Na stolu su kruh, sir i crne masline.

to be

Breakdown of Na stolu su kruh, sir i crne masline.

• i: and
• kruh: bread
• sir: cheese

Questions & Answers about Na stolu su kruh, sir i crne masline.

Why is it na stolu and not na stol?

Because na changes case depending on meaning.

• na + accusative = movement onto something
  
  • Stavljam knjigu na stol. = I’m putting the book onto the table.
• na + locative = location on something
  
  • Knjiga je na stolu. = The book is on the table.

In your sentence, nothing is moving; it describes where the items are. So Croatian uses the locative:

• stol → stolu

So na stolu means on the table.

What case is stolu?

Stolu is locative singular of stol (table).

The base form is:

• stol = table

After the preposition na when it means location, Croatian uses the locative:

• na stolu = on the table

For a learner, the important pattern is:

• stol → na stolu
• grad → u gradu
• škola → u školi