Moja sestra polako čita svako slovo, jer još broji slogove naglas.

Because sestra is a feminine singular noun, and the possessive word moj must agree with it in gender and number.

The forms are:

• moj = masculine
• moja = feminine
• moje = neuter

So with sestra, you need moja sestra.

Croatian does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So Croatian simply says:

• moja sestra = my sister
• svako slovo = every letter

Whether something is definite or indefinite is usually understood from context, word choice, or word order.

Because slovo is a neuter noun, and svaki must agree with it.

The forms are:

• svaki = masculine
• svaka = feminine
• svako = neuter

So:

• svako slovo = every letter

Also, slovo is the direct object of čita, so it is in the accusative. For a neuter singular noun like slovo, the accusative looks the same as the nominative, so the form stays slovo.

Because svako means every/each, and in Croatian it normally goes with a singular noun, just like in English:

• every letter
• svako slovo

If you wanted all the letters, that would be different:

• sva slova = all the letters

So svako slovo focuses on the letters one by one.

Because brojiti takes a direct object in the accusative case, and here the object is slogove.

The base noun is:

• slog = syllable

Its plural forms include:

• slogovi = nominative plural
• slogove = accusative plural

So:

• broji slogove = counts syllables

Here još means still.

So:

• još broji slogove = she still counts syllables

In other contexts, još can also mean more or additional, but in this sentence it shows that the action is continuing.

Naglas is an adverb meaning aloud or out loud.

So:

• broji slogove naglas = counts the syllables aloud

It tells you how she is counting.

Polako is an adverb meaning slowly, and it modifies the verb čita.

In Croatian, adverbs often come before the verb, so:

• polako čita = reads slowly

That is a very natural word order here. Croatian word order is somewhat flexible, but this placement sounds neutral and standard.

Because Croatian present tense can cover both:

• a general present: she reads
• an ongoing present: she is reading

So:

• čita can mean reads or is reading
• broji can mean counts or is counting

The exact English translation depends on context. In this sentence, the present tense sounds natural because it describes what she is doing or how she reads at this stage.

Because the sentence describes an ongoing or repeated action, so Croatian uses the imperfective verb čitati.

• čita = imperfective, ongoing/habitual reading

A perfective verb such as pročitati would suggest finishing reading something, not the process itself. Since the point here is that she reads slowly and is still counting syllables, the imperfective verb is the right choice.

The same idea applies to broji: it describes an ongoing process.

Because jer means because and introduces a subordinate clause.

So the sentence is divided into:

• main clause: Moja sestra polako čita svako slovo
• reason clause: jer još broji slogove naglas

In standard Croatian, a comma is normally used before jer in this kind of sentence.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English because grammatical endings carry a lot of information.

The original order is neutral and natural:

• Moja sestra polako čita svako slovo, jer još broji slogove naglas.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Moja sestra svako slovo čita polako...

That puts more focus on svako slovo.

For learners, the original order is the safest one to use.

Č is pronounced roughly like ch in church.

So čita sounds approximately like CHEE-ta.

Also in this sentence:

• š in još sounds like sh in shoe
• j is pronounced like English y in yes

So još sounds roughly like yosh.