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Osjećam da sam sada na boljoj razini i to mi daje motivaciju za novi uspjeh.

Osjećam da sam sada na boljoj razini i to mi daje motivaciju za novi uspjeh.
I feel that I am now at a better level and that gives me motivation for new success.

Breakdown of Osjećam da sam sada na boljoj razini i to mi daje motivaciju za novi uspjeh.

biti
to be
sada
now
nov
new
i
and
mi
me
na
at
za
for
bolji
better
da
that
to
that
davati
to give
osjećati
to feel
razina
level
uspjeh
success
motivacija
motivation
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Questions & Answers about Osjećam da sam sada na boljoj razini i to mi daje motivaciju za novi uspjeh.

Why is it “osjećam da…” and not “osjećam se da…”?

In Croatian:

  • osjećam = I feel (something)
  • osjećam se = I feel (in myself), I feel (a certain way)

Use osjećam when it’s followed by a direct object or a clause:

  • Osjećam da sam sada na boljoj razini.
    I feel that I’m now at a better level.

Use osjećam se when describing your state/condition:

  • Osjećam se dobro. – I feel good.
  • Osjećam se umorno. – I feel tired.

So with “da + sentence”, you normally use osjećam, not osjećam se.

What does “da” do in “osjećam da sam…”? Is it like “that”?

Yes. Here da is a subordinating conjunction meaning “that”:

  • Osjećam da sam sada na boljoj razini.
    I feel that I am now at a better level.

It just introduces the subordinate clause “da sam sada na boljoj razini”.

It is not “so that / in order to” here; those would also be da, but with a different meaning and usually with a verb of intention (e.g. učim da položim ispit – “I study so that I pass the exam”).

Why is it “da sam sada…” and not “da sada sam…”?

This is about clitic word order. Forms of biti (to be) like sam, si, je, smo, ste, su behave as clitics and prefer the second position in the clause.

In the clause:

  • da sam sada na boljoj razini

the first word is da, so sam slides into the second spot:

  1. da → 1st
  2. sam → 2nd (clitic position)
  3. sada
  4. na boljoj razini

“da sada sam na boljoj razini” sounds wrong because sam is pushed out of that preferred second position.

So: da sam sada… is the natural, grammatical word order.

Why is it “na boljoj razini” and not “na bolju razinu”?

Croatian uses different cases with “na” depending on meaning:

  • na + accusative → movement onto / to something
    • Idem na višu razinu. – I’m going to a higher level.
  • na + locative → being / state on / at something
    • Sada sam na višoj razini. – I am (now) at a higher level.

In “da sam sada na boljoj razini”, you’re describing a state (you are at a better level), not movement towards it. So you use locative:

  • razina (level) – feminine noun
  • locative singular: (na) razini
  • adjective bolji (better), fem. locative: boljoj

Hence: na boljoj razini = at a better level.

How do I know that “razini” is locative, and why is “boljoj” in that form?

Razina is a feminine noun.

  • Nominative sg.: razina
  • Dative/locative sg.: razini

After na with the meaning of “on/at (location/state)”, you use locative → na razini.

The adjective bolji must agree with razini in:

  • gender: feminine
  • number: singular
  • case: locative

So its feminine locative form is boljoj:

  • na boljoj razini
    on/at a better level

The matching endings -oj (boljoj) and -i (razini) are a common pattern for fem. locative but you mainly learn them by practice.

What exactly does “to” mean in “i to mi daje motivaciju”?

Here to is a demonstrative pronoun meaning roughly “that” / “that fact” and refers to the whole previous idea:

  • Osjećam da sam sada na boljoj razini, i to mi daje motivaciju…
    → I feel that I am now at a better level, and that (fact) gives me motivation…

So to is not “it” in the sense of some object, but “that situation / that realization”. You could paraphrase:

  • Ta spoznaja mi daje motivaciju.
    That realisation gives me motivation.
Why is it “to mi daje” and not “to daje mi”?

Again, this is clitic placement. Mi (to me) is a dative clitic pronoun, and clitics tend to go early in the sentence, after the first stressed word or phrase.

In “to mi daje motivaciju”:

  1. to → first stressed word
  2. mi → clitic in second position
  3. daje motivaciju → the rest of the predicate

“To daje mi motivaciju” is understandable but sounds unnatural or emphatic in a marked way. The neutral, everyday word order is:

  • To mi daje motivaciju. – That gives me motivation.
Why is it “za novi uspjeh”? What case is “novi uspjeh”?

The preposition za normally takes the accusative.

  • za + accusative → for [something], for the purpose of [something]

Uspjeh (success) is masculine singular:

  • nominative sg.: uspjeh
  • accusative sg. (inanimate masculine): uspjeh (same form as nominative)

The adjective novi (new) agrees with it in accusative masculine singular, and for inanimate masculines that form is also novi.

So:

  • za novi uspjeh = for a new success / towards a new success
    (prep. za
    • acc. novi uspjeh)
Why isn’t there any article like “a” or “the” in “na boljoj razini” and “za novi uspjeh”?

Croatian has no articles like English “a / an / the”.

So where English must choose:

  • at a better level / at the better level
  • for a new success / for the new success

Croatian simply says:

  • na boljoj razini
  • za novi uspjeh

Whether you understand it as “a” or “the” depends on context, not on a word in the sentence.

Are there natural synonyms or alternative ways to say this sentence?

Yes, you can rephrase while keeping the same meaning. For example:

  • Sada osjećam da sam na višoj razini i to mi daje motivaciju za novi uspjeh.
    (višoj razini instead of boljoj razini – “higher level”)

  • Osjećam da sam sada na boljoj razini i to me motivira za novi uspjeh.
    (to me motivira instead of to mi daje motivaciju)

  • Imam osjećaj da sam sada na boljoj razini, i to mi daje motivaciju za novi uspjeh.
    (Imam osjećaj da… = “I have a feeling that…”)

All are natural; the original is already perfectly idiomatic.