Breakdown of Nadam se da ćemo zajedno donijeti pametnu odluku kako bismo sačuvali jezera i doline za buduće turiste.
Questions & Answers about Nadam se da ćemo zajedno donijeti pametnu odluku kako bismo sačuvali jezera i doline za buduće turiste.
In Croatian, nadati se is a reflexive verb and it is always used with se in this meaning: to hope.
- nadam se = I hope
- Without se, nadam does not mean I hope and would sound wrong in standard Croatian.
So you should always treat nadati se as a unit, like learning to hope as one piece in English.
The subject I is contained in the verb ending -m in nadam. Croatian usually drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form.
- Nadam se = I hope
- Ja se nadam is also correct and just puts extra emphasis on I (like I hope, as opposed to someone else).
In normal, neutral speech, Nadam se without ja is more common.
Both are grammatically possible, but zajedno (together) most naturally comes before the verb it modifies, giving a smoother rhythm:
- da ćemo zajedno donijeti pametnu odluku – neutral, most natural
- da ćemo donijeti zajedno pametnu odluku – understandable but sounds a bit marked or awkward in many contexts.
Adverbs like zajedno, uvijek, često often stand right before the main verb or before the verb phrase they describe.
Ćemo is the 1st person plural future auxiliary, from htjeti (to want), used to form the future I tense:
- mi ćemo donijeti = we will bring / make (a decision)
Clitic auxiliaries like ćemo usually appear in the second position in the clause, very early in the sentence (the so‑called Wackernagel position). So after da, the next possible “slot” is right before zajedno:
- da ćemo zajedno donijeti – correct, natural placement of ćemo.
You will also see donijet ćemo in main clauses: Sutra ćemo donijeti odluku / Sutra donijet ćemo odluku (the first is more natural).
Donijeti is the perfective infinitive, roughly “to bring / to make (a decision) once, to a result.”
After the future auxiliary ćemo, you normally use the infinitive:
- ćemo donijeti = we will bring / make (once, as a completed act)
If you said da donosimo pametnu odluku, it would be more like that we are making a smart decision (now / habitually), which doesn’t fit the idea of one specific decision.
Donesemo is the present tense; with da donesemo you’d usually be in a conditional/purpose mood (that we (would) make), which changes the structure.
Odluka is a feminine noun. In this sentence it is the direct object of donijeti, so it must be in the accusative singular:
- nominative: pametna odluka – a smart decision (subject form)
- accusative: pametnu odluku – a smart decision (object form)
The adjective pametan has to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:
- pametna (nom. fem. sg.) → pametnu (acc. fem. sg.)
- odluka (nom.) → odluku (acc.).
Kako bismo here introduces a purpose clause, similar to English so that we would / in order to.
- kako bismo sačuvali jezera i doline ≈ so that we would preserve the lakes and valleys
In many contexts, kako bismo and da bismo are very close in meaning and both can introduce purpose:
- … odluku, kako bismo sačuvali…
- … odluku, da bismo sačuvali…
Stylistically, kako bismo can sound a bit more formal or “written,” but the difference in meaning is small.
Bismo sačuvali is the conditional I form:
- auxiliary bismo (from biti) + past participle sačuvali
So literally: we would preserve.
In a purpose clause with kako bismo or da bismo, it often translates like English so that we (can / will) preserve, even though the literal form is conditional. Croatian uses the conditional there as a standard pattern for expressing goal/intended result.
The conditional in Croatian is formed with:
- bismo (conditional of biti) + past participle
So you need sačuvali (past participle, masc. pl.) to agree with the implied mi (we, masculine or mixed group):
- mi bismo sačuvali
- if the group were all female: mi bismo sačuvale
You cannot use the infinitive sačuvati after bismo when forming this conditional construction.
This is a difference in aspect:
- čuvati – imperfective: to keep, to guard, to preserve (as an ongoing activity)
- sačuvati – perfective: to preserve, to save, to keep safe (with a result / completion in view)
In the sentence, sačuvali suggests achieving the goal of preservation as a result of the smart decision.
If you said da bismo čuvali jezera i doline, it would stress the ongoing activity of keeping them safe, rather than the resulting state of them being preserved.
They are in the accusative plural, because they are the direct objects of sačuvali.
- jezero (sg. neuter) → jezera (nom. pl. and acc. pl. look the same)
- dolina (sg. feminine) → doline (nom. pl. and acc. pl. also look the same)
You know they are accusative, not nominative, because they are what is being preserved (object), not what is doing the preserving (subject). The subject is implied mi (we).
Za typically takes the accusative case and often means for (in the sense of intended recipient, benefit, or purpose).
- za turiste = for tourists → turiste is accusative plural
Buduće is the accusative plural form of the adjective budući (future), agreeing with turiste:
- nominative plural: budući turisti
- accusative plural: buduće turiste
So za buduće turiste = for future tourists.
Word order in Croatian is relatively flexible, but changes in order often affect emphasis and naturalness.
- … zajedno donijeti pametnu odluku – neutral, common
- … donijeti pametnu odluku zajedno – grammatical, but puts a bit more emphasis on zajedno as a kind of afterthought: make a smart decision, together.
In everyday speech and writing, placing zajedno before donijeti is the most natural-sounding choice.
Many style guides do recommend a comma before kako bismo because it introduces a subordinate clause of purpose:
- Nadam se da ćemo zajedno donijeti pametnu odluku, kako bismo sačuvali…
In practice, you will see both with and without a comma, especially in less formal writing.
If you want to follow stricter, school‑style punctuation rules, it is safer to include the comma before kako bismo.