U svom kabinetu razrednica drži knjige, testove i stare plakate.

Because u can take different cases depending on meaning:

• u + locative = location, in
• u + accusative = direction, into

Here the sentence describes where something is kept, not movement into the room, so Croatian uses the locative:

• u svom kabinetu = location

If there were movement, you would expect something like:

• Ide u svoj kabinet = she is going into her office

So kabinetu is locative singular, and svom matches it.

Croatian often uses the reflexive possessive svoj when the possessor is the same as the subject of the sentence.

Here the subject is razrednica, and the office belongs to that same person, so svoj is the normal choice:

• razrednica ... u svom kabinetu = the teacher ... in her own office

If you used njenom, it would more easily suggest someone else’s office, depending on context.

Also, svom does not match the gender of razrednica. It matches the noun it describes, kabinetu, which is masculine singular locative.

Kabinetu is locative singular of kabinet.

Why locative?

• It comes after u
• The sentence expresses a static location

So:

• nominative: kabinet
• locative singular: kabinetu

This -u ending is very common for masculine nouns in the locative singular.

Razrednica is the subject of the sentence, and it is in the nominative singular.

It is a feminine noun meaning a female class teacher / homeroom teacher / form teacher, depending on how the school system is explained.

Croatian has:

• razrednik = male class teacher
• razrednica = female class teacher

So the sentence specifically refers to a female teacher.

Drži is the 3rd person singular present form of držati.

The basic idea of držati is to hold, but in real Croatian it can mean several related things depending on context, such as:

• hold
• keep
• store
• maintain

In this sentence, it most naturally means something like keeps or stores, not literally is holding in her hands.

So this is a good example of a verb whose most natural English translation depends on context.

They are the direct objects of drži, so they are in the accusative plural.

That gives:

• knjige = accusative plural of knjiga
• testove = accusative plural of test
• plakate = accusative plural of plakat

A useful thing to notice:

• feminine nouns like knjiga often have -e in the accusative plural
• many masculine nouns like test and plakat have -ove / -e patterns in the accusative plural

So these are object forms, not dictionary forms.

Because stare plakate is in the accusative plural, not the nominative plural.

Compare:

• nominative plural: stari plakati
• accusative plural: stare plakate

Since plakate is a direct object after drži, the adjective must agree with it in:

• gender
• number
• case

So Croatian changes both the noun and the adjective:

• stari plakati = subject form
• stare plakate = object form

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

Starting with U svom kabinetu puts the location first. This can sound natural because it sets the scene before mentioning what the teacher keeps there.

A more neutral order like this is also possible:

• Razrednica drži knjige, testove i stare plakate u svom kabinetu.

Both are grammatical. The difference is mainly about focus and style, not basic meaning.

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

So nouns often appear without any separate word for definiteness:

• razrednica
• knjige
• testove
• plakate

Whether something is the, a, or just general is understood from context.

This is very normal in Croatian, so English speakers have to get used to not seeing articles at all.

Usually not in this kind of sentence.

In Croatian, kabinet often means a:

• office
• teacher’s room
• study
• specialized classroom

So it can be a bit of a false friend for English speakers. In many school contexts, kabinet is much closer to office or classroom than to a piece of furniture with doors and shelves.

Yes, i is the normal Croatian word for and.

In this sentence it simply links the last item in the list:

• knjige, testove i stare plakate

This works much like English:

• books, tests, and old posters

Croatian also commonly uses commas in lists in the same way.