Moja torba je pod stolom.

• moja = my
• torba = bag
• je = is
• pod = under / below
• stolom = table in a changed form required after pod here

So word-for-word, it is roughly my bag is under table, but natural English adds the: My bag is under the table.

Because torba is a feminine noun, and Croatian adjectives and possessives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

So:

• moj = masculine singular
• moja = feminine singular
• moje = neuter singular

Since torba is feminine, you use moja torba.

A very common clue is the ending. Many Croatian nouns ending in -a are feminine, and torba follows that pattern.

That is why related words also take feminine forms:

• moja torba = my bag
• velika torba = a big bag
• crna torba = a black bag

This is a pattern, not an absolute rule, but it is very common and useful.

Because after pod in this sentence, Croatian uses the instrumental case to show a location.

The basic dictionary form is:

• stol = table

But after pod when meaning under in a static location, it becomes:

• pod stolom = under the table

So stolom is the instrumental singular form of stol.

Not always. It depends on whether you mean location or movement.

• pod + instrumental = location, being under something

  • Torba je pod stolom. = The bag is under the table.

• pod + accusative = movement to a position under something

  • Stavio sam torbu pod stol. = I put the bag under the table.

This is a very important pattern in Croatian: many prepositions change case depending on whether you mean where or where to.

Croatian normally does not use articles like English a and the.

So:

• torba can mean a bag or the bag
• stol can mean a table or the table

The exact meaning usually comes from context. In this sentence, English naturally says the table, but Croatian simply says stolom.

Je is the 3rd person singular form of the verb biti = to be.

So:

• ja sam = I am
• ti si = you are
• on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is

In standard Croatian, je is normally needed in a sentence like this:

• Moja torba je pod stolom.

In some informal contexts, Croatian can omit forms of to be, but for learners, it is best to keep je here.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English because case endings carry a lot of the grammar.

The most neutral order here is:

• Moja torba je pod stolom.

But you may also hear:

• Pod stolom je moja torba.
• Moja je torba pod stolom.

These all mean roughly the same thing, but the emphasis changes:

• starting with pod stolom emphasizes the location
• separating moja and je can give a slightly different rhythm or focus

For beginners, the original sentence is the safest pattern.

Because it belongs directly to torba and describes it. In Croatian, possessives like moj, tvoj, njegov, njezin usually come before the noun:

• moja torba = my bag
• tvoja knjiga = your book
• njegov stol = his table

That is the normal order. Putting the possessive after the noun is much less common and usually sounds marked, poetic, or old-fashioned.

You would say:

Torba je pod stolom.

Since Croatian has no article system like English, this can mean:

• The bag is under the table
• A bag is under the table

The context tells you which one is intended.

You need to change both the noun and the possessive:

• moja torba = my bag
• moje torbe = my bags

And the verb changes too:

• je = is
• su = are

So the sentence becomes:

Moje torbe su pod stolom.

Its core meaning is definitely under the table / below the table in a physical sense.

In other contexts, pod can also be used more abstractly, but in this sentence it is very concrete and spatial:

• the bag is located beneath the table

So for a learner, pod stolom is a very good basic phrase to remember as under the table.

A simple English-friendly guide is:

STO-lom

Notes:

• st is pronounced clearly, as in stop
• o is a pure short o, not a diphthong
• stress is usually on the first syllable here

Also, Croatian spelling is quite regular, so what you see is usually very close to what you say.