Roditelji su rekli da im se sviđa naš plan.

The parents said that they like our plan.

Breakdown of Roditelji su rekli da im se sviđa naš plan.

• biti: to be
• im: them
• naš: our
• da: that
• plan: plan
• sviđati se: to like
• roditelj: parent
• reći: to say

Questions & Answers about Roditelji su rekli da im se sviđa naš plan.

Why do we use da after rekli instead of an infinitive like in English (they said to like)?

In Croatian, verbs like reći (to say) are normally followed by a da‑clause rather than an infinitive when you report what someone said.

• English: They said that they like our plan.
• Croatian: Rekli su da im se sviđa naš plan.

Here da means that and introduces a full subordinate clause (da im se sviđa naš plan = that they like our plan).

Using an infinitive here (e.g. rekli su sviđati) would be ungrammatical. The natural structure is:

• [main clause] + da + [finite verb clause]
  Roditelji su rekli
  • da im se sviđa naš plan.

What does im mean in this sentence, and why is it needed?

Im means to them here. It’s the dative plural form of the 3rd person pronoun:

• oni (they) → im (to them / for them)

The verb sviđati se always uses a dative pronoun or noun to mark the person who experiences the liking:

• Sviđa mi se. = I like it. (literally: It is pleasing to me)
• Sviđa ti se. = You like it. (It is pleasing to you.)
• Sviđa im se. = They like it. (It is pleasing to them.)

So in da im se sviđa naš plan, im tells us who likes / finds the plan pleasing.

What is the function of se in se sviđa, and do we always need it?

Se is a reflexive clitic used with the verb sviđati (se). In this construction, sviđati se is essentially a reflexive verb meaning to be pleasing.

The pattern is:

• Nešto se sviđa nekome.
  Something is pleasing to someone.

Examples:

• Film mi se sviđa. = I like the movie. (literal: The movie is pleasing to me.)
• Tvoja ideja mu se sviđa. = He likes your idea.

You must include se in this verb; sviđa without se would not have the standard to-like meaning.

So:

• ✅ Sviđa mi se.
• ❌ Sviđa mi. (ungrammatical in this meaning)

Why is it sviđa im se naš plan and not oni sviđaju naš plan?

Croatian expresses “to like” differently from English.

The structure is reversed compared to English:

• English: They like our plan.
  Subject = they, object = our plan

• Croatian: Naš plan im se sviđa.
  Literal: Our plan is pleasing to them.
  Subject = our plan (nominative)
  Experiencer = to them (dative im)
  Reflexive marker = se

So you don’t say:

• ❌ Oni sviđaju naš plan.

Instead you say:

• ✅ Naš plan im se sviđa.
• ✅ Sviđa im se naš plan.

Memorize the pattern: > X se sviđa Y‑(dative)
> = Y likes X

Why is naš plan in the nominative case and not in the accusative?

With sviđati se, the thing that is liked is the grammatical subject of the sentence, so it appears in the nominative:

• Naš plan (NOM) im se sviđa.
  Our plan is pleasing to them.

If Croatian used a direct object like English, you might expect accusative (naš plan → naš plan in masc. singular is the same form in nom/acc, but it’s functionally nominative here). The key point is:

• Naš plan is not an object of the verb; it is the subject of sviđa se.
• The indirect experiencer (im) is in dative.

So the grammar is closer to English “Our plan is pleasing to them” than to “They like our plan.”

Why is it naš plan and not našeg plana or našem planu?

Naš is an adjective that must agree in gender, number, and case with plan.

• plan is:
  • masculine
  • singular
  • nominative (subject of sviđa se)

So we choose the masculine singular nominative form of naš:

• naš plan

Other forms would be used if the case changed:

• našeg plana – genitive singular (e.g. bez našeg plana = without our plan)
• našem planu – dative/locative singular (e.g. o našem planu = about our plan)

In sviđa se naš plan, since plan is the subject, nominative is correct: naš plan.

Can I change the word order to Roditelji su rekli da se im sviđa naš plan?

No. That word order is ungrammatical.

In Croatian, short pronouns like se, mi, ti, mu, im are clitics, and they have strict ordering rules inside the sentence. The usual order of these clitics is fixed, and in this kind of construction, se normally comes before im:

• ✅ da im se sviđa naš plan
• ✅ da se im sviđa naš plan – ❌ (incorrect order)

Standard sequence (simplified): li – se – (personal pronouns like mi/ti/mu/im)

So:

• Correct: da im se sviđa naš plan
• Also correct (but different emphasis): da se njima sviđa naš plan (using njima instead of im, which is not a clitic, so the order changes)

Could the sentence also be Rekli su roditelji da im se sviđa naš plan?

Yes, that is grammatically correct, but the emphasis shifts slightly.

• Roditelji su rekli da…
  Neutral word order; roditelji (parents) is a straightforward subject.

• Rekli su roditelji da…
  This puts a bit more emphasis on the verb “said” or on who said it. It can sound a bit more contrastive, like:

  • It was the parents who said they like our plan.

Both versions are fine. The important clitic position is preserved:

• su remains in the second position of the clause:
  • Roditelji su rekli…
  • Rekli su roditelji…

Why is it rekli and not rekao or rekla?

The past tense of reći (to say) is formed with the past participle plus the auxiliary biti (sam, si, je, smo, ste, su).

The participle agrees in gender and number with the subject:

• Ja sam rekao. (I said – male speaker)
• Ja sam rekla. (I said – female speaker)
• On je rekao. (He said.)
• Ona je rekla. (She said.)
• Mi smo rekli. (We said – at least one male in the group)
• One su rekle. (They said – all female group)

Roditelji (parents) is a plural and typically treated as masculine plural, so we use:

• rekli (masc. plural)

Hence:

• Roditelji su rekli…

What tense is su rekli, and can I say just Roditelji rekli da… without su?

Su rekli is the past tense (perfect):

• auxiliary su (3rd person plural of biti, to be)
• past participle rekli

Together they form:

• Roditelji su rekli = The parents said / have said

In standard written and careful spoken Croatian, you should include the auxiliary:

• ✅ Roditelji su rekli da…

In informal spoken Croatian, people often drop the auxiliary when the subject is clear:

• Spoken: Roditelji rekli da im se sviđa naš plan.

That’s common in conversation, but for learners and in writing, keep:

• Roditelji su rekli…

Why is there no word for “the” before roditelji or plan?

Croatian has no articles (no the, no a/an). Nouns stand alone:

• roditelji can mean the parents or (some) parents, depending on context.
• plan can mean the plan or a plan, again based on context.

The specific or general meaning is inferred from:

• context
• situation
• sometimes word order and stress, but not from a dedicated article.

So:

• Roditelji su rekli da im se sviđa naš plan. = The parents said that they like our plan.
  Context makes it clear that these parents and this plan are specific.

Can I use vole instead of sviđa se here? What is the difference between sviđa im se naš plan and vole naš plan?

You can use vole, and it will still be correct, but the nuance changes slightly.

• Sviđa im se naš plan.

  • Literally: Our plan is pleasing to them.
  • Often implies they find it appealing, they like how it sounds/looks, maybe a bit softer or more about the impression.

• Vole naš plan.

  • Literally: They love/like our plan.
  • More direct, can sound stronger, as in real approval or preference.

In everyday speech, there is a lot of overlap, and both can often be translated as they like our plan. The given sentence chooses the more typical sviđa se pattern for to like.

Could the subordinate clause be kako im se sviđa naš plan instead of da im se sviđa naš plan?

You might hear kako in some dialects or styles, but da is the standard and most neutral choice after reći when reporting that something is the case.

• Standard: Roditelji su rekli da im se sviđa naš plan.
• More colloquial/regional: Roditelji su rekli kako im se sviđa naš plan.

Both can be understood as “The parents said that they like our plan.” For learning standard Croatian, stick to da in such reported-speech clauses.

How do you pronounce sviđa? What sound is đ?

Sviđa is pronounced approximately as:

• svee‑jah (with a palatal “dj” in the middle)

The letter đ represents a single sound, similar to:

• the “j” in “jam” but softer, or
• the “dy” in “would you” when said quickly: “woul(dj)u”

Phonetically, it’s a voiced palatal stop /dʑ/. So sviđa is:

• s – like in see
• vi – like vee
• đa – soft dyah / jah with that đ sound

Putting it together: SVI‑đa.