Konzerva je u lijevom pretincu, a otvarač je na polici iznad nje.

Both u and na can mean a location, but they are used in different kinds of spatial relationships:

• u = in / inside
• na = on / at / on top of

So:

• u lijevom pretincu = in the left compartment
• na polici = on the shelf

This is the same basic contrast as English in vs on.

Because after u when it shows location, Croatian uses the locative case.

The base forms are:

• lijevi = left
• pretinac = compartment

In the locative singular masculine, they become:

• lijevom
• pretincu

So:

• u lijevom pretincu = in the left compartment

The adjective and noun must match in gender, number, and case.

For the same reason: na with location also takes the locative case.

The dictionary form is:

• polica = shelf

Its locative singular is:

• polici

So:

• na polici = on the shelf

This is a very common pattern with feminine nouns in -a:

• polica → polici
• škola → školi
• soba → sobi

Here a means something like and, but more specifically it often links two clauses with a slight contrast or separation between them.

So:

• Konzerva je u lijevom pretincu, a otvarač je na polici iznad nje.

means:

• The can is in the left compartment, and the opener is on the shelf above it.

Why a instead of i?

• i is a simple and
• a often means and / while / whereas, connecting two related but distinct pieces of information

In this sentence, a sounds very natural because it introduces the second item and its location.

Because there are two clauses, and each clause has its own verb:

• Konzerva je u lijevom pretincu
• a otvarač je na polici iznad nje

The verb je is the 3rd person singular of biti = to be.

Croatian usually keeps je in each clause here, just as English says:

• The can is...
• and the opener is...

Because je is a clitic in Croatian. Clitics usually go in the second position of their clause.

So in:

• a otvarač je na polici iznad nje

the first element is otvarač, and the clitic je comes right after it.

You will often see this pattern:

• Ivan je ovdje.
• Knjiga je na stolu.
• Otvarač je na polici.

Croatian word order is flexible, but clitics still follow special placement rules.

Grammatically, nje refers to konzerva because konzerva is a feminine noun.

That matters because:

• konzerva is feminine
• pretinac is masculine

If the sentence were referring to pretinac, Croatian would use iznad njega, not iznad nje.

So iznad nje means above it, where it refers to the feminine noun konzerva.

The preposition iznad = above takes the genitive case.

The pronoun here comes from ona = she / it for feminine nouns.

Its genitive form is:

• nje

So:

• iznad nje = above her / above it

Since konzerva is feminine, Croatian uses the feminine pronoun form.

Compare:

• iznad njega = above him / above it for a masculine noun
• iznad nje = above her / above it for a feminine noun

Not exactly. It can translate as her or it, depending on what it refers to.

Croatian nouns have grammatical gender, so a feminine noun like konzerva is referred to with feminine pronoun forms, even though in English we say it, not she.

So:

• iznad nje literally looks like above her
• but in natural English here it means above it

This is very common when learning Croatian: grammatical gender does not always match natural gender in English.

Here are the main base forms:

• konzerva = can, tin
• lijevi = left
• pretinac = compartment
• otvarač = opener
• polica = shelf
• ona = she / it (for feminine nouns)

And here are the forms used in the sentence:

• lijevom ← from lijevi
• pretincu ← from pretinac
• polici ← from polica
• nje ← from ona

This is useful because Croatian dictionaries usually list the base form, not the form you see in a sentence.

This is a normal stem change that happens in some inflected forms.

The base form is:

• pretinac

But in some cases, the ending changes and the stem looks slightly different:

• pretincu

So the a disappears before the ending. This is not unusual in Croatian noun declension.

You do not need to think of it as a completely different word; it is just the locative singular form of pretinac.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not all versions sound equally natural.

For example, you might also hear:

• U lijevom pretincu je konzerva, a na polici iznad nje je otvarač.

This is still grammatical, but it puts more focus on the locations.

The original sentence is natural and neutral:

• Konzerva je u lijevom pretincu, a otvarač je na polici iznad nje.

So yes, word order can change, but the original version is a very normal way to say it.

Then Croatian would usually switch from locative to accusative after u and na.

Location:

• u lijevom pretincu = in the left compartment
• na polici = on the shelf

Movement toward:

• u lijevi pretinac = into the left compartment
• na policu = onto the shelf

So Croatian makes a clear distinction:

• Gdje? = Where? → locative
• Kamo? = Where to? → accusative

That is why the sentence uses:

• u lijevom pretincu
• na polici

because both describe where something already is.