Learn Hardcore Croatian: U poznatoj sceni iz filma turist stoji sam na tavanu i vježba izgovor pred kamerom. - In a famous scene from a movie, a tourist stands alone in the attic and practices pronunciation in front of the camera.

u
- static location → locative case
scena is a feminine noun:
- nominative: poznata scena (a/the famous scene)
- locative: u poznatoj sceni (in a famous scene)

So:

poznatoj = feminine singular locative of poznat
sceni = feminine singular locative of scena

Adjective and noun must agree in gender, number, and case:

u poznatoj sceni = in (the) famous scene

What case is iz filma and why do we use iz instead of od?

iz filma uses the genitive case:

iz (from, out of) → always followed by genitive
film (nominative) → filma (genitive)

So:

iz filma = from the film / from the movie

Why iz and not od?

iz is typically “from the inside of something” (places, containers, works of art, texts):
- iz kuće – from the house
- iz knjige – from the book
- iz filma – from the film
od is more “from a person / from someone’s side / because of”:
- pismo od prijatelja – a letter from a friend
- umoran od posla – tired from work

So for a scene that originates from a film, iz filma is the natural choice.

Why isn’t there a comma after filma, before turist?

Because turist stoji sam na tavanu i vježba izgovor pred kamerom is just the main clause, and u poznatoj sceni iz filma is a simple prepositional phrase in front of it.

The structure is:

[U poznatoj sceni iz filma] [turist stoji sam na tavanu i vježba izgovor pred kamerom].

That first part is not a separate clause with its own verb, so in Croatian you do not normally put a comma there.

A comma would appear if there were a separate finite verb, e.g.:

U poznatoj sceni iz filma, u kojoj turist putuje…, on stoji sam na tavanu…

Why is there no word for a or the before turist? How do I know if it means “a tourist” or “the tourist”?

Croatian has no articles like a/an/the.

Definiteness (a vs the) is inferred from context:

turist can mean a tourist or the tourist.
In this sentence, we are talking about a specific well‑known scene from a film, so turist is naturally understood as the tourist (a known character in that scene).

If you were introducing him for the first time in a story, in English you’d probably translate it as a tourist, but the Croatian form turist stays the same.

Why are stoji and vježba in the present tense if this is a scene in a (finished) film?

Croatian, like English, often uses the “historical present” when talking about what happens in films, books, and stories:

U poznatoj sceni iz filma turist stoji… i vježba…
- literally: “In a famous scene from the film the tourist stands… and practices…”

English sometimes does the same:
In this scene, the hero walks in and says…

You could use the past in Croatian:

… turist je stajao sam na tavanu i vježbao izgovor…

but the present tense feels more vivid and is very natural in plot summaries.

What exactly does sam mean here, and why is it after stoji?

sam can be two different words in Croatian:

sam = I am (1st person singular of biti – to be)
- Ja sam turist. – I am a tourist.
sam (adjective) = alone
- On je sam. – He is alone.

In the sentence turist stoji sam na tavanu:

It’s the adjective meaning alone.
It modifies turist and tells us he is by himself.

Word order:

turist sam stoji na tavanu
turist stoji sam na tavanu

Both are possible. stoji sam is very natural: verb + short complement.
If you really want to show it’s “alone (no one else there)”, you might also see potpuno sam, sasvim sam, etc.

Why is it na tavanu and not u tavanu if English says “in the attic”?

Croatian uses na and u a bit differently than English uses on and in.

For tavan (attic):

na tavanu is the normal expression for being up in the attic.
Croatian conceptualizes a lot of floors/levels as being on something:
- na prvom katu – on the first floor
- na balkonu – on the balcony
- na tavanu – in the attic (literally “on the attic level”)

u tavanu would sound wrong or at least very odd in standard usage.
So you say na tavanu even though in English it’s in the attic.

What case is tavanu, and how does it change with different prepositions?

tavanu is locative singular of tavan.

Basic singular forms:

nominative: tavan (attic)
genitive: tavana
dative/locative: tavanu
accusative: tavan
instrumental: tavanom

With na:

na + locative = static position:
- stoji na tavanu – he is standing in the attic
na + accusative = motion to a place:
- ide na tavan – he is going (up) to the attic

So in your sentence, since he is already there, we need na tavanu (locative).

What does vježba izgovor literally mean, and why is there no possessive like “his pronunciation”?

Literally:

vježba – he practices / exercises
izgovor – pronunciation

Grammar:

vježbati is a transitive verb → takes a direct object in accusative:
- nominative: izgovor
- accusative: izgovor (same form)

So vježba izgovor = he practices pronunciation.

In Croatian, it’s normal not to say svoj (his own) when it’s obvious:

vježba izgovor – he’s practicing (his) pronunciation
If you say vježba svoj izgovor, it’s also correct, just a bit more explicit/emphatic.

What case is kamerom in pred kamerom, and what’s the rule with pred?

kamerom is instrumental singular of kamera.

nominative: kamera
instrumental: kamerom

The preposition pred (in front of, before) takes:

instrumental for location (where?):
- stoji pred kamerom – he stands in front of the camera
accusative for movement to a position (to where?):
- staje pred kameru – he steps in front of the camera

In your sentence, he is located in front of the camera, so pred kamerom (instrumental) is used.

Is the word order fixed, or could I say this sentence differently?

Croatian word order is relatively flexible. All of these are grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:

U poznatoj sceni iz filma turist stoji sam na tavanu i vježba izgovor pred kamerom.
(neutral, information flows from setting → subject → actions)
Turist u poznatoj sceni iz filma stoji sam na tavanu i vježba izgovor pred kamerom.
(slightly more focus on the tourist right away)
U poznatoj sceni iz filma, na tavanu, turist stoji sam i vježba izgovor pred kamerom.
(extra emphasis on location, more “spoken” style)

Native speakers tend to put known/background information (here: u poznatoj sceni iz filma) earlier and the new or important elements (what he is doing) later. But the core grammatical relations (who does what where) stay the same regardless of order.

Could I say u poznatoj filmskoj sceni instead of u poznatoj sceni iz filma? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say u poznatoj filmskoj sceni, and it is correct.

Nuance:

u poznatoj sceni iz filma
– in a famous scene from the film (more literally points to that specific film as the source)
u poznatoj filmskoj sceni
– in a famous film scene (the fact that it’s a film scene is built into the adjective filmskoj; it sounds a bit more general/formal)

In context, both would usually refer to the same thing. sceni iz filma just highlights the connection to a particular film a bit more explicitly.