Prošle večeri lisica je stajala kraj šume i gledala cestu.

Because Croatian often uses the genitive to express time, especially in literary or narrative style.

• prošla večer = last evening as a noun phrase
• prošle večeri = last evening / on the previous evening as a time expression in the sentence

So Prošle večeri functions like an adverbial phrase meaning last night / the previous evening.

It is genitive singular.

Both words are in the genitive singular:

• prošla → prošle
• večer → večeri

This is a common pattern with time expressions in Croatian, especially in storytelling:

• te noći = that night
• ovoga jutra = this morning
• prošle zime = last winter

Because the subject lisica is a feminine noun in Croatian.

In the Croatian past tense, the main verb appears as a past participle, and it agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• masculine singular: stajao, gledao
• feminine singular: stajala, gledala
• neuter singular: stajalo, gledalo
• plural forms vary as well

Since lisica is feminine singular, the sentence uses:

• je stajala
• gledala

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti (to be), and it helps form the Croatian past tense.

So:

• je stajala = was standing / stood
• je gledala = was watching / watched

Croatian past tense is usually built like this:

subject + auxiliary + past participle

For example:

• On je došao. = He came.
• Ona je gledala. = She watched.

Because both verbs share the same subject and belong to the same tense, the auxiliary je does not need to be repeated.

So:

• lisica je stajala i gledala cestu

means:

• the fox was standing and watching the road

Repeating it would usually sound unnecessary:

• lisica je stajala i je gledala cestu → not natural in standard Croatian

Croatian normally uses one auxiliary for coordinated verbs when the subject is the same.

Because je is a clitic in Croatian. Clitics are short unstressed words that usually go in the second position of the clause.

So in:

• Lisica je stajala...

the word je comes right after the first stressed element, here lisica.

This is a very common Croatian word-order rule. You will also see:

• Jučer je došla.
• Moja sestra je rekla...

Even though English would put is/was directly before the verb, Croatian often places je early in the sentence.

Here kraj is a preposition meaning by, near, or beside.

So:

• kraj šume = by the forest / near the forest

Be careful: kraj can also be a noun meaning end in other contexts. But in this sentence it is clearly a preposition.

So the phrase does not mean the end of the forest literally here; it means the fox was positioned near the forest.

Because the preposition kraj takes the genitive case.

The base noun is:

• šuma = forest

After kraj, it becomes genitive singular:

• šume

So:

• kraj šume = near the forest

This is just a case rule you need to learn with the preposition:

• kraj + genitive

Because cestu is the accusative singular form of cesta.

The verb gledati usually takes a direct object, and direct objects are commonly in the accusative:

• gledati cestu = to watch the road
• vidjeti kuću = to see the house
• čitati knjigu = to read a book

So:

• nominative: cesta
• accusative: cestu

Since the fox is watching the road, road is the direct object, so Croatian uses cestu.

The sentence is in the Croatian perfect:

• je stajala
• gledala

In Croatian, this tense is very common for past narration. In English, depending on context, it could correspond to:

• stood and watched
• was standing and watching

Croatian does not always make the same sharp distinction English makes between simple past and past continuous. The broader meaning comes from context and from the verb’s aspect.

Here, because stajati and gledati are imperfective verbs, the scene feels ongoing or descriptive:

• the fox was standing
• and was watching

Because they describe an ongoing situation rather than a single completed action.

• stajati = to be standing / stand
• gledati = to watch / look at over a period of time

This fits the sentence well: it paints a scene. The fox is there, standing by the forest, watching the road.

If Croatian wanted to emphasize a single completed action, it might use different, more perfective verbs in another context. But here the imperfective forms are natural because the action is continuous and descriptive.

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

So lisica can mean:

• a fox
• the fox

and cestu can mean:

• a road
• the road

The exact meaning depends on context. In a story, lisica will often be understood as the fox if that fox is already known in the scene.

Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible, although some choices sound more natural than others.

This sentence could be rearranged for emphasis, for example:

• Lisica je prošle večeri stajala kraj šume i gledala cestu.
• Kraj šume je lisica prošle večeri stajala i gledala cestu.

But the original order:

• Prošle večeri lisica je stajala kraj šume i gledala cestu.

is natural and good for narrative style, because it starts with the time expression last evening and then introduces what the fox was doing.

Often, yes.

In everyday conversation, many speakers might more naturally say something like:

• Sinoć je lisica stajala kraj šume i gledala cestu.

But prošle večeri is perfectly correct and sounds especially suitable in narration, description, or written storytelling.

So it is not unnatural—it just has a slightly more descriptive or literary feel than the very common sinoć (last night).