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Questions & Answers about Čini mi se da smo se već sreli.
Why are there two se words in this sentence?
They belong to two different verbs in two different clauses. The first se belongs to činiti se (to seem), forming the phrase čini mi se (it seems to me). The second se belongs to sresti se (to meet each other) in the second clause.
What is the rule for the clitic order in mi se and smo se?
Clitics are short, unstressed words that follow a strict order in Croatian. Pronouns in the dative case like mi always come before the reflexive pronoun se. However, auxiliary verbs like smo take the highest priority in the order, so smo comes before se in the second part of the sentence.
Could I use upoznali instead of sreli here to say we have met?
Yes, but the meaning changes slightly. Sreli comes from sresti se, meaning to physically cross paths or bump into someone. If you want to say that you have been formally introduced to someone before, you should use upoznali from the verb upoznati se.
Why does the verb end in -i here (sreli)?