Baka pravi pekmez od šljiva za zimu.

Because baka is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

• baka = nominative singular, grandmother
• baku = accusative singular, used when grandmother is the direct object

Here, Grandma is the one doing the action, so baka is correct.

Pravi is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb praviti, meaning to make.

It matches baka, which is singular:

• ja pravim = I make / am making
• ti praviš = you make / are making
• on/ona pravi = he/she makes / is making

So Baka pravi means Grandma makes / is making.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Croatian present tense often covers both:

• Baka pravi pekmez od šljiva. = Grandma makes plum jam.
• Baka pravi pekmez od šljiva. = Grandma is making plum jam.

Without extra context, it could be:

• a general/habitual statement
• something happening right now

English forces you to choose more often than Croatian does.

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

• praviti = imperfective: focuses on the process, repetition, or ongoing action
• napraviti = perfective: focuses on completing the action

In a sentence like this, pravi sounds natural because it describes the activity itself: Grandma is engaged in making jam, or she does it as a seasonal activity.

If you used napraviti, you would usually need a different tense or context that emphasizes completion.

Because pekmez is the direct object, and it is a masculine inanimate noun.

In Croatian, masculine inanimate nouns usually have the same form in nominative and accusative singular.

So:

• nominative: pekmez
• accusative: pekmez

That is why the word does not change here.

Because the preposition od requires the genitive case, and here the noun is plural.

• singular: šljiva = a plum
• genitive singular: šljive
• genitive plural: šljiva

So:

• od šljive = from a plum
• od šljiva = from plums

Since jam is normally made from many plums, od šljiva is the natural form.

Zimu is accusative singular of zima.

It appears after za, because za + accusative often expresses:

• purpose
• intended use
• something prepared for a future time

So za zimu means for winter or more naturally for the winter season / for use in winter.

This is a very common expression in Croatian, especially when talking about preserving food.

Because Croatian has no articles.

English uses:

• a
• the

Croatian does not. Nouns appear without articles, and the meaning is understood from context.

So baka, pekmez, and šljiva do not need any separate word for the or a.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings show the grammatical roles.

The neutral order here is:

• Baka pravi pekmez od šljiva za zimu.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Za zimu baka pravi pekmez od šljiva.
• Pekmez od šljiva baka pravi za zimu.

These versions may sound more emphatic or stylistically marked, but they are still grammatical. The original sentence is the most neutral and natural in ordinary speech.

Not always exactly.

Pekmez is a traditional fruit preserve, often thick and slowly cooked. In many contexts, English speakers translate it as jam, but it can have a slightly different cultural or culinary sense from džem.

Very roughly:

• pekmez = a traditional thick fruit preserve
• džem = jam

In everyday translation, jam is often close enough, but Croatian distinguishes these words more than English usually does.

The tricky part is šlj.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• š sounds like sh in ship
• lj is a single Croatian sound, somewhat like the lli in some pronunciations of million, but it is not exactly the same in all accents

So šljiva sounds roughly like SHLYEE-va, though that is only an approximation.

Also:

• baka = BA-ka
• pravi = PRA-vee
• pekmez = PEK-mez
• zimu = ZEE-moo

If pronunciation matters, lj and š are especially worth practicing.