Learn Hardcore Croatian: U ladici ispod štednjaka držimo začine, a u kutiji na polici luk i češnjak. - In the drawer under the stove we keep spices, and in the box on the shelf onion and garlic.

U ladicu stavljamo začine. = We are putting spices into the drawer. (motion → accusative)
U ladici držimo začine. = We keep spices in the drawer. (location → locative)

Why is it ispod štednjaka and not ispod štednjak?

The preposition ispod (under, below) always takes the genitive case.

The noun štednjak (stove) is masculine:

Nominative sg: štednjak
Genitive sg: štednjaka

So after ispod you must say štednjaka:

ispod štednjaka = under the stove
Similar patterns:
iznad stola (above the table)
ispred kuće (in front of the house)

All those prepositions (ispod, iznad, ispred, iza, oko…) require genitive.

Why do we say držimo here? Does it literally mean “hold”?

The verb držati does literally mean “to hold,” but in everyday language it also means “to keep / to store” when talking about where things normally are.

So:

držimo začine ≈ we keep/store the spices (there regularly)
It does not imply that you are physically holding them in your hands right now.

Other examples:

Gdje držiš šećer? – Where do you keep the sugar?
Ključeve uvijek držim u torbi. – I always keep the keys in my bag.

If you wanted only physical holding, context or additional words would make it clear:

Držim bocu u ruci. – I’m holding the bottle in my hand.

Why is there no verb in the second part: a u kutiji na polici luk i češnjak?

Croatian often omits a repeated verb if it’s clear from context. The sentence is understood as:

…držimo začine, a u kutiji na polici (držimo) luk i češnjak.

The second držimo is simply left out to avoid repetition. This is very natural in Croatian (and in many other languages) when both clauses share the same verb.

What exactly does the conjunction a mean here? Is it just “and”?

A is often translated as “and”, but it usually carries a slight sense of contrast or shift:

…držimo začine, a u kutiji… luk i češnjak.

Roughly:

“…we keep the spices there, and (on the other hand) in the box on the shelf we keep onions and garlic.”

You could use i (“and”) here too, but:

i = simple addition, neutral “and”
a = “and/but/while”, lightly contrasting or separating two pieces of information

So a is good when you are listing different places, people, or situations.

Why are both u kutiji and na polici ending in -i? What case is that?

Both are in the locative singular feminine.

Nouns:

kutija (box) → locative sg: kutiji
polica (shelf) → locative sg: polici

Prepositions:

u (in) + locative → static location: u kutiji (in the box)
na (on) + locative → static location: na polici (on the shelf)

For many feminine nouns ending in -a, the locative singular ends in -i:

u kući (in the house) – from kuća
na stolici (on the chair) – from stolica

Why is it začine and not začini?

Začine is the accusative plural of začin (spice).

Declension (masculine inanimate):

Nominative pl: začini (spices – subject)
Accusative pl: začine (spices – direct object)

In the sentence, začine is the direct object of držimo:

držimo što? → začine (we keep what? → spices)

Compare:

Začini su u ladici. – The spices are in the drawer. (subject → nominative)
Držimo začine u ladici. – We keep the spices in the drawer. (object → accusative)

Why do luk and češnjak look like the dictionary form? Aren’t they objects too?

They are objects, but for masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular = nominative singular.

Noun luk:

Nominative sg: luk
Accusative sg: luk (same form)

Noun češnjak:

Nominative sg: češnjak
Accusative sg: češnjak (same form)

So in:

držimo luk i češnjak

both luk and češnjak are in the accusative singular, but their form doesn’t change from the dictionary form.

This is why they “look like nominative” even though they are objects.

What’s the difference between luk and češnjak? Don’t both relate to “garlic”?

In Croatian:

luk = onion, or more broadly allium plants (leeks, spring onions, etc.), but in the kitchen it usually means onion.
češnjak = garlic (specifically).

So:

luk i češnjak = onion and garlic.

In some regional varieties/other ex-Yugoslav languages you might hear bijeli luk (“white onion”) for garlic, but in standard Croatian češnjak is the usual word for garlic.

Can the word order be different, like Držimo začine u ladici ispod štednjaka?

Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, especially for adverbial phrases (place, time).

All of these are grammatically correct, with slightly different emphasis:

U ladici ispod štednjaka držimo začine.
→ Neutral: place first, then what we do there.
Držimo začine u ladici ispod štednjaka.
→ Emphasis on what we do (držimo začine), then where.
Začine držimo u ladici ispod štednjaka.
→ Stronger focus on začine (the spices).

The original sentence simply chooses to start with the location, which is common when you’re describing where things are kept in a kitchen or room.

When does u use the accusative and when the locative?

Rule of thumb:

u + accusative → movement into something
- Idem u ladicu. – I’m going into the drawer.
- Stavi začine u ladicu. – Put the spices into the drawer.
u + locative → location inside something (no movement)
- U ladici držimo začine. – We keep spices in the drawer.
- U ladici je nož. – The knife is in the drawer.

In the given sentence there is no movement, only the location where things are kept, so locative is used: u ladici, u kutiji.