Questions & Answers about Ona mora platiti kavu.
Why is platiti in its full dictionary form?
Just like in English where we say "she must pay", Croatian uses the conjugated modal verb mora (must) followed directly by the infinitive form of the main verb. Here, that's platiti (to pay).
Why is the word for coffee spelled kavu instead of kava?
Because the coffee is the direct object of the sentence—it is the thing being paid for. In Croatian, feminine nouns that end in -a (like kava) change their ending to -u when they become the direct object (the accusative case).
The English translation says "pay for the coffee", but where is the word for "for"?
The Croatian verb platiti directly takes an object, so it translates more literally as "to pay the coffee". You don't need to add a preposition like "for" in Croatian.
Do I have to include Ona (she) at the beginning of the sentence?
Not usually! Because the verb form mora already tells us the subject is "he", "she", or "it", you can simply say Mora platiti kavu. Including Ona just adds a bit of emphasis, as if saying "She is the one who must pay."