Questions & Answers about Želite li račun ili još čaja?
Why is it Želite li and not Želiš li?
Želite is the 2nd person plural of the verb željeti (to want). It’s used both for addressing more than one person and as the polite form to one person (like French vous). Želiš li is the informal singular (to a friend, child, etc.). In a service situation (waiter–guest), Želite li is the default polite choice.
What does the particle li do, and where does it go?
li turns a statement into a yes/no question. In standard Croatian it comes right after the conjugated verb: Želite li…? You can also hear Da li želite…? (especially regionally), and you can ask just with intonation: Želite…? But li cannot start the sentence by itself, and Li želite…? is wrong.
Why is it još čaja and not još čaj?
After još (more), Croatian uses the partitive genitive to express “more of” an indefinite amount. čaja is the genitive singular of čaj. Compare: još vode (more water), još kruha (more bread). Saying još čaj sounds ungrammatical unless you add a number or unit (see next question).
How do I say one more tea (one more cup)?