Možete li mi, molim vas, još jednom objasniti zašto je u toj rečenici subjekt izostavljen, a predikat ostaje u jednini?

Možete li is a polite way to ask Can you...?/Could you...?

• možete = you can (2nd person plural)
• li = a question particle used to form yes/no questions

So Možete li mi objasniti... literally means something like Can you explain to me..., and in natural English it is often best translated as Could you explain to me...

Croatian often uses the 2nd person plural as a polite form when addressing one person, similar to formal you.

So here:

• omitted subject = vi
• vi can mean you all or formal you to one person

That is why možete is plural in form, even if only one person is being addressed.

In standard Croatian, li is an enclitic, which means it cannot stand alone and normally comes right after the first stressed word of the question.

That is why you get:

• Možete li...

and not:

• Li možete...

In this sentence, the verb možete is placed first, so li follows it immediately.

Yes. The subject vi is not stated, but it is clearly understood from možete.

Croatian often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is. So:

• Možete li... = Can you...
• the word vi does not need to be said

This is very normal in Croatian and is one of the biggest differences from English.

Both mean to me, but they are used differently.

• mi = short, unstressed clitic form
• meni = full, stressed form

In this sentence, there is no special emphasis on me, so the short form mi is the natural choice:

• Možete li mi objasniti... = Can you explain to me...

You would use meni if you wanted contrast or emphasis, for example Objasnite meni, ne njemu.

Molim vas here is a parenthetical polite expression, like please.

Because it is inserted into the sentence rather than being a core grammatical part of it, it is often separated by commas:

• Možete li mi, molim vas, još jednom objasniti...

This makes the sentence easier to read and signals that molim vas is a polite aside.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and molim vas can often move.

For example, you may also hear:

• Možete li mi još jednom, molim vas, objasniti...
• Molim vas, možete li mi još jednom objasniti...

The exact placement can change the rhythm or tone slightly, but the meaning stays basically the same.

Because it follows možete, which is a finite verb meaning can/are able to. After that, Croatian uses the infinitive for the main action:

• možete objasniti = can explain

So:

• Možete li mi objasniti... = Can you explain to me...

This is similar to English can explain, except Croatian uses the infinitive form more directly.

It literally means yet one more time or one more time, and in natural English it is usually:

• again
• once again
• one more time

So još jednom objasniti means explain again or explain once more.

Because the preposition u here means in, referring to location, and after u in that meaning Croatian uses the locative case.

So:

• ta rečenica = that sentence (nominative)
• u toj rečenici = in that sentence (locative)

The forms change because Croatian marks grammatical case on the demonstrative and the noun.

Yes. This is a passive-type construction:

• je = is
• izostavljen = omitted

So subjekt je izostavljen means the subject is omitted.

Also notice agreement:

• subjekt is masculine singular
• therefore izostavljen is also masculine singular

If the noun were feminine or plural, the participle would change accordingly.

Because the subject of that clause is predikat, which is a singular noun.

So:

• predikat = singular subject
• ostaje = 3rd person singular verb form

The phrase u jednini means in the singular. So the whole clause means that the predicate remains in the singular.

Again, this is u meaning in, so Croatian uses the locative case.

• jednina = singular
• u jednini = in the singular

This is the normal way to talk about grammatical number in Croatian:

• u jednini = in the singular
• u množini = in the plural

A often connects two clauses with a slight contrast or comparison.

Here it means something like:

• while
• whereas
• sometimes simply and, but with contrastive flavor

So the sentence is comparing two facts:

• the subject is omitted
• the predicate remains singular

Using a helps show that relationship better than plain i would.

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

Definiteness is usually understood from:

• context
• word order
• demonstratives such as taj, ta, to

So u toj rečenici already clearly means in that sentence, and subjekt / predikat are understood from context without needing an article.