Learn Hardcore Ukrainian: Вона спрагла, і п’є холодну воду. - She is thirsty, and she drinks cold water.

Yes. спрагла is the feminine form of the adjective спраглий (thirsty) used predicatively. It agrees with the feminine subject вона. Masculine: він спраглий; neuter: воно спрагле; plural: вони спраглі.

Is спрагла a verb? Why is there no verb “to be” in the present?

спрагла is an adjective. Ukrainian normally drops the present-tense є (is/are), so Вона спрагла literally means (She) is thirsty.

Could I say Вона хоче пити instead of Вона спрагла? Any nuance?

Yes. Вона хоче пити means “She wants to drink,” focusing on desire. Вона спрагла states the physical state “She is thirsty.” Both are natural; спрагла is a bit shorter and more direct.

Why is there a comma before і? Could I write it without the comma?

Both are possible:

With comma: Вона спрагла, і п’є холодну воду. = two coordinated clauses.
Without comma: Вона спрагла і п’є холодну воду. = one sentence with two predicates (is thirsty and drinks).
The comma adds a slight pause/emphasis but isn’t strictly required here.

Can I drop the second вона after і?

Yes. Ukrainian is pro-drop: once the subject is clear, you can omit it. Вона спрагла, і п’є... is natural. Repeating вона (... і вона п’є...) is possible for emphasis or clarity.

What’s going on with the apostrophe in п’є? How do I pronounce it?

The apostrophe shows that the following vowel (є) starts with a y-sound and the preceding consonant stays hard. Pronounce п’є like “p-ye.”
Use the apostrophe before я, ю, є, ї after labials (б, п, в, м, ф), р, and some prefixes: п’ю, м’ясо, в’їзд. It is not a soft sign.

What verb form is п’є?

3rd person singular present of пити (to drink):

я п’ю, ти п’єш, він/вона п’є, ми п’ємо, ви п’єте, вони п’ють.

Why is it воду and холодну, not вода and холодна?

Because п’є takes a direct object in the accusative case.

Nominative: холодна вода (cold water as subject)
Accusative singular (fem.): холодну воду (drinking what? cold water).
The adjective холодну agrees with the noun воду in case, number, and gender.

Could I say вип’є холодної води instead? What changes?

Yes, with a nuance:

п’є холодну воду (imperfective + accusative): she is drinking cold water (process; concrete object).
вип’є холодної води (perfective + genitive): she will drink some cold water (a portion/indefinite amount, completed action).
Genitive with consumption often expresses an indefinite quantity, especially with perfective or in negatives: не п’є води (doesn’t drink water).

Does п’є mean “drinks” or “is drinking”? How do Ukrainians express the English progressive?

Ukrainian has no separate progressive. The present of imperfective covers both: Вона п’є can mean “She drinks” (habitually) or “She is drinking” (right now). Context, like Вона спрагла, pushes it toward the “is drinking” reading.

Is і the only option? What about й?

і and й both mean “and.” й is a euphonic variant, often after vowels or to avoid a vowel clash. Here both are fine: Вона спрагла, і п’є... or Вона спрагла, й п’є.... Using і is the safe default.

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Ukrainian word order is flexible. For example:

Вона п’є холодну воду, бо спрагла.
Спрагла, вона п’є холодну воду.
Keep agreement and cases the same.

How else can I say “She is thirsty”?

Common alternatives:

У неї спрага. (She has thirst.)
Їй хочеться пити. (She feels like drinking.)
All are natural; avoid the calque Їй спрага — say У неї спрага.

What’s the gender of вода, and are there useful adjective choices besides холодна?

Вода is feminine. Besides холодна (cold), you can use прохолодна (cool) or льодяна (icy), all of which will become —ну воду in the accusative: прохолодну воду, льодяну воду.

Can I use forms like жажда or жаждущий?

No. Those are Russian. In Ukrainian use спрага (thirst) and спраглий/спрагла (thirsty).