Kobieta przy recepcji zapytała, czy ta kwota ma już być wpłacona dzisiaj.

Because zapytała is the perfective past form of zapytać and means asked as a completed action.

• zapytała = she asked / she posed a question
• pytała = she was asking / she used to ask / she asked in an ongoing or repeated sense

In this sentence, the woman asked one specific question, so zapytała is the natural choice.

Also, zapytała ends in -ła because the subject is feminine: kobieta.

Because kobieta is the subject of the sentence, so it stays in the nominative case.

• Kobieta zapytała... = The woman asked...

You would use kobietę if the woman were the direct object, for example:

• Widzę kobietę. = I see the woman.

Here, the woman is the one doing the action, so nominative kobieta is correct.

przy recepcji means something like:

• at the reception desk
• by the reception
• near the reception

The preposition przy usually means by, next to, near, or sometimes at, depending on context.

So kobieta przy recepcji is literally the woman by/at the reception.

Because przy requires the locative case.

So:

• recepcja = nominative
• przy recepcji = locative

This is a very common pattern in Polish:

• przy stole = by the table
• przy oknie = by the window
• przy recepcji = by the reception

So the form recepcji is there because of the preposition przy.

czy introduces an indirect yes/no question.

So:

• Zapytała, czy... = She asked whether / if...

This is different from co, kiedy, gdzie, etc., which introduce wh- questions.

Examples:

• Zapytała, czy przyjdę. = She asked if I would come.
• Zapytała, kiedy przyjdę. = She asked when I would come.

In your sentence, czy shows that the content of the question was something like Is this amount supposed to be paid today?

ta kwota means this amount or this sum.

• kwota is a feminine noun
• ta is the feminine singular form of this

Compare:

• ten dokument = this document
• ta kwota = this amount
• to pytanie = this question

Both words are in the nominative because ta kwota is the grammatical subject of the clause after czy.

It can, but here it is more natural to understand ma być as:

• is supposed to be
• is meant to be
• should be
• sometimes has to be, depending on context

The construction mieć + infinitive often expresses expectation, plan, instruction, or obligation.

So:

• kwota ma być wpłacona dzisiaj = the amount is supposed to be paid today

It does not always sound as strong as English must. It often suggests that this is the expected arrangement or requirement.

wpłacona is a passive participle from wpłacić.

It agrees with kwota, which is feminine singular, so we get:

• masculine: wpłacony
• feminine: wpłacona
• neuter: wpłacone

This gives a passive meaning:

• kwota ma być wpłacona = the amount is to be paid / deposited

So the structure is:

• ma być
  • passive participle
    = is supposed to be
    • past participle

Very similar to English passive structure.

Not exactly.

• wpłacić means to pay in, to deposit, to make a payment, often into an account or as an official payment
• zapłacić means to pay more generally

So wpłacić kwotę often suggests paying a specific sum into a system, account, fund, or office.

Examples:

• wpłacić pieniądze na konto = to deposit money into an account
• zapłacić rachunek = to pay a bill

In your sentence, wpłacona sounds appropriate because it refers to an amount being officially paid in.

już usually means already, but in questions like this it can also suggest urgency, expectation, or timing.

So:

• ma już być wpłacona dzisiaj can mean something like
  is this amount supposed to be paid already today?
  or more naturally
  is this amount supposed to be paid today already?

It often adds the sense that the speaker is checking whether the deadline is as early as today.

Without już, the sentence would be more neutral:

• czy ta kwota ma być wpłacona dzisiaj = whether this amount is to be paid today

With już, it may imply as early as today or by now/today already.

Yes, Polish word order is flexible, and dzisiaj could appear in other positions. But the final position is very natural.

Your sentence:

• czy ta kwota ma już być wpłacona dzisiaj

Other possible orders include:

• czy ta kwota ma być dzisiaj wpłacona
• czy dzisiaj ta kwota ma już być wpłacona

The difference is mostly about emphasis and style, not basic meaning.

The version with dzisiaj at the end sounds normal and clear, with today as the final time detail.

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly.

• ma być wpłacona = is supposed to be paid, is to be paid
• powinna być wpłacona = should be paid

ma być often sounds like a rule, plan, instruction, or expected arrangement.
powinna być sounds more like recommendation, duty, or what would be proper.

So both are possible in some contexts, but ma być fits well if the woman is asking about an official requirement or schedule.

Not necessarily.

• recepcjonistka = female receptionist
• kobieta przy recepcji = the woman at/by the reception

The second phrase only describes where the woman is. It does not absolutely state her job. In context, it may well refer to the receptionist, but grammatically it just means the woman at the reception.

Because Polish does not need a separate word like English that in this structure.

English often says:

• She asked whether...
• She asked if...

Polish simply uses:

• Zapytała, czy...

That is enough to introduce the reported yes/no question.

Yes, that is a reasonable natural translation.

Depending on context, you could also translate it as:

• The woman at reception asked whether this amount was supposed to be paid today already.
• The woman at the reception desk asked if this amount needed to be paid today.
• The woman at reception asked whether this sum was to be paid in today.

The exact English wording depends on how strongly you want to show:

• the passive structure
• the meaning of ma być
• the nuance of już
• the more official sense of wpłacona

It is fairly neutral and natural, with a slightly official or administrative tone because of words like kwota and wpłacona.

• kobieta przy recepcji = neutral everyday description
• kwota = somewhat formal/official compared with just pieniądze
• wpłacona = common in financial, office, or payment-related contexts

So the whole sentence sounds normal in a hotel, office, clinic, or administrative situation.