Pojišťovna může uhradit náklady.

Pojišťovna means insurance company and it is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

It is a feminine noun. You can tell partly from the ending -a, which is very common for feminine nouns in Czech.

Because the subject is singular, the verb is also singular: může = can / may.

Může is the 3rd person singular form of moci = to be able / can / may.

It matches the subject:

• já můžu / mohu = I can
• ty můžeš = you can
• on/ona/ono může = he/she/it can
• pojišťovna může = the insurance company can

So může is used because pojišťovna is singular.

After a modal verb like může, Czech normally uses an infinitive, just like English uses can + base verb.

So:

• může uhradit = can reimburse / can cover / can pay

This is very similar to English structure:

• The insurance company can cover the costs.

You do not conjugate the second verb here. Only může is conjugated.

These verbs are related, but they are not exactly the same.

• uhradit usually means to pay / settle / reimburse / cover something, often in a somewhat formal or financial context
• hradit is the imperfective partner, meaning to pay / cover in a more ongoing or general sense
• zaplatit usually means to pay in the general sense of making a payment

In this sentence, uhradit náklady is a very natural formal phrase meaning to cover/reimburse costs.

So for insurance language, uhradit náklady sounds especially appropriate.

Uhradit is a perfective verb. That means it presents the action as a completed whole: the costs get paid/covered.

In this sentence, that makes sense because the idea is not about an ongoing process, but about a possible completed action:

• Pojišťovna může uhradit náklady. = The insurance company may/can cover the costs.

If you used the imperfective hradit, it would sound more like a general, repeated, or ongoing paying/covering activity. With insurance, uhradit is common when talking about a specific reimbursement or settlement.

Yes, Czech very often uses náklady in the plural where English may use either costs or cost depending on style.

• náklad = a cost, an expense
• náklady = costs, expenses

In formal and administrative language, uhradit náklady is a very common phrase. It often refers to expenses as a group rather than one single price.

So even if English translation shows cost, the Czech plural is perfectly normal.

Náklady is in the accusative plural because it is the direct object of uhradit.

You can think of it as the thing being paid/covered:

• uhradit co? = cover/pay what?
• náklady

For an inanimate masculine noun like náklad, the nominative plural and accusative plural are the same:

• nominative plural: náklady
• accusative plural: náklady

So the form looks the same, even though the function is accusative.

It can suggest either, depending on context.

Může can express:

• possibility = it is possible
• ability/capacity = it is able to
• sometimes something close to may = it is allowed/permitted to

In this sentence, the most likely meaning is something like:

• the insurance company can cover the costs
• the insurance company may cover the costs

In real-life insurance language, this often means it is possible under the policy / under certain conditions.

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English because case endings help show grammatical roles.

The neutral order here is:

• Pojišťovna může uhradit náklady.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, such as:

• Náklady může uhradit pojišťovna. → emphasizes the costs
• Uhradit náklady může pojišťovna. → sounds more marked, focusing on the action or contrast

Even though these are possible, the original sentence is the most straightforward and neutral.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker:

• pojišťovna ≈ po-yish-tyov-na
• může ≈ moo-zhe
• uhradit ≈ oo-hra-dit
• náklady ≈ naa-kla-dih

A few important sounds:

• j in Czech is like English y
• š is like sh
• ž is like the s in measure
• ť is a soft t sound, made with the tongue closer to the hard palate
• long vowels matter: ů and á are pronounced longer than short vowels

The stress in Czech is normally on the first syllable of each word:

• POjišťovna
• MŮže
• Uhradit
• NÁklady

Czech does not use articles the way English does. There is no direct equivalent of the or a/an in ordinary sentences.

So:

• Pojišťovna can mean the insurance company or an insurance company
• náklady can mean the costs or just costs

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English often uses the because the situation usually involves a specific insurance company and specific costs, but Czech does not need to mark that with an article.

It sounds fairly neutral to formal, and it is very natural in administrative, legal, medical, or insurance contexts.

That is mainly because of the verb uhradit and the noun náklady, which are common in official language.

In casual everyday speech, someone might also say something like:

• Pojišťovna to může zaplatit. = The insurance company can pay for it.

But for documents, policies, and customer-service language, Pojišťovna může uhradit náklady. is completely natural.

Yes, that would be understood. But uhradit náklady is more idiomatic in formal reimbursement language.

Compare:

• uhradit náklady = cover/reimburse expenses; formal and very common in official contexts
• zaplatit náklady = pay the costs; understandable, but a bit less standard in this kind of formal insurance wording

So your sentence is a good model if you want natural Czech for insurance, healthcare, or legal/administrative situations.