Breakdown of Bez obzira na to što se ne viđamo, osjećamo bliskost.
ne
no, not
sebe
oneself (stressed reflexive)
viđati
to see (regularly)
osjećati
to feel (something)
Questions & Answers about Bez obzira na to što se ne viđamo, osjećamo bliskost.
Why do we need na to in the middle of the conjunction, instead of just saying bez obzira što?
The structure literally builds as "without regard to that, that..." The preposition na requires an object, which here is the pronoun to. While you will often hear native speakers shorten the phrase to just bez obzira što in casual speech, bez obzira na to što is the grammatically complete and standard way to introduce a concession clause.
Why does the sentence use viđamo instead of vidimo?
This is a matter of verbal aspect. Viđati is the imperfective, iterative form of the verb vidjeti (to see). Because the sentence describes an ongoing, habitual state of not seeing each other over time, rather than a single completed event, the imperfective form viđati se is required.
Why is the reflexive pronoun se placed before the negative verb ne viđamo?
Enclitics like se generally must take the second position in their clause. In this subordinate clause, the conjunction što occupies the first position. Therefore, se locks in right behind it, forcing the negative verb phrase ne viđamo to follow.
What case is bliskost in, and why doesn't its ending change?