Learn Hardcore Croatian: Perilica je jučer stala usred pranja, ali ju je majstor danas popravio. - The washing machine stopped in the middle of washing yesterday, but the repairman fixed it today.

If the context is about clothes, perilica alone will be understood as washing machine. If you need to be explicit, say perilica rublja (washing machine) or perilica posuđa (dishwasher).

Grammatically, perilica is:

feminine gender
singular
nominative case (subject of the sentence)

Why is it Perilica je jučer stala and not Perilica jučer je stala or something else?

Croatian word order is flexible, but clitics (short unstressed words like je) follow some rules.

je here is the auxiliary verb biti (to be), used to form the past tense.
In neutral sentences, clitics like je want to be in second position in the clause.

In Perilica je jučer stala:

Perilica = first element
je = clitic moves to the second position
jučer stala = the rest of the sentence

You could also say:

Jučer je perilica stala usred pranja. (Yesterday, the washing machine stopped in the middle of the wash.)

but Perilica jučer je stala is unnatural because it breaks the usual clitic placement rule.

What is the function of je in je jučer stala and je majstor danas popravio?

In both cases je is the 3rd person singular of biti (to be), used as an auxiliary verb to form the past tense (perfect).

Structure:

je + past participle → Croatian perfect (commonly used past tense)

So:

je stala = stopped (literally has stopped)
je popravio = repaired (literally has repaired)

The auxiliary je does not change for gender; the participle does:

stala (feminine singular, agrees with perilica)
popravio (masculine singular, agrees with majstor)

Why is it stala and not stao or stalo?

The past participle in Croatian agrees with the subject’s gender and number.

Verb: stati = to stop (perfective)
Past participle forms:
- stao – masculine singular
- stala – feminine singular
- stalo – neuter singular
- stali / stale / stala – plural forms

The subject perilica is feminine singular, so the correct form is stala:

Perilica je stala. = The washing machine stopped.

If the subject were masculine:

Auto je stao. = The car stopped.

What is the difference between stala and stajala?

Both come from related verbs:

stati (perfective) → stala
- Focus on the moment/event of stopping
- Used in this sentence: the machine stopped (it went from working to not working)
stajati (imperfective) → stajala
- Focus on an ongoing state of standing / being stopped
- Example: Perilica je dugo stajala u kutu. = The washing machine was standing in the corner for a long time.

In your sentence, we are talking about the event of breaking down (it suddenly stopped working), so stala (from stati) is correct, not stajala.

What exactly does usred pranja mean, and why is pranja in that form?

usred pranja literally means in the middle of the washing.

usred = in the middle of, in the midst of
pranje = washing (noun, verbal noun from prati = to wash)

The preposition usred takes the genitive case, so pranje changes to pranja (genitive singular):

nominative: pranje (washing)
genitive: pranja (of washing)

So usred pranja = in the middle of washing / during the wash cycle.

Could I say u sred pranja instead of usred pranja?

Standard and correct is usred pranja (one word: usred).

Some speakers may say or write u sred pranja, but that is considered colloquial or incorrect in standard Croatian. For correct, neutral language, use:

usred pranja = in the middle of the wash

Why is the pronoun ju used in ali ju je majstor danas popravio and not je?

The unstressed (clitic) accusative feminine singular pronoun for nju (her/it) has two short forms: je and ju.

In theory, we might expect:

Ali je je majstor danas popravio.

But je je (two je in a row) sounds very awkward and is avoided. Croatian typically uses ju for the object pronoun when je is also present as an auxiliary, to avoid this clash:

Ali ju je majstor danas popravio.
- ju = her/it (referring to perilica)
- je = auxiliary

So:

je – auxiliary verb (biti)
ju – object pronoun (her/it)

What is the difference between ju, je, and nju for “her/it”?

All three refer to her or it (feminine), but they are used in different positions:

je – clitic (short, unstressed form), usually in 2nd position
- Vidim je. = I see her/it.
ju – alternative clitic form, used especially:
- to avoid je je sequences (as in your sentence)
- in some dialects and everyday speech also more generally
- Vidim ju. = I see her/it.
nju – stressed (full) form, used for emphasis or after prepositions
- Vidim baš nju. = I see her specifically.
- Gledam u nju. = I am looking at her/it.

In your sentence, ju is chosen to avoid je je:

Ali ju je majstor danas popravio.

Why is it ali ju je majstor danas popravio and not ali majstor ju je danas popravio? Is that wrong?

Both are grammatically possible, but the clitic position and focus change slightly.

Ali ju je majstor danas popravio.
- ali ju je → clitics (ju je) follow the conjunction ali (second position in the new clause)
- focus more on her/it (the machine), then who did it.
Ali majstor ju je danas popravio.
- majstor comes first → slight emphasis on majstor (the repairman) as the important piece of new information
- clitics ju je still appear right after the first stressed word (majstor)

Both are acceptable. The original version is more neutral; the second one highlights majstor a bit more.

Why is popravio masculine when it refers to fixing the washing machine, which is feminine?

The past participle agrees with the subject, not the object.

Subject of the second clause: majstor (repairman) – masculine singular
Verb: popraviti = to repair (perfective)
Past participle masculine singular: popravio

So:

Majstor ju je popravio. = The repairman fixed it.

If the subject were feminine, the participle would be:

Majstorica ju je popravila. (female repair person)
Ona ju je popravila. = She fixed it.

The gender of perilica (feminine) is shown in ju (feminine object pronoun), not in popravio.

What is the aspect of stala and popravio, and why does that matter?

In Croatian, verbs have aspect:

perfective – complete, one-time actions or results
imperfective – ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions

In your sentence:

stala comes from stati – perfective
- focuses on the moment of stopping (the breakdown event)
popravio comes from popraviti – perfective
- focuses on the completion of the repair

So the sentence describes two completed events:

It stopped yesterday.
The repairman fixed it today.

For ongoing or repeated activities you would use the imperfective partners:

stajati (to be standing)
popravljati (to be repairing, to repair repeatedly)

Can I move jučer and danas around, and does the meaning change?

You can move them somewhat freely, and the basic meaning stays the same, but the emphasis can shift.

Original:

Perilica je jučer stala usred pranja, ali ju je majstor danas popravio.

Other natural options:

Jučer je perilica stala usred pranja, ali ju je majstor danas popravio.
(more emphasis on yesterday in the first clause)
Perilica je stala jučer usred pranja, ali ju je majstor danas popravio.
(neutral, but slightly unusual rhythm; still acceptable)
Perilica je jučer stala usred pranja, a majstor ju je danas popravio.
(slight stylistic change with a instead of ali)

The main constraint is that clitics like je / ju must stay in their typical second position; adverbs like jučer and danas are more flexible and mostly affect nuance, not grammaticality.