Ona jede voće jer želi biti zdrava.

She eats fruit because she wants to be healthy.

Breakdown of Ona jede voće jer želi biti zdrava.

• biti: to be
• ona: she
• jesti: to eat
• jer: because

Questions & Answers about Ona jede voće jer želi biti zdrava.

What does each word in Ona jede voće jer želi biti zdrava literally mean?

Word by word:

• ona = she
• jede = eats (3rd person singular present of jesti – to eat)
• voće = fruit
• jer = because
• želi = wants / wishes (3rd person singular present of željeti – to want, to wish)
• biti = to be (infinitive)
• zdrava = healthy (feminine form of the adjective zdrav – healthy)

Do I have to use ona, or can I just say Jede voće jer želi biti zdrava?

You can absolutely drop ona and say:

• Jede voće jer želi biti zdrava.

Croatian usually omits subject pronouns because the verb ending (-e, -u, etc.) already shows who the subject is.

You use ona mainly when:

• you want to emphasize she (as opposed to someone else), or
• the subject might otherwise be ambiguous from context.

So both are correct; Ona jede… just sounds a bit more explicit/emphatic.

Why is it jede and not or something like ?