Moramo se boriti za biljke.

Moramo means we must or we have to.

Its dictionary form is morati = to have to / must.

A few forms of morati are:

• moram = I must
• moraš = you must
• mora = he/she/it must
• moramo = we must
• morate = you all / you formal must
• moraju = they must

So in this sentence, moramo already tells you the subject is we.

Because after a modal verb like morati, Croatian normally uses the infinitive.

So:

• moramo se boriti = we must fight
• not moramo se borimo

This works much like English:

• We must fight
• not We must are fighting

The full infinitive here is boriti se = to fight / to struggle.

Se is a reflexive particle, and it belongs to the verb boriti se.

So the verb is not just boriti, but boriti se.

In many cases, se does not translate directly as oneself in natural English. Here, boriti se simply means to fight or to struggle.

So:

• boriti se = to fight / to struggle
• moramo se boriti = we must fight / we must struggle

For an English speaker, the important thing is to learn boriti se as a single dictionary unit.

Because in Croatian, se is a clitic. Clitics are short unstressed words that usually stand near the beginning of the clause, rather than staying glued to the infinitive.

So although the dictionary form is boriti se, in a sentence with a modal verb you often get:

• Moramo se boriti

not:

• Moramo boriti se

This is normal Croatian word order.

So you should think:

• dictionary form: boriti se
• sentence form: moramo se boriti

Here za means for.

So:

• boriti se za nešto = to fight for something

In this sentence:

• za biljke = for plants

Be aware that za can have other meanings in other contexts, but with boriti se it commonly means for in the sense of supporting or defending something.

Because za here takes the accusative case, and biljke is the accusative plural of biljka (plant).

Forms:

• biljka = plant
• biljke = plants

Since biljka is a feminine noun, and since inanimate feminine plural often has the same form in nominative and accusative, biljke can mean either:

• plants as the subject
• plants as the object

Here it is accusative because of za in the expression boriti se za.

Because the singular is biljka, while biljke is plural.

So:

• biljka = plant
• biljke = plants

In this sentence, za biljke means for plants, not for a plant.

Yes, grammatically you can add mi for emphasis:

• Mi moramo se boriti za biljke.

But in normal Croatian, the subject pronoun is often omitted because moramo already tells you it is we.

So the most natural version is:

• Moramo se boriti za biljke.

You would add mi only if you want contrast or emphasis, like we must fight for plants, not just talk about them.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not every order sounds equally natural.

The standard, natural version is:

• Moramo se boriti za biljke.

You may also hear other orders for emphasis, but se has special placement rules because it is a clitic. That means you cannot place it just anywhere.

For a learner, the safest pattern is:

• [modal verb] + se + infinitive + rest
• Moramo se boriti za biljke.

That is the best model to copy.

No. It can be literal, but it is also very often used in a broader sense:

• to fight for
• to struggle for
• to stand up for
• to campaign for

So Moramo se boriti za biljke could mean:

• literally defending plants
• working hard to protect plants
• campaigning for plant protection
• advocating for nature or the environment

The exact nuance depends on context.

The basic noun is biljka, which means plant.

It is a feminine noun. Its plural is biljke.

A simple mini-paradigm:

• biljka = plant
• biljke = plants
• za biljke = for plants

This is a useful noun to remember if you are learning nature or environmental vocabulary.

A simple pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

• Moramo ≈ mo-RA-mo
• se ≈ seh
• boriti ≈ bo-REE-tee
• za ≈ zah
• biljke ≈ roughly BIL-ykeh

A few helpful points:

• Croatian r is trilled or tapped.
• j is pronounced like English y in yes.
• lj is a single sound, similar to the lli in some pronunciations of million, though not exactly the same.
• Croatian spelling is quite phonetic, so words are usually pronounced close to how they are written.

It breaks down like this:

• Moramo = modal verb, we must
• se = reflexive clitic belonging to boriti se
• boriti = infinitive, to fight / to struggle
• za = preposition, for
• biljke = accusative plural of biljka, plants

So the structure is:

• We must + fight + for plants

or more literally:

• We must ourselves-fight for plants

But the natural English meaning is simply:

• We must fight for plants.