Na ovom kolegiju profesorica traži da na seminaru pažljivo bilježimo nova pitanja.

Na ovom kolegiju means in this course or more literally on this course.

Croatian often uses na with words for classes, courses, lectures, and similar academic activities:

• na kolegiju = in/on the course
• na predavanju = at the lecture
• na seminaru = at the seminar

So even though English usually says in this course, Croatian prefers na here.

Starting the sentence with this phrase gives the setting first: In this course, ...

Ovom kolegiju is in the locative singular.

It follows the preposition na, which here expresses location or context, so Croatian uses the locative:

• na ovom kolegiju = on/in this course

Breakdown:

• ovaj → ovom = this in masculine/neuter locative singular
• kolegij → kolegiju = locative singular of kolegij

So the pattern is:

• na + locative for location/context
• na ovom kolegiju
• na seminaru

Not exactly.

Kolegij usually means a course, class, or university subject.

Seminar is more specific. It often means a seminar session, discussion class, or a smaller academic meeting within a course.

So in this sentence:

• na ovom kolegiju = in this course
• na seminaru = during the seminar session / in the seminar class

The sentence distinguishes the broader course from one specific type of class within it.

Profesorica is the feminine noun meaning female professor/teacher.

• profesor = male professor
• profesorica = female professor

Since the sentence refers to a woman, Croatian uses the feminine form.

This also matters for agreement in other parts of the sentence if adjectives or past-tense forms were used.

Traži da means requires that, asks that, or demands that, depending on context.

Here:

• traži = she requires / asks / demands
• da introduces a subordinate clause

So:

• profesorica traži da... = the professor requires that...

This is a very common Croatian structure.

Examples:

• Tražim da dođeš. = I insist/require that you come.
• Učitelj traži da pišemo. = The teacher requires that we write.

Because Croatian often uses da + present tense where English might use an infinitive or a that-clause.

So instead of something like:

• profesorica traži bilježiti... ❌

Croatian says:

• profesorica traži da bilježimo... ✅

This structure is extremely common after verbs of wanting, asking, requiring, ordering, suggesting, and similar meanings.

Compare:

• Želim ići. = I want to go.
  But also often: Želim da ideš. = I want you to go.
• Traži da bilježimo. = She requires that we take notes.

Bilježimo is the 1st person plural present tense of bilježiti.

It means:

• we note down
• we take notes
• we record

Because it follows da, English often translates it as:

• that we note down
• that we should note down

So in this sentence:

• da ... bilježimo = that we carefully note down

The -mo ending marks 1st person plural in Croatian, so the verb itself already includes we.

• bilježim = I note down
• bilježiš = you note down
• bilježimo = we note down

Croatian usually does not need a separate subject pronoun like mi unless you want emphasis.

So:

• bilježimo already means we note down

In this sentence, the implied we is probably the students.

Na seminaru means at the seminar or during the seminar session.

Again, Croatian commonly uses na with academic events and sessions.

Seminaru is locative singular, because it follows na in a location/context meaning.

• seminar → seminaru
• na seminaru = at/in the seminar

So both phrases use the same basic pattern:

• na ovom kolegiju
• na seminaru

Pažljivo means carefully.

It is an adverb, and it modifies the verb bilježimo:

• pažljivo bilježimo = we carefully note down

Related forms:

• pažljiv = careful
• pažljiva = careful (feminine)
• pažljivo = carefully / careful (neuter adjective form, but here it is used as an adverb)

So here it answers the question How do we note things down?
Answer: carefully.

Nova pitanja is the accusative plural here, because it is the direct object of bilježimo.

We are noting down what?
→ nova pitanja = new questions

The tricky part is that for many neuter plural nouns, the nominative plural and accusative plural look the same.

Breakdown:

• pitanje = question
• plural: pitanja = questions
• novo pitanje = new question
• nova pitanja = new questions

So this is accusative plural in function, even though its form is identical to nominative plural.

The singular noun is pitanje, and nouns ending in -je are often neuter.

You can see that from adjective agreement:

• novo pitanje = new question
  masculine would be novi
  feminine would be nova
  neuter singular is novo

In the plural:

• nova pitanja = new questions

So the adjective nova agrees with the neuter plural noun pitanja.

Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others.

The given sentence:

• Na ovom kolegiju profesorica traži da na seminaru pažljivo bilježimo nova pitanja.

Possible alternatives:

• Profesorica na ovom kolegiju traži da na seminaru pažljivo bilježimo nova pitanja.
• Profesorica traži da na seminaru pažljivo bilježimo nova pitanja na ovom kolegiju.
  This is grammatically possible, but less natural because na ovom kolegiju usually works better earlier.

The original word order is good because it presents the general setting first, then the main action.

They are related, but not identical.

• bilježiti is imperfective
• zabilježiti is usually perfective

Very roughly:

• bilježiti = to be noting down / to note down as an ongoing or repeated activity
• zabilježiti = to write down, record, make note of as a completed act

In this sentence, bilježimo fits well because the idea is a general classroom habit or ongoing activity: students are expected to keep noting new questions during the seminar.

Croatian has no articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• profesorica can mean the professor or a professor
• seminaru can mean the seminar
• nova pitanja can mean new questions

The exact meaning is understood from context.

In this sentence, English naturally uses the professor because the context probably refers to a specific professor in that course.

Not always. Tražiti can range from ask for to require to demand, depending on context.

Here, because the subject is a professor and the clause is about what students are expected to do, English often translates it as:

• requires
• expects
• sometimes demands

So traži da bilježimo sounds stronger than a polite request, but it does not necessarily mean angry or dramatic demands. It can simply describe a course requirement.