Na probi glumci još ne glume punom snagom, ali redatelj im vjeruje.

At rehearsal the actors are not yet acting with full strength, but the director trusts them.

Breakdown of Na probi glumci još ne glume punom snagom, ali redatelj im vjeruje.

• ne: not
• ali: but
• im: them
• na: at
• pun: full
• glumac: actor
• snaga: strength
• još: yet
• redatelj: director
• proba: rehearsal
• glumiti: to act
• vjerovati: to trust

Questions & Answers about Na probi glumci još ne glume punom snagom, ali redatelj im vjeruje.

What case is probi in na probi, and why is that case used here?

Probi is in the locative singular case of the noun proba (rehearsal).

• Nominative: proba (a rehearsal)
• Genitive: probe
• Dative: probi
• Accusative: probu
• Locative: probi
• Instrumental: probom

The preposition na with the meaning “at/on (a place/event)” normally takes the locative:

• na probi – at (the) rehearsal
• na koncertu – at (the) concert
• na poslu – at work

So na + probi = “at the rehearsal”.

Why is it na probi and not u probi?

Both na and u can mean in/at, but they are used with different kinds of nouns and slightly different concepts of location.

• na is used for:
  • open surfaces: na stolu (on the table)
  • many events/activities: na koncertu, na predavanju, na ručku
• u is used for:
  • enclosed spaces: u sobi (in the room), u kazalištu (in the theatre)
  • many organizations or groups: u školi, u firmi

A rehearsal (proba) is treated as an event, so standard Croatian prefers:

• na probi = at (the) rehearsal

Using u probi would sound wrong here; it would suggest being inside something physical called a rehearsal, which is not how the word works.

Why is it glumci and not glumce?

Glumci is nominative plural, and it is the subject of the verb glume.

• glumac – actor (nominative singular)
• glumci – actors (nominative plural)
• glumce – accusative plural (object form)

In the sentence:

• glumci još ne glume…
  glumci = the actors (they are the ones doing the action)

If the actors were the object, you would see glumce, for example:

• Redatelj gleda glumce. – The director is watching the actors.

What tense is još ne glume, and how does it compare to English “are not yet acting”?

Glume is present tense (imperfective aspect) of glumiti.

Croatian does not have a separate continuous/progressive tense like English “are acting”. The simple present glume can correspond to:

• they act
• they are acting

So još ne glume literally is “they do not act yet”, but in natural English we render it as “they are not yet acting” because that is how we normally talk about ongoing rehearsal behavior. The idea of ongoing action comes from context, not from a special tense.

What exactly does još mean here, and how is it different from još uvijek?

In this sentence, još means “yet” (or “still (not)”).

• još ne glume – they do not act yet / they are not yet acting

još is very flexible; one common use is to express “yet / still” in negative sentences.

još uvijek also means “still” or “yet”, but it is a bit stronger/emphatic:

• Još ne glume. – They are not yet acting.
• Još uvijek ne glume. – They still aren’t acting (emphasis that the situation continues).

Both are correct here; još ne glume is just a bit shorter and more neutral.

Why is it punom snagom and not puna snaga or punu snagu?

Punom snagom is in the instrumental singular (puna snaga → punom snagom).

• puna snaga – full strength (nominative, dictionary form)
• punu snagu – full strength (accusative, as a direct object)
• punom snagom – with full strength (instrumental: by/with what means?)

The instrumental case is used for means or manner:

• Pisao je olovkom. – He wrote with a pencil.
• Trčala je velikom brzinom. – She ran at high speed (literally “with great speed”).

Similarly:

• glumiti punom snagom – to act with full strength / to one’s full capacity

So the case tells you this is not just “full strength” as a thing, but “with full strength” as a manner/means.

Why is there a comma before ali?

In Croatian, ali (but) normally starts a new clause and is preceded by a comma, just like in English:

• …ne glume punom snagom, ali redatelj im vjeruje.

You generally put a comma before coordinating conjunctions like:

• ali – but
• nego – but rather
• iako – although (when it starts a subordinate clause, often with a comma before it)

So the comma here is simply following normal punctuation rules for coordinating clauses.

What does redatelj mean, and is it the same as režiser or režiser/ režiserka I may see elsewhere?

Redatelj means director (theatre, film, TV) in standard Croatian.

There are regional differences:

• In Croatia, the standard word is redatelj (feminine: redateljica).
• In much of Serbia/Bosnia, you’ll more often see režiser (fem: režiserka).

They mean essentially the same thing in context: director.
In Croatian aimed at Croatia, you’d normally learn redatelj / redateljica as the main form.

What is im in redatelj im vjeruje, and why does it come before the verb?

Im is a clitic pronoun: third person plural, dative case = “to them”.

• Full/stressed form: njima – to them
• Clitic form: im – to them (but unstressed and placed in a special position)

With verbs like vjerovati (to trust, to believe), the person you trust takes the dative:

• Vjeruje im. – He trusts them.
• Ne vjerujem ti. – I don’t trust you.

Clitic pronouns such as mi, ti, mu, joj, im must usually stand immediately after the first stressed word in the clause (very often the verb or the first word):

• Redatelj im vjeruje. – The director trusts them.
• Na probi im redatelj vjeruje. – At the rehearsal, the director trusts them.

That is why im goes before vjeruje here, not after it.

Could I say redatelj vjeruje njima instead of redatelj im vjeruje?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

• redatelj im vjeruje – neutral, the most natural everyday word order.
• redatelj vjeruje njima – stresses njima (“it’s them he trusts”, as opposed to others).

Njima is the stressed / full dative pronoun, often used:

• when you want extra emphasis, or

• when you contrast with someone else:

  • Ne vjeruje publici, vjeruje njima.
    He doesn’t trust the audience; he trusts them.

So grammatically both are correct, but redatelj im vjeruje is the default form.

How does vjerovati work? Why is it vjeruje im and not something with a preposition like vjeruje u njih?

The verb vjerovati has two main patterns:

1. vjerovati + dative (person) = trust / believe (a person)

   • Vjerujem ti. – I trust you.
   • Ne vjeruje im. – He doesn’t trust them.
   • Redatelj im vjeruje. – The director trusts them.

2. vjerovati u + accusative = believe in (the existence or quality of something/someone)
   Often more abstract, similar to English “believe in”:

   • Vjerujem u Boga. – I believe in God.
   • Vjeruje u njih. – He believes in them (in their abilities, potential).

In your sentence, the idea is “he trusts them” (as people), so the construction vjerovati + dative is used: im vjeruje.

Can the word order be changed, for example Glumci na probi još ne glume… or Još glumci ne glume…?

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and you can move parts around to change focus. Some possibilities:

• Na probi glumci još ne glume punom snagom… (original; neutral, slight focus on at the rehearsal)
• Glumci na probi još ne glume punom snagom… (slight focus on the actors at rehearsal as a group)
• Glumci još ne glume punom snagom na probi… (sounds a bit heavier; acceptable in context)
• Još glumci ne glume punom snagom… (emphasis that the actors still are not acting with full strength)

The original word order is natural and clear. Others are possible but change rhythm and emphasis. Clitics like im almost always must keep their special position (second in the clause).

Why is there no word for “the” before redatelj (the director) or glumci (the actors)?

Croatian has no articles (no “the” or “a/an”). Nouns appear without an article:

• glumci can mean actors, the actors, or some actors, depending on context.
• redatelj can mean a director or the director.

Definiteness is understood from:

• context,
• whether the thing is already known/mentioned,
• word order and stress (in some cases).

In this sentence, a natural English translation uses “the actors” and “the director”, because in the context of a rehearsal we naturally think of the specific people present. Croatian relies on context, not articles, to convey that.