Breakdown of Takvu okrutnu izdaju nikada nisam očekivao.
nisam
am not (nisi, nije, nismo, niste, nisu)
nikada
never
očekivati
to expect
takav
such, that kind of
Questions & Answers about Takvu okrutnu izdaju nikada nisam očekivao.
Why is Takvu okrutnu izdaju at the beginning of the sentence instead of after the verb?
This is syntactic inversion for emphasis. By moving the direct object to the front, the speaker draws strong attention to the betrayal itself. In standard neutral word order, the object would go after the verb: Nikada nisam očekivao takvu okrutnu izdaju.
Since the object is at the front of the sentence, does its grammatical case change?
No, it stays in the accusative case because it is still the direct object of the verb očekivao (expected). In Croatian, grammatical roles are determined by cases, not by word order, which is exactly why you can freely move the object to the front for dramatic effect.
Why do we use the negated verb nisam together with the negative adverb nikada?
Croatian strictly requires double negation. Whenever you use a negative word like nikada (never), the auxiliary verb must also be negative. Here, nikada pairs with nisam to create a single negative meaning.
Can the enclitic nisam be placed directly after the fronted object phrase?
Yes, you could perfectly well say Takvu okrutnu izdaju nisam nikada očekivao. The whole phrase Takvu okrutnu izdaju acts as one block of information, so nisam can take the second position right after it. The original sentence order simply puts a bit more rhythmic focus on nikada.