Working to the Limit
Croatian has a very efficient way to express that an action has been done to its absolute limit—either to the point of complete exhaustion or total satisfaction. You can do this by adding the prefix na- to an action verb and pairing it with the reflexive pronoun se.
For example, raditi (to work) becomes naraditi se (to work hard or to work oneself to exhaustion).
To express the purpose of this hard work, use the phrase kako bi (in order to), which must be followed by the active past participle (the L-participle) of the verb.
| The host worked hard in order to prepare a big feast. | Domaćin se naradio kako bi pripremio veliku gozbu. |
Total Satisfaction
When applied to eating, drinking, and celebrating, the na- + se pattern means doing something "to your heart's content" or until you are completely satisfied.
At a great feast (gozba), you can eat (jesti) and drink (piti) until you are full: najesti se and napiti se.
| All the guests ate and drank their fill well. | Svi gosti su se dobro najeli i napili. |
This pattern applies to many festive activities. You can dance (plesati) until you drop (naplesati se), or chat (pričati) with friends until you've caught up on everything (napričati se).
| Yesterday we danced to our heart's content at the celebration. | Jučer smo se naplesali na slavlju. |
| The friends had a good chat after a long dinner. | Prijatelji su se napričali nakon duge večere. |
Catching Up on Rest
Finally, after a long event, you might need to sleep (spavati). By using naspavati se, you indicate getting a full, satisfying amount of sleep.
| The baby finally got enough sleep and is happy now. | Beba se konačno naspavala i sada je sretna. |