Learn Hardcore Polish: Ona też tęskni za mną i czasem prawie płacze przez telefon. - She also misses me and sometimes almost cries on the phone.

make the subject clear in context (she as opposed to he or they)
emphasize “she” in a contrast:
- Ona też tęskni za mną – She also misses me (she does too)
  (e.g. after: Ja za nią tęsknię – I miss her)

So:

Też tęskni za mną… – grammatically fine, “(She) also misses me…”, subject understood from context.
Ona też tęskni za mną… – adds a bit of emphasis to “she”.

What exactly does też do here? Could we use również or także, and can też go in other positions?

też means “also / too / as well”. Here:

Ona też tęskni za mną… – She also misses me (in addition to someone else, or in response to I miss her).

Other common options:

Ona również tęskni za mną.
Ona także tęskni za mną.

All three (też, również, także) are grammatically similar. Rough tendencies:

też – most common, neutral, everyday.
również / także – a bit more formal or bookish, often in writing.

Position changes nuance/emphasis slightly:

Ona też tęskni za mną. – the “also” is tied mainly to her as subject.
Ona tęskni też za mną. – feels like she misses other people/things and me as well.
Ona też za mną tęskni. – emphasises za mną a bit: She also misses me (specifically).

All are possible; the original is the most neutral.

Why is the conjunction i used, not a? What would change if it was a?

Both i and a can mean “and”, but they differ in nuance:

i – simple addition, no contrast:
- tęskni za mną i czasem prawie płacze
  → she misses me and sometimes almost cries (just two things that happen).
a – “and” with a contrast or slight opposition, often like “and/but”:
- tęskni za mną, a czasem prawie płacze
  → suggests a bit of contrast between missing and crying, almost like:
  she misses me, and (what’s more / on the other hand) sometimes almost cries.

The original i is the default neutral connector here. a would be possible, but it would highlight crying a bit more as a separate, somewhat contrasting fact.

What tense and aspect are tęskni and płacze? Are they like English “misses / cries” or “is missing / is crying”?

Both tęskni and płacze are:

present tense
imperfective aspect
3rd person singular

So:

(ona) tęskni – she misses / she is missing
(ona) płacze – she cries / she is crying

In Polish, this one form covers both English simple and continuous:

Ona też tęskni za mną
→ She misses me / She is missing me

The sentence describes an ongoing or habitual state and repeated situations, matching English “misses” and “sometimes almost cries (on the phone).”

Can we change the word order in Ona też tęskni za mną? For example: Ona też za mną tęskni or Też ona tęskni za mną?

Polish word order is flexible, but not all options sound equally natural.

Most natural variants:

Ona też tęskni za mną. – neutral.
Ona też za mną tęskni. – small emphasis on za mną (the person missed).
Też ona tęskni za mną. – possible in poetic or strongly emphatic speech, but sounds unusual or stylistically marked in everyday Polish.

So:

You can safely use Ona też tęskni za mną or Ona też za mną tęskni.
Avoid Też ona… unless you want a dramatic / poetic tone.

What is the difference between czasem and czasami? Are both okay here, and where can czasem go in the sentence?

czasem and czasami both mean “sometimes” and are near‑synonyms.

czasem prawie płacze
czasami prawie płacze

Both are correct and natural. czasem is slightly shorter/more colloquial, but both are very common.

Position:

…i czasem prawie płacze przez telefon. – neutral.
…i prawie czasem płacze przez telefon. – sounds wrong/unnatural.
Czasem ona prawie płacze przez telefon. – okay, emphasises sometimes.
Ona czasem prawie płacze przez telefon. – also fine.

General rule: put czasem/czasami before or after the subject, not in the middle of the verb phrase in a strange place. The original position is the most natural.

What exactly does prawie mean in czasem prawie płacze? Does word order matter with prawie?

prawie means “almost / nearly”.

czasem prawie płacze – sometimes she almost cries
→ she is very close to crying, but doesn’t actually cry (or not fully).

Word order:

czasem prawie płacze – neutral and natural.
czasem płacze prawie – sounds odd; prawie should come right before the verb or expression it modifies.
prawie czasem płacze – changes meaning to she almost sometimes cries, which is strange or unclear.

So normally:

prawie płacze
prawie płacze przez telefon
(both put prawie right before płacze).

What does przez telefon literally mean? Is it the standard way to say “on the phone”?

przez telefon literally is “through the phone”, but idiomatically it means “on the phone / over the phone”.

It’s the standard phrase after many verbs:

rozmawiać przez telefon – to talk on the phone
płakać przez telefon – to cry on the phone
załatwić coś przez telefon – to sort something out over the phone

Alternatives:

telefonicznie – adverb, “by phone”, more formal:
- Czasem prawie płacze telefonicznie – grammatically okay but stylistically odd here.
na telefonie, po telefonie – not used in this sense.

So in everyday speech: use przez telefon for “on the phone”.

Why is there no comma before i in …za mną i czasem prawie płacze…?

Polish comma rules: no comma is used before i when it connects two verbs with the same subject in one clause.

Here:

Subject: ona
Verbs: tęskni and (czasem prawie) płacze

Structure:
Ona też [tęskni za mną] i [czasem prawie płacze przez telefon].

Because both verbs share the same subject ona and form one compound predicate, there is no comma before i.

A comma before i would appear if it connected two separate clauses with their own subjects, for example:

Ona tęskni za mną, i ja też za nią tęsknię.
(two independent clauses: “she misses me” and “I also miss her”)

Can you break down each word grammatically in Ona też tęskni za mną i czasem prawie płacze przez telefon?

Yes:

Ona – personal pronoun, 3rd person singular, feminine, nominative (she).
też – adverb/particle meaning also / too / as well.
tęskni – verb, 3rd person singular, present tense, imperfective, from tęsknić (to miss).
za – preposition; with tęsknić it takes the instrumental case (for / about in the sense of missing).
mną – personal pronoun ja in the instrumental case (me after za).
i – coordinating conjunction (and).
czasem – adverb meaning sometimes.
prawie – adverb meaning almost / nearly.
płacze – verb, 3rd person singular, present tense, imperfective, from płakać (to cry).
przez – preposition, here with the accusative, meaning through / via.
telefon – noun, masculine inanimate, accusative singular after przez (phone).

So overall:
She also misses me and sometimes almost cries on the phone.