Breakdown of Nemam pojma da li je ona odlučila.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ona
she
nemati
to not have
da li
whether / if
Questions & Answers about Nemam pojma da li je ona odlučila.
Why use da li here instead of ako for 'whether' or 'if'?
In English, we often use 'if' for both conditions ('If it rains...') and indirect questions ('I do not know if she decided'). In Croatian, the conditional 'if' is ako, but indirect yes/no questions must use da li (whether).
What does pojma mean, and why does it have an -a at the end?
Pojma comes from the noun pojam, which means 'concept' or 'idea'. The phrase nemam pojma is a very common idiom for 'I have no idea'. It takes the genitive case ending -a because negative verbs (like not having something) frequently require the genitive case in Croatian.
Why is the subject ona placed right in the middle of the verb (je ... odlučila)?
This happens because je is an enclitic, which is a 'weak' word that insists on sitting in the second position of its clause. The question phrase da li counts as the first position, so je jumps right in after it. This pushes the subject ona further down the sentence.
Can I drop the word ona from this sentence?