Learn Hardcore Croatian: Znanstvenica proučava hrvatski jezik na fakultetu. - The scientist female studies the Croatian language at the university.

The base noun znanstvenik = scientist (usually male or generic).
The ending -ica is a common feminine suffix in Croatian.
- znanstvenik → znanstvenica (scientist m → f)
- učenik → učenica (pupil m → f)
- student → studentica (student m → f)

So from znanstvenica you know:

the subject is one person
and that person is female.

Why is there no word for “the” in this sentence?

Croatian has no articles (no equivalents of a/an or the).

Znanstvenica can mean a scientist or the scientist.
Croatian relies on context, word order, and sometimes demonstratives to show what English shows with articles:
- ta znanstvenica = that scientist / this scientist
- ona znanstvenica = that (particular) scientist (with pronoun emphasis)

In your sentence, whether we translate it as a scientist or the scientist depends entirely on the context, not on any Croatian word form.

Why do we say hrvatski jezik and not just hrvatski?

Literally, hrvatski jezik = Croatian language.

hrvatski is an adjective: Croatian.
jezik = language or tongue.

Both of these are used:

proučava hrvatski jezik – more explicit/formal: She studies the Croatian language.
proučava hrvatski – very common in everyday speech: She studies Croatian.

So:

With jezik: clearer that you mean the language.
Without jezik: shorter and perfectly natural in context where it’s obvious you’re talking about the language.

What case is hrvatski jezik in, and how can I recognize it?

In this sentence, hrvatski jezik is in the accusative singular, because it’s the direct object of proučava (studies).

Verb: proučava – studies (what?) → hrvatski jezik

For masculine inanimate nouns like jezik:

Nominative singular: hrvatski jezik (subject)
Accusative singular: hrvatski jezik (object) – same form as nominative

So you often can’t see the accusative for these nouns by form alone; you see it from function in the sentence (it’s the thing being studied).

The adjective hrvatski also appears in its accusative masculine singular form, which is identical to its nominative masculine singular when the noun is inanimate.

What case is fakultetu, and why does it end in -u instead of -et?

Fakultetu is in the locative singular.

fakultet (dictionary / nominative form) = faculty / college (within a university).
After the preposition na (“on / at”), when you mean location, masculine nouns like fakultet go to the locative:
- na + fakultet (accusative) → onto the faculty (movement toward)
- na + fakultetu (locative) → at the faculty (location)

In your sentence:

na fakultetu = at the faculty / at university (college).
The ending -u is the regular locative singular ending for many masculine nouns: fakultet → fakultetu.

Why is the preposition na used with fakultetu, and not u?

Both na and u can be translated as in/at/on, but they’re used differently.

In this expression, na fakultetu is the standard, idiomatic way to say at university / at college.

Very roughly:

na + locative is often used with:
- institutions: na fakultetu, na sveučilištu (at university), na sudu (in court),
- events/activities: na koncertu, na nastavi (in class),
- surfaces: na stolu (on the table).
u + locative is often more physical/“inside”:
- u kući (in the house),
- u sobi (in the room),
- u gradu (in the city).

So na fakultetu = at the faculty / at college is a fixed, idiomatic pattern. U fakultetu would sound wrong in this meaning.

What verb is proučava, and what is its infinitive and aspect? How is it different from uči or studira?

Proučava is the 3rd person singular present of proučavati.

Infinitive: proučavati
Aspect: imperfective – describes an ongoing, repeated, or process-like action.

Approximate meanings:

proučavati – to study/examine (systematically), to research
proučiti (perfective partner) – to study thoroughly, to examine completely (until done)

Comparison:

učiti – to learn or to teach (context decides):
- uči hrvatski – she is learning Croatian.
studirati – to study (as a field at university):
- studira hrvatski jezik – she is majoring in Croatian or studies Croatian (as her degree).
proučavati hrvatski jezik – she is researching/studying Croatian (as an object of research), often with a more scientific or analytical nuance than just learning it as a language user.

In your sentence, because the subject is a scientist, proučava fits the idea of researching/studying academically.

In English we say “is studying”. How does Croatian express this continuous idea with proučava?

Croatian does not have a separate continuous tense like English (is studying vs studies).

The present tense (proučava) covers both:

She studies Croatian (generally).
She is studying Croatian (right now).

Context shows which meaning is intended. You can add adverbs for clarity if needed:

Trenutno proučava hrvatski jezik na fakultetu.
She is currently studying the Croatian language at the faculty.

But grammatically, it’s still just the present tense.

Can I change the word order, for example to Na fakultetu znanstvenica proučava hrvatski jezik? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the word order. Croatian has relatively free word order compared to English.

Some possible variants:

Znanstvenica proučava hrvatski jezik na fakultetu.
Neutral: focuses on what she does (studies Croatian at the faculty).
Na fakultetu znanstvenica proučava hrvatski jezik.
Fronts na fakultetu (“at the faculty”) – e.g. to contrast with somewhere else.
Hrvatski jezik znanstvenica proučava na fakultetu.
Fronts hrvatski jezik – to emphasize it’s Croatian (not some other language) that she studies at the faculty.

The basic factual meaning stays the same, but the focus and emphasis shift depending on what you put first. For a learner, the original S–V–O–(place) order is the safest “neutral” option.

Can I drop znanstvenica and just say Proučava hrvatski jezik na fakultetu?

Yes. Croatian is a pro‑drop language, meaning subject pronouns (and even full noun subjects) can be omitted when obvious from context.

(Ona) proučava hrvatski jezik na fakultetu.
She studies the Croatian language at the faculty.

If the listener already knows who you are talking about, you can omit:

the pronoun (ona) and/or
even the full noun (znanstvenica),

and just say:

Proučava hrvatski jezik na fakultetu.

Then context must tell the listener who is studying Croatian. If it’s not clear, you keep znanstvenica (or ona) to avoid ambiguity.

Does fakultet mean the same as English “faculty”?

Not exactly; it’s a bit of a false friend.

Croatian fakultet usually means:
- a college / school within a university (e.g. Faculty of Law, Faculty of Medicine),
- often colloquially, “university studies” in general (being at college).
English faculty most often means:
- the teaching staff of a university: the faculty voted today,
- or a department/college as an institution.

Croatian translations:

English faculty (staff) → nastavno osoblje, profesori, fakultetsko osoblje.
English faculty (college within a university) → fakultet.

In your sentence, na fakultetu is best translated as “at (the) university” or “at (the) faculty/college”, depending on context.

How do I pronounce tricky parts like zn, hrv, and letters like č and j in this sentence?

Key pronunciation points (without going into accent marks):

znanstvenica
- zn at the start: pronounce both sounds, a bit like z
  - n in “sna” but with a clear z: z-nan-stve-ni-tsa.
- c is always like ts in “cats”: -ni-ca → -ni-tsa.
proučava
- Split it: pro-u-ča-va.
- č is like English ch in “church”.
- j (not in this word, but in jezik) is always like English y in “yes”.
hrvatski
- h is a stronger, more throaty h (like in some Scottish or German sounds).
- r is tapped or rolled; it can even form a kind of syllable by itself in hrv-.
- v is between v and w, but you can safely pronounce it as a normal v.
fakultetu
- kul is like cool but with a short u.
- All letters are pronounced; Croatian spelling is very phonetic compared to English.

Stress (which syllable is emphasized) is not marked in normal writing and must usually be learned word by word, but if you pronounce every letter clearly as above, you will be understandable.