Ona uspijeva ostati mirna čak i kad se printer opet kvari.

That’s right: Croatian often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

So this sentence could also be:

Uspijeva ostati mirna čak i kad se printer opet kvari.

Including ona adds a bit of emphasis or contrast, for example:

• She manages to stay calm...
• As for her, she stays calm...

It can also help make the subject extra clear in context.

Uspijeva is the 3rd person singular present tense of uspijevati / uspjeti, meaning to manage, to succeed, or to be able to accomplish something.

In this sentence, uspijeva ostati mirna means:

• she manages to stay calm
• she succeeds in staying calm

Because it is in the present tense and uses the imperfective form, it suggests something habitual or repeated: she is generally able to do this, not just one single time.

After verbs like uspijevati / uspjeti, Croatian commonly uses the infinitive to express what someone manages to do.

So:

• uspijeva ostati = manages to stay
• literally: succeeds to remain

This is very natural Croatian structure.

You may sometimes also see da-clauses in Croatian in other contexts, but here the infinitive is the normal choice.

Mirna is a feminine singular adjective in the nominative, agreeing with ona.

Here, ostati mirna means to remain calm, and the adjective describes the subject, not an object. That is why it stays in the nominative.

Agreement here is:

• on → miran
• ona → mirna
• ono → mirno

So:

• Ona ostaje mirna.
• He remains calm would be On ostaje miran.

Čak i kad means even when.

Breakdown:

• čak i = even
• kad = when

So the phrase introduces a situation that would normally make calmness difficult:

• čak i kad se printer opet kvari
• even when the printer is breaking down / acting up again

You could also hear čak i kada. Kad is just the shorter, very common form of kada.

Here kvariti se means to break down, to malfunction, or to go wrong.

This is different from plain kvariti, which usually means to spoil, to ruin, or to damage something.

Compare:

• Kvarim printer. = I am damaging/ruining the printer.
• Printer se kvari. = The printer is breaking down / malfunctioning.

So se is part of the verb expression here. It does not mean the printer is literally doing something to itself in the English sense; it’s just how Croatian forms this intransitive meaning.

Printer is very commonly used in everyday Croatian, especially in speech and informal writing.

You may also see:

• pisač = a more native/standard Croatian word for printer

So both are possible, but printer sounds very normal in modern everyday language.

Opet means again.

In this sentence:

• printer opet kvari = the printer is malfunctioning again

Yes, opet and ponovno can often both be translated as again.

Very roughly:

• opet is extremely common and natural in everyday speech
• ponovno can sound a bit more formal or neutral in some contexts

So opet is a very natural choice here.

This is an aspect question.

• kvariti se = imperfective, ongoing/repeated/habitual malfunctioning
• pokvariti se = perfective, to break down as a completed event

In this sentence, kvari works well because the whole sentence describes a repeated or typical situation:

• she manages to stay calm even when the printer acts up again

If you said kad se printer opet pokvari, that would mean more:

• when the printer breaks again
• focusing on the single completed breakdown event

Both can be possible depending on nuance, but kvari se fits the general, recurring situation very well.

Croatian uses the present tense here for a general or habitual statement.

The sentence is not about one specific moment only. It means something like:

• this is what usually happens
• this is how she typically reacts

So:

• uspijeva = she manages
• kvari = it breaks down / is malfunctioning

This is similar to English using the present for general truths or repeated situations.

No, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, although some versions sound more natural than others depending on emphasis.

The given sentence is very natural:

Ona uspijeva ostati mirna čak i kad se printer opet kvari.

You could also say:

Čak i kad se printer opet kvari, ona uspijeva ostati mirna.

That version puts more focus on the stressful situation first.

The small word se usually stays near the beginning of its clause, which is why kad se printer opet kvari sounds natural.

It is best learned as a very common pattern:

• ostati + adjective

meaning:

• to remain / stay + adjective

Examples:

• ostati miran / mirna = stay calm
• ostati ozbiljan / ozbiljna = stay serious
• ostati tih / tiha = stay quiet

So ostati mirna is a natural Croatian way to say stay calm.

Not really in this sentence. Here kad clearly means when.

So:

• čak i kad se printer opet kvari = even when the printer breaks down again

If you wanted if, Croatian would normally use ako:

• čak i ako se printer opet pokvari = even if the printer breaks down again

That changes the meaning from a real/typical situation to a hypothetical one.