Možemo postaviti šator pokraj rijeke.

A word-by-word breakdown is:

• Možemo = we can / we are able to / sometimes we may
• postaviti = to put up, to set up, to place
• šator = tent
• pokraj = beside, next to, by
• rijeke = of the river / river in a form used after pokraj

So the structure is basically:

We can + set up + tent + beside the river

Because after možemo (we can), Croatian normally uses an infinitive.

So:

• možemo postaviti = we can set up
• literally: we-can to-set-up

This is very similar to English can set up, where set up also stays in a base form.

A learner might expect something like možemo postavimo, but after moći (to be able to / can), standard Croatian uses the infinitive:

• Mogu doći. = I can come.
• Možemo postaviti šator. = We can set up a tent.

Usually možemo most naturally means we can or we are able to.

Depending on context, it can also sound like we may or we are allowed to.

So this sentence could mean:

• We can set up a tent by the river.
  or, in the right context,
• We may set up a tent by the river.

Without more context, English usually translates it as we can.

Because pokraj requires the genitive case.

The basic dictionary form is:

• rijeka = river

But after pokraj (beside / next to), the noun changes to genitive:

• pokraj rijeke = beside the river

So:

• rijeka = nominative singular
• rijeke = genitive singular

This is one of the most important things to notice in the sentence.

Šator is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of postaviti.

We are setting up what?
→ šator

For masculine inanimate nouns in Croatian, the accusative singular is often the same as the nominative singular. So:

• nominative: šator
• accusative: šator

That is why the form does not visibly change.

Because Croatian does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So šator can mean:

• a tent
• the tent

And rijeke in context can mean:

• of a river
• of the river
• after pokraj, effectively by the river

The exact meaning depends on context. In many cases, English needs an article, but Croatian does not.

Both can mean to put or to place, but postaviti often has the sense of setting something up or putting something in position.

That makes postaviti šator very natural, because in English we also say set up a tent or put up a tent.

Compare:

• staviti knjigu na stol = put the book on the table
• postaviti šator = set up the tent

So in this sentence, postaviti is a very good choice because a tent is something you erect or set up, not just casually place somewhere.

This is about aspect, which is very important in Croatian.

• postaviti = perfective
• postavljati = imperfective

In simple terms:

• perfective focuses on the action as a whole, often as something completed
• imperfective focuses on the process, repetition, or ongoing action

With tents, postaviti šator usually means to set up a tent as one completed action.

If you used postavljati, it would sound more like:

• setting up repeatedly
• being in the process of setting up
• talking about the activity in a more general way

So možemo postaviti šator is the normal choice for we can set up a tent.

No. Croatian has several similar prepositions and expressions, for example:

• pokraj rijeke
• pored rijeke
• kraj rijeke

All can mean something like by the river, next to the river, or beside the river.

Very roughly:

• pokraj = beside, next to
• pored = beside, alongside
• kraj = by, near, next to

In many everyday contexts, these are quite close in meaning. A learner should mainly remember that pokraj is perfectly natural here and takes the genitive.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Možemo postaviti šator pokraj rijeke.

But depending on emphasis, you could also hear things like:

• Šator možemo postaviti pokraj rijeke.
• Pokraj rijeke možemo postaviti šator.

These alternatives change the focus a little:

• starting with šator emphasizes the tent
• starting with pokraj rijeke emphasizes the location

But the original sentence is the most straightforward, neutral version.

A practical approximation for an English speaker is:

MO-zhe-mo po-STA-vi-ti SHA-tor PO-krai RYE-ke

A few key sounds:

• ž sounds like the s in measure
• š sounds like sh
• j sounds like English y
• r is rolled or tapped
• lj, nj are special sounds in Croatian, but they do not appear here

More carefully:

• Možemo ≈ MO-zhe-mo
• postaviti ≈ po-STA-vi-ti
• šator ≈ SHA-tor
• pokraj ≈ PO-krai
• rijeke ≈ RYE-ye-ke or RYE-ke, depending on how carefully it is pronounced

In standard Croatian, after moći, the normal pattern is the infinitive:

• Možemo postaviti šator.

A da + present tense structure is more associated with other varieties in the wider BCMS area, especially Serbian, and is not the standard Croatian choice here.

So if you are learning standard Croatian, the sentence you should model is:

• Možemo postaviti šator pokraj rijeke.

Usually it suggests beside or next to the river, so fairly close.

However, like English by the river, the exact distance can depend on context. It does not necessarily mean the tent is touching the water; it just places it in that nearby area.

So the phrase is best understood as:

• beside the river
• by the river
• next to the river

rather than something vague like somewhere in the river area.