Learn Hardcore Croatian: Njena nova navika je da svako jutro pije vodu prije kave. - Her new habit is to drink water every morning before coffee.

So in this sentence, we need njena because we are talking about whose habit it is, not about who is doing something directly as the subject.

What’s the difference between njena and njezina?

Both njena and njezina mean “her” (possessive) and are grammatically the same: feminine, singular, nominative in this sentence.

Njena nova navika je…
Njezina nova navika je…

Both are correct.

The difference is mostly regional and stylistic:

njezina is considered a bit more standard/formal.
njena is a common shorter spoken form, especially in many dialects and everyday speech.

You will hear and see both a lot.

Why do both words nova and navika end in -a? What is agreeing with what?

Navika (habit) is a feminine singular noun in the nominative case.
Nova (new) is an adjective that must agree with navika in:

gender: feminine
number: singular
case: nominative

So you get:

nova navika = new (fem. sg. nom.) + habit (fem. sg. nom.)

Adding the possessive pronoun:

njena nova navika
- njena = her (fem. sg. nom.)
- nova = new (fem. sg. nom.)
- navika = habit (fem. sg. nom.)

All three words agree in gender, number, and case.

Why is the verb pije (drinks) in the present tense? Is that how you express habits?

Yes. In Croatian, the present tense is used to express habits and routines, just like in English:

On svaki dan pije kavu. = He drinks coffee every day.
Svako jutro pije vodu. = She drinks water every morning.

So pije here does not mean “she is drinking (right now)” but “she regularly drinks”, because the time expression svako jutro (every morning) makes it clearly habitual.

Why do we say da svako jutro pije and not use the infinitive piti here?

Croatian very often uses da + finite verb to express a clause similar to English “that she drinks”:

… je da svako jutro pije vodu…
= “… is that (she) drinks water every morning…”

Here:

da = that (conjunction)
pije = drinks (3rd person singular present)

So da pije literally matches English “that (she) drinks”.

However, you can also use the infinitive in this context (see next question), but da + finite verb sounds completely natural and very common in everyday speech.

Can I say “Njena nova navika je piti vodu svako jutro prije kave” instead? Is that correct?

Yes, that is also correct:

Njena nova navika je piti vodu svako jutro prije kave.
= Her new habit is to drink water every morning before coffee.

Here piti is the infinitive (“to drink”).

Difference in feel:

… je da svako jutro pije vodu…
sounds like a full sentence inside a sentence:
“Her new habit is that she drinks water every morning…”
… je piti vodu svako jutro…
sounds more like a noun-like phrase:
“Her new habit is drinking water every morning…”

Both are natural; the infinitive version might feel slightly more compact and “dictionary-like”, while da + pije feels more conversational.

Why is it svako jutro and not svakog jutra? Are both possible?

You will hear both:

svako jutro
svakog jutra

Meaning in both: “every morning”.

Technically:

svako jutro – nominative/accusative neuter; used as an adverbial time expression.
svakog jutra – genitive; also used adverbially.

In practice:

svako jutro is very common in everyday speech.
svakog jutra can sound a bit more literary/formal to some ears, but it’s also frequent.

Your sentence is completely natural with svako jutro.

Why is it vodu but kave? Why different endings?

Because they are in different cases:

vodu from voda (water)
- Accusative singular, because it is the direct object of pije (drinks).
- pije vodu = she drinks water.
kave from kava (coffee)
- Genitive singular, because it follows the preposition prije (before), which always takes the genitive.
- prije kave = before coffee.

Pattern to remember:

Verb + direct object → usually accusative
- pije vodu (drinks water), jede kruh (eats bread)
Preposition prije (before) → always genitive
- prije škole (before school), prije posla (before work), prije kave (before coffee)

Can I say prije kavu instead of prije kave?

No. Prije must be followed by the genitive case.

Correct:

prije kave (before coffee)
prije posla (before work)
prije škole (before school)

Incorrect:

✗ prije kavu
✗ prije posao, etc.

So kave (genitive) is required after prije.

Is the word order svako jutro pije vodu prije kave fixed, or can it move?

The word order in Croatian is fairly flexible, especially with time expressions like svako jutro. All of these are possible and natural:

Svako jutro pije vodu prije kave.
Pije vodu svako jutro prije kave.
Pije svako jutro vodu prije kave.

Differences are mostly about emphasis and rhythm, not about grammar.

In the full sentence with njena nova navika je…, you can also move phrases around, for example:

Njena nova navika je da pije vodu svako jutro prije kave.
Njena nova navika je da svako jutro prije kave pije vodu.

All of these sound acceptable; native speakers will simply choose the version that flows best for them.

Can the da be omitted, like in English “Her new habit is she drinks water…”?

In this specific structure with a finite verb, you cannot just drop da:

Njena nova navika je da svako jutro pije vodu… ✅
✗ Njena nova navika je svako jutro pije vodu… ❌

If you want to omit da, you normally switch to the infinitive pattern:

Njena nova navika je piti vodu svako jutro prije kave. ✅

So:

finite verb → you need da.
infinitive → you don’t use da.

Could I say Ona ima novu naviku: svako jutro pije vodu prije kave instead? Is it equivalent?

Yes, that’s another natural way to say almost the same thing:

Ona ima novu naviku: svako jutro pije vodu prije kave.
= She has a new habit: every morning she drinks water before coffee.

Difference:

Njena nova navika je da…
= more like a definition of the habit.
Ona ima novu naviku: …
= more like announcing that she has a new habit, then describing it.

Both are correct and idiomatic.

What’s the difference between navika and običaj?

Both can be translated as “habit”, but they’re not identical:

navika – more about a personal, repeated behavior, often small daily things
- navika da pije vodu ujutro = habit of drinking water in the morning
običaj – more like custom, tradition, something that can be social or cultural
- božićni običaji = Christmas customs
- Imam običaj da rano ustajem. = I’m in the habit of getting up early. (still possible for personal habits)

In your sentence, navika is the most natural choice because it’s clearly about a personal daily routine.

Could I leave out je and just say Njena nova navika da svako jutro pije vodu prije kave?

In normal, complete sentences, you need je (the verb “to be”) as the copula:

Njena nova navika je da svako jutro pije vodu prije kave. ✅

Without je, it sounds like a fragment or like part of a larger sentence:

✗ Njena nova navika da svako jutro pije vodu prije kave. (incomplete as a standalone sentence)

You could see something like that as a headline or note, but in proper sentences, je is required here.