Prema ovoj mapi, apoteka je pored muzeja.

Here prema means according to.

So Prema ovoj mapi = According to this map.

A useful thing to know is that prema can have other meanings in other contexts, especially toward / in the direction of. For example, with movement it can mean something like toward. In this sentence, though, the meaning is clearly according to.

Because prema requires the locative case.

The basic form is:

• ova mapa = this map

But after prema, both words change to locative:

• ovoj mapi = according to this map

So:

• ova → ovoj
• mapa → mapi

This is a very common pattern in Serbian: the preposition controls the case of the noun phrase after it.

It is the locative singular.

More exactly:

• ovoj = locative singular feminine of ovaj / ova / ovo
• mapi = locative singular of mapa

Since mapa is a feminine noun, the demonstrative has to match it in gender, number, and case.

The comma separates an introductory phrase from the main statement.

So the sentence is structured like this:

• Prema ovoj mapi, = introductory phrase
• apoteka je pored muzeja. = main clause

In English we often do the same thing: According to this map, the pharmacy is next to the museum.

You may also hear similar sentences without a pause in speech, but the comma is very natural here in writing.

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti (to be), meaning is.

In Serbian, short unstressed forms like je are clitics, and clitics usually go in the second position of the clause.

That is why you get:

• Apoteka je pored muzeja.

not normally:

• Apoteka pored muzeja je.

So even though English just says is in its usual place, Serbian has its own word-order rule for short forms like je.

In standard Serbian, no: je is needed here.

This sentence is a normal location statement:

• Apoteka je pored muzeja. = The pharmacy is next to the museum.

Unlike some other Slavic languages where the present tense of to be may be omitted in this kind of sentence, Serbian normally keeps je.

Pored here means next to / beside.

It takes the genitive case, which is why you see:

• muzej = museum
• muzeja = of the museum / next to the museum

So:

• pored muzeja = next to the museum

This is worth memorizing as a pattern:

• pored + genitive

Because pored requires the genitive.

The dictionary form is:

• muzej = museum

After pored, it changes to:

• muzeja

So the phrase is:

• pored muzeja = next to the museum

This is one of the most common things learners need to watch for in Serbian: prepositions often change the case of the following noun.

Usually yes, in most everyday contexts.

Apoteka is the standard Serbian word for a pharmacy or chemist's. In many translations, drugstore may appear, but pharmacy is usually the best match.

So in this sentence, apoteka is a straightforward vocabulary item.

Because Serbian does not have articles like English a and the.

So:

• apoteka can mean a pharmacy or the pharmacy
• muzej can mean a museum or the museum

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English naturally says the pharmacy and the museum, but Serbian does not need separate article words.

Yes, Serbian word order is fairly flexible, although some versions sound more natural than others.

The neutral version is:

• Prema ovoj mapi, apoteka je pored muzeja.

You could also say:

• Apoteka je pored muzeja, prema ovoj mapi.

That still means According to this map, the pharmacy is next to the museum, but the focus is a little different. The original sentence sounds natural if you first want to signal the source of the information.

Even when word order changes, the cases still show the grammatical relationships:

• ovoj mapi stays locative after prema
• muzeja stays genitive after pored

A simple approximate pronunciation for an English speaker is:

• PRE-ma O-voj MA-pi, a-po-TE-ka ye PO-red mu-ZE-ya

A few helpful notes:

• j in Serbian sounds like English y in yes
• je sounds roughly like ye
• muzeja has that j = y sound: mu-ZE-ya

If you want to sound more natural, try to stress:

• PREma
• MApi
• TEka
• POred
• ZEja