Skiper mirno drži kormilo.

Skiper is nominative singular. It is the subject of the sentence, so Croatian uses the nominative case.

The dictionary form of a noun is usually the nominative singular, so this is also the basic form you would normally learn first.

Skiper is a masculine noun.

Because mirno is an adverb, not an adjective here.

• miran = calm (masculine adjective)
• mirna = calm (feminine adjective)
• mirno can be:
  • the neuter adjective form, or
  • an adverb meaning calmly

In this sentence, mirno describes how the skipper holds the helm, so it modifies the verb drži. That makes it an adverb: calmly.

Drži is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb držati.

So it means:

• he/she holds
• he/she is holding
• sometimes, depending on context, he/she keeps

In this sentence, with kormilo (helm / rudder / steering wheel depending context), it means something like holds or keeps hold of the helm.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Croatian present tense often covers both:

• English simple present: holds
• English present continuous: is holding

So Skiper mirno drži kormilo could describe:

• an action happening right now, or
• a general calm manner of handling the helm

English usually forces you to choose more clearly between those two, but Croatian often does not.

Kormilo is the direct object, so it is in the accusative singular.

But kormilo is a neuter noun, and for many neuter nouns, the nominative singular and accusative singular look the same.

So:

• nominative: kormilo
• accusative: kormilo

That is why the form does not visibly change here.

• skiper = masculine
• kormilo = neuter

This matters in Croatian because gender affects things like:

• adjective agreement
• some pronouns
• past tense forms

In this specific sentence, the present-tense verb drži does not show gender, so gender is not visible on the verb here.

No. Croatian word order is fairly flexible.

Skiper mirno drži kormilo is a natural, neutral order. It presents the information clearly:

• Skiper = subject
• mirno = manner
• drži = verb
• kormilo = object

But Croatian can move parts around for emphasis, style, or information focus.

For example, other orders may be possible in the right context, but this version sounds like the most straightforward, neutral sentence.

Because Croatian has no articles.

There is no separate word for a / an / the like in English. Croatian usually leaves definiteness to be understood from:

• context
• word order
• the situation being talked about

So skiper can mean a skipper or the skipper, depending on context, and kormilo can mean a helm or the helm.

Yes, very often.

Croatian often leaves out the subject when it is already clear from context. So you could say:

Mirno drži kormilo.

That would mean something like:

• He is calmly holding the helm
• She is calmly holding the helm

The ending -i in drži already tells you it is 3rd person singular, so Croatian does not always need to repeat the subject.

Croatian spelling is quite regular, so words are usually pronounced much as they are written.

A rough guide:

• skiper ≈ SKEE-per
• mirno ≈ MEER-no
• drži ≈ dr-zhee
• kormilo ≈ KOR-mee-lo

The letter ž sounds like the sound in measure or vision.

So drži has that zh sound: dr-zhee.

It can be both, depending on the sentence.

• As an adjective, mirno is the neuter singular form of miran.
• As an adverb, mirno means calmly.

In Skiper mirno drži kormilo, it is definitely an adverb, because it describes the verb drži.

If it were an adjective, it would need to describe a noun, for example:

• more je mirno = the sea is calm

There, mirno is an adjective agreeing with more, which is neuter.

Skiper is a loanword, and it is commonly used, especially in nautical or boating contexts.

Grammatically, though, Croatian treats it like a normal masculine noun. So even if the word originally came from elsewhere, you still use it within Croatian grammar just like other nouns.