Breakdown of Ne želim se razboljeti prije ispita iz hrvatskog.
ne
not
hrvatski
Croatian
prije
before
željeti
to want
Questions & Answers about Ne želim se razboljeti prije ispita iz hrvatskog.
What does se mean in Ne želim se razboljeti, and is it necessary?
Se is a reflexive pronoun (a clitic) in Croatian. In this sentence it is part of the verb razboljeti se, which means to get sick / to fall ill.
- razboljeti se = to get sick (literally: to make oneself ill)
- Without se, razboljeti would not be used in this meaning in normal speech.
So:
- Ne želim se razboljeti. = I don’t want to get sick.
- Ne želim razboljeti. – ungrammatical / meaningless in standard Croatian in this context.
Yes, se is required here. It’s not optional; it’s part of the verb’s normal form.
Why is se after želim, and not earlier or at the end (e.g. Ne se želim razboljeti or Ne želim razboljeti se)?