjediti (imperfective) = to be sitting, to sit (state)
- Sjedi na stolici. = She is sitting on the chair.
sjesti (perfective) = to sit down (the action of starting to sit)
- Sjela je na stolicu. = She sat down on the chair.

In Na tečaju sjedi radoznala strankinja, we are describing her state (she is in a sitting position), not the moment she sat down, so the imperfective sjediti → sjedi is the correct choice.