Breakdown of Primijetio sam da se osjećam sigurnije kad ponovim rečenicu naglas.
Questions & Answers about Primijetio sam da se osjećam sigurnije kad ponovim rečenicu naglas.
All three elements (ja, sam, primijetio) are possible, but Croatian prefers certain patterns:
- Primijetio sam. – most natural, neutral way to say I noticed.
- The subject ja is usually dropped, because the verb ending already shows the person.
- Ja sam primijetio. – adds emphasis on I (as opposed to someone else).
- This is like saying I noticed (not somebody else).
- Ja primijetio sam. – sounds unnatural in standard Croatian; you wouldn’t say it this way.
The auxiliary sam (I am) is a clitic, and clitics normally come in the second position in the clause, so Ja sam primijetio is fine, but Ja primijetio sam violates that tendency.
Yes. Da here introduces a subordinate clause, similar to English that:
- Primijetio sam da se osjećam sigurnije.
→ I noticed that I feel more confident.
In English you can often drop that (I noticed I feel…), but in Croatian you normally keep da in this kind of sentence.
So:
- Primijetio sam da se osjećam… – natural.
- Primijetio sam se osjećam… – ungrammatical without da.
The verb osjećati se is reflexive and literally means to feel oneself, which is how Croatian normally expresses to feel in the sense of to feel (a certain way, an emotion, a state).
- Osjećam se dobro. – I feel good.
- Osjećam sreću. – I feel happiness. (here osjećati takes a direct object, not reflexive se)
So in da se osjećam sigurnije:
- osjećam – I feel
- se – myself (reflexive pronoun)
- together: I feel (a certain way)
Without se, osjećam sigurnije sounds incomplete or wrong in this context.
Se is a clitic pronoun. Croatian clitics (like se, sam, si, mu, mi, ga) usually stand in the second position of the clause.
The clause is da se osjećam:
- First element: da
- Second position: clitic se
- Then the main verb: osjećam
So da se osjećam is correct and natural; da osjećam se is ungrammatical for standard Croatian.
- primijetio – past tense (past participle) of primijetiti, a perfective verb (completed action).
→ I noticed at some point in the past. - osjećam – present tense of osjećati se, an imperfective verb (ongoing or repeated state).
→ I feel (generally / habitually / right now).
So the structure is:
- Completed past observation: Primijetio sam… (I noticed…)
- About an ongoing or repeated state: …da se osjećam sigurnije (…that I feel more confident).
This mirrors English pretty closely: I noticed (past) that I feel (present) more confident…
Base word: siguran = safe, secure, confident.
Comparatives:
- sigurniji – comparative adjective (masculine)
- sigurnija – feminine
- sigurnije – neuter, and also used adverbially
In osjećam se sigurnije, sigurnije functions adverbially, describing how you feel – I feel more safely / more secure / more confident. This adverb‑like comparative in -e is very common with verbs like osjećati se:
- Osjećam se bolje. – I feel better.
- Osjećam se lošije. – I feel worse.
- Osjećam se sigurnije. – I feel safer / more confident.
You could express it more literally as an adjective + instrumental:
- Osjećam se sigurnijim (sigurnijom). – I feel safer.
But osjećam se sigurnije is simpler and more common in everyday speech.
Kad is simply the shorter form of kada. In this context they mean the same:
- kad ponovim rečenicu naglas
- kada ponovim rečenicu naglas
Both mean when I repeat the sentence out loud.
Kada can sound a bit more formal or careful; kad is very common in spoken language. In most everyday contexts they’re interchangeable.
Both come from the verb ponoviti / ponavljati = to repeat, but they differ in aspect:
- ponovim – present tense of ponoviti, perfective (a single, completed repetition).
- ponavljam – present tense of ponavljati, imperfective (ongoing or habitual repeating).
In a kad (when) clause, using a present perfective often means whenever I (successfully) do X, focusing on the completion:
- Kad ponovim rečenicu naglas, osjećam se sigurnije.
→ Whenever I repeat the sentence (once, properly, to the end), I feel more confident.
If you said:
- Kad ponavljam rečenicu naglas, osjećam se sigurnije.
it would emphasize the ongoing activity of repeating (maybe many times in a row), not one successful repetition. The original sentence focuses on the completed act of saying it out loud.
Rečenicu is the accusative singular of rečenica (sentence).
Declension (singular, feminine noun):
- Nominative: rečenica – the sentence (subject)
- Accusative: rečenicu – the sentence (direct object)
In ponovim rečenicu naglas, rečenicu is the direct object of ponovim:
- Što ponovim? – rečenicu. → What do I repeat? – The sentence.
So accusative (rečenicu) is required.
Naglas is an adverb meaning out loud / aloud:
- ponoviti naglas – to repeat out loud
- pročitati naglas – to read aloud
Historically it comes from na glas (on voice), and you may occasionally see na glas written as two words, but in modern standard Croatian naglas as one word is the usual and recommended form in this meaning.
So rečenicu naglas = the sentence out loud.
No, not in this meaning. Osjećati se is the normal way to say to feel (a state):
- Osjećam se umorno. – I feel tired.
- Osjećam se sigurnije. – I feel more confident / safer.
Without se, osjećam sigurnije sounds like you are missing a direct object (I feel X more securely), which is not what you mean here. So se is necessary.
Yes, you can change the word order to emphasize the when part:
- Kad ponovim rečenicu naglas, primijetio sam da se osjećam sigurnije.
However, now there is a tense mismatch: kad ponovim (present) with primijetio sam (past). To keep it natural, you’d usually also make the main verb present or adjust the sentence:
- Primjećujem da se osjećam sigurnije kad ponovim rečenicu naglas. – I notice that I feel more confident when I repeat the sentence out loud.
- Kad ponovim rečenicu naglas, osjećam se sigurnije. – When I repeat the sentence out loud, I feel more confident.
The original sentence is already well‑balanced and natural as it stands.
The correct standard spelling is primijetio (from primijetiti). The ije sequence is part of the root:
- infinitive: primijetiti
- 1st person singular past (masc): primijetio sam
The form primjetio (without i) is a common spelling mistake and is not standard. As a learner, you should always write primijetiti / primijetio / primijetila, etc.