Taj mesar iz male mesnice uvijek nas pozdravi i preporuči svježe meso.

Taj means that.

In Croatian, the three common demonstratives are:

• ovaj = this (near the speaker)
• taj = that (often something already known, previously mentioned, or mentally identifiable)
• onaj = that over there / that one over there (more distant)

So taj mesar means that butcher: a specific butcher the speaker and listener both know or can identify.

In many everyday situations, taj is the most natural choice when English would also use that for a familiar person or thing.

They are related words, but they do not mean the same thing:

• mesar = butcher (the person)
• mesnica = butcher shop / butcher’s shop (the place)

So:

• Taj mesar = That butcher
• iz male mesnice = from the small butcher shop

This is a useful pattern in Croatian: sometimes a person and the place connected to that person have similar-looking words, but they are separate nouns.

Because the preposition iz requires the genitive case.

The base form is:

• mala mesnica = a small butcher shop

But after iz (from / out of), both words change into the genitive:

• iz male mesnice = from the small butcher shop

Here is the breakdown:

• mala → male
• mesnica → mesnice

So this phrase is a good example of case agreement: the adjective mala and the noun mesnica both change because of iz.

Yes, iz normally takes the genitive in standard Croatian.

It usually means:

• from
• out of
• from inside

Examples:

• iz kuće = from the house
• iz škole = from school
• iz male mesnice = from the small butcher shop

So if you see iz, you should strongly expect the next noun phrase to be in the genitive.

Nas is the form of we/us used here as a direct object, so it means us.

The verb pozdraviti / pozdravljati means to greet someone, and the person greeted is the direct object:

• pozdravi nas = greets us

So:

• mi = we (subject form)
• nas = us (object form)

In this sentence, nas is not doing the action. We are receiving the action of being greeted.

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

The verbs in the sentence are:

• pozdravi from pozdraviti (perfective)
• preporuči from preporučiti (perfective)

A learner may expect the imperfective forms:

• pozdravlja
• preporučuje

because English uses a simple present for habitual actions: He always greets us and recommends...

In Croatian, however, the perfective present can be used with words like uvijek (always) to describe what happens on each occasion as a complete event. It gives the sense of: every time we go there, he greets us and recommends something.

So this sentence is natural and means roughly:

• every time, he gives us a greeting and makes a recommendation

If you used the imperfective forms:

• uvijek nas pozdravlja i preporučuje svježe meso

that would also be understandable, but it can sound a bit more like an ongoing/general habit rather than focusing on each complete repeated action.

Yes, pozdravi is a present-tense form.

For the verb pozdraviti (to greet, perfective), the 3rd person singular present is:

• ja pozdravim
• ti pozdraviš
• on/ona/ono pozdravi

So in this sentence:

• Taj mesar ... pozdravi = That butcher ... greets

It may look unusual if you are expecting the more common learner pattern with -a / -e endings, but it is a normal present form of a perfective verb.

Because meso is a neuter singular noun, and the adjective has to agree with it.

Base noun:

• meso = meat

Adjective:

• svjež = fresh

When modifying a neuter singular noun in the nominative or accusative, the adjective becomes:

• svježe

So:

• svježe meso = fresh meat

This is normal adjective agreement in Croatian:

• masculine: svjež kruh = fresh bread
• feminine: svježa riba = fresh fish
• neuter: svježe meso = fresh meat

Because svježe meso is the direct object of the verb preporučiti (to recommend).

In Croatian, recommend usually works directly with an object:

• preporučiti vino = to recommend wine
• preporučiti knjigu = to recommend a book
• preporučiti svježe meso = to recommend fresh meat

So no preposition is needed here.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not completely free.

The sentence as given is very natural:

• Taj mesar iz male mesnice uvijek nas pozdravi i preporuči svježe meso.

You could move some parts for emphasis, for example:

• Uvijek nas taj mesar iz male mesnice pozdravi i preporuči svježe meso.
• Taj mesar nas uvijek pozdravi i preporuči svježe meso.

These still make sense, but the original order is neutral and smooth.

A good rule for learners is:

• keep the subject early
• put adverbs like uvijek near the verb area
• keep objects like nas and svježe meso close to their verbs

Yes. I simply means and, and here it connects two actions done by the same subject:

• pozdravi = greets
• preporuči = recommends

So:

• uvijek nas pozdravi i preporuči svježe meso
• he always greets us and recommends fresh meat

This is very normal Croatian coordination. Since the subject is the same for both verbs, it is stated only once at the beginning:

• Taj mesar ...

Yes, but some positions sound more neutral than others.

The original:

• Taj mesar iz male mesnice uvijek nas pozdravi...

is very natural.

You may also hear:

• Taj mesar iz male mesnice nas uvijek pozdravi...
• Uvijek nas taj mesar iz male mesnice pozdravi...

All of these are possible, but they shift the emphasis slightly.

For learners, the safest placement is often the one in the original sentence: put uvijek before the verb phrase.

Croatian does not have a/an/the as separate words like English does.

Instead, specificity is shown through context, word order, and words like:

• taj = that
• ovaj = this
• jedan = one / a certain

So English may say:

• That butcher from the small butcher shop...

Croatian says:

• Taj mesar iz male mesnice...

without any article system at all.

That is completely normal in Croatian.