Vodoinstalater mora da popravi tuš.

In Serbian, modal meanings like must are often expressed with a finite verb plus da + another finite verb:

• mora da popravi = must repair / has to repair

Here:

• mora = must / has to
• da popravi = literally something like that he repairs, but in modern Serbian this is a normal way to say to repair after many verbs

This is one of the most common Serbian patterns. You may also sometimes see the infinitive after modal verbs, but da + present tense is extremely common and very natural.

Mora is the 3rd person singular present of morati = to have to / must.

So:

• ja moram = I must
• ti moraš = you must
• on/ona/ono mora = he/she/it must

Since vodoinstalater is a singular subject, mora is the correct form.

This is about aspect, which is very important in Serbian.

• popraviti = to fix, to repair completely → perfective
• popravljati / popravljati = to be fixing / to fix repeatedly or in general → imperfective

In mora da popravi, the speaker is talking about one completed repair: the plumber needs to fix the shower. That is why the perfective verb is natural here.

If you said mora da popravlja, it would suggest something more ongoing, repeated, or process-focused, which is less likely in this sentence.

Yes, formally popravi is a present-tense form, but after da it often functions where English would use an infinitive:

• mora da popravi = must repair

So even though it looks like a present form, in this structure it does not simply mean he repairs. It is part of the construction with da.

Vodoinstalater means plumber.

It is a normal, everyday word. You may also hear related words like:

• instalater = installer / technician
• vodovod = water system / plumbing

But vodoinstalater is the standard word for plumber.

Serbian has no articles, so there is no direct equivalent of a or the.

So:

• tuš can mean a shower or the shower

Which one is meant depends on context. In this sentence, English naturally uses the shower, but Serbian simply says tuš.

Because tuš is the direct object of popravi, and for this noun the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• tuš = nominative singular
• tuš = accusative singular

This is very common with many masculine inanimate nouns in Serbian.

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Vodoinstalater mora da popravi tuš.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Tuš mora da popravi vodoinstalater.
  This emphasizes the plumber as the one who has to fix it.
• Vodoinstalater tuš mora da popravi.
  Possible, but more marked and context-dependent.

So the original sentence is the most straightforward, neutral version.

Yes, that is also possible.

There are two common patterns after morati:

• mora da popravi
• mora popraviti

Both can mean must repair.

However, in everyday Serbian, especially in speech, da + present is very common and often sounds more natural to many speakers.

Roughly:

• vo-do-in-sta-LA-ter

A few tips:

• v is like English v
• d and t are clear dental sounds
• r is rolled or tapped
• stress commonly falls around -la-

And tuš is pronounced like toosh, with š sounding like English sh.

In this sentence, da introduces the second verb and helps create a structure that often corresponds to an English infinitive.

So:

• mora da popravi = must repair

You will see this pattern after many Serbian verbs, not only morati. For learners, it is useful to think of da + present tense as one very common Serbian way of expressing to do something.

It can mean both.

• must
• has to

In many everyday contexts, English has to is actually the most natural translation. Serbian morati covers both ideas.

The exact nuance depends on context and tone, not just grammar.

Sometimes yes, but the meaning changes a little.

• mora da popravi tuš = he must / has to fix the shower
• treba da popravi tuš = he should / is supposed to / needs to fix the shower

Morati is stronger. It expresses obligation more clearly.

Most naturally, it refers to a specific shower in the situation being discussed, even though Serbian does not use the.

Because of the perfective verb popravi, it sounds like one concrete repair job rather than a general statement about what plumbers do.

If you wanted a more general meaning like A plumber fixes showers, Serbian would usually use a different structure, often with an imperfective verb.

Vodoinstalater is a masculine noun. Yes, that matters because the verb agrees with the subject in person and number, and in some other contexts gender also becomes visible, especially in past tense forms.

In this present-tense sentence, gender is not strongly marked on mora, but the noun itself is masculine.

If you wanted to refer to a female plumber, Serbian may use:

• vodoinstalaterka

depending on the speaker and context.