Bez obzira na to što je prošlost ponekad tužna, ne možemo je promijeniti.

Regardless of the fact that the past is sometimes sad, we cannot change it.

Breakdown of Bez obzira na to što je prošlost ponekad tužna, ne možemo je promijeniti.

• biti: to be
• ne: not
• moći: to be able to
• ponekad: sometimes
• to: that
• je: it
• tužan: sad
• promijeniti: to change
• što: that
• bez obzira na: regardless of
• prošlost: past

Questions & Answers about Bez obzira na to što je prošlost ponekad tužna, ne možemo je promijeniti.

What does Bez obzira na to literally mean, and how is this phrase used in Croatian?

Bez obzira na to literally means without regard to that or regardless of that.

In practice it works like English “even though / regardless of the fact that …” and is very often followed by što plus a clause:

• Bez obzira na to što je prošlost ponekad tužna…
  = Regardless of the fact that the past is sometimes sad…

Some patterns:

• Bez obzira na to što… = regardless of the fact that…
• Bez obzira na… + noun = regardless of …
  e.g. Bez obzira na vrijeme = Regardless of the weather

It typically introduces a subordinate clause that presents a contrast or concession, just like even though or although in English.

Why do we need na to here? Could we just say Bez obzira što je prošlost ponekad tužna?

The most common and stylistically neutral version is:

• Bez obzira na to što…

Here:

• bez obzira = regardless
• na = preposition that requires the accusative
• to = a dummy/anticipatory pronoun in the accusative (like that in “regardless of that”)
• što = introduces the subordinate clause (what / that)

So the structure is literally: regardless of that, that the past is sometimes sad…

You can hear/see bez obzira što… in real life, but:

• bez obzira na to što… is more standard and clearer, especially for learners.
• Dropping na to is more colloquial and some speakers consider it less correct or less elegant.

For learning purposes, treat bez obzira na to što… as the fixed expression.

What exactly is the role of što in što je prošlost ponekad tužna?

In this sentence, što functions as a conjunction introducing a subordinate clause, similar to English that in:

• regardless of the fact that the past is sometimes sad

So:

• što here ≈ that, not what.

The whole clause što je prošlost ponekad tužna is the thing you are “not regarding / ignoring”:

• Bez obzira na to [što je prošlost ponekad tužna]…
  = Regardless of the fact [that the past is sometimes sad]…

Why is prošlost feminine, and what case is it in here?

Prošlost (past) is a feminine noun in Croatian. You can tell from:

• Its dictionary form often being prošlost, -i, ž. (ž. = feminine)
• The ending -st, like in other feminine abstract nouns: radost (joy), mladost (youth)

In this sentence, prošlost is:

• the subject of the clause što je prošlost ponekad tužna
• in the nominative singular, the standard subject form.

So structurally it is:

• prošlost (NOM, fem. sg.)
  • je
    • tužna (NOM, fem. sg.)

Why is the word order što je prošlost ponekad tužna and not što je ponekad prošlost tužna, or something else?

Croatian word order is relatively flexible, but the chosen order is the most neutral:

• što je prošlost ponekad tužna
  = that the past is sometimes sad

Other orders are possible and grammatically correct, but they change emphasis:

• što je ponekad prošlost tužna
  Moves ponekad (sometimes) earlier and can slightly highlight the adverb.
• što je prošlost tužna ponekad
  Puts ponekad at the end, which can sound a bit marked or poetic.

The original order:

• keeps the subject prošlost close to the verb je
• places the adverb ponekad before the adjective tužna, a common pattern: ponekad tužna, vrlo sretna, etc.

For learners, the given order is the most natural, “default” one.

Why does tužna end in -a instead of something like tužan?

Tužna is the feminine singular form of the adjective tužan (sad).

Adjectives in Croatian agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender (masculine/feminine/neuter)
• number (singular/plural)
• case

Here:

• prošlost is feminine singular, nominative.
• So the adjective must be feminine singular nominative: tužna.

Patterns:

• masculine: tužan (on je tužan = he is sad)
• feminine: tužna (ona je tužna = she is sad / the past is sad)
• neuter: tužno (dijete je tužno = the child is sad)

Thus: prošlost je ponekad tužna.

In ne možemo je promijeniti, what does je mean, and why is it placed there?

In ne možemo je promijeniti, je is not the verb “is”. It is a clitic pronoun:

• je = her / it in the accusative (direct object), referring back to prošlost (the past).

So:

• ne možemo je promijeniti ≈ we cannot change it / we cannot change the past

As for placement:

• Pronoun je is a clitic, which in Croatian must appear in a fixed slot, usually right after the first stressed word in the clause.
• Here the first stressed word is možemo, so we get ne možemo je promijeniti, not:
  • ne je možemo promijeniti (incorrect)
  • ne možemo promijeniti je (sounds wrong / ungrammatical)

The standard pattern is: [ne] + verb + clitic + rest → ne možemo je promijeniti.

Could we leave out je and just say …ne možemo promijeniti?

Normally, no. If you just say ne možemo promijeniti, it feels incomplete, like “we cannot change” (but what?).

You have several good options:

1. Repeat the noun:
   • …ne možemo promijeniti prošlost.
2. Use the pronoun (as in the original):
   • …ne možemo je promijeniti.
3. In a context where prošlost is very clear, you might say something like:
   • Prošlost je ponekad tužna, a ne možemo je promijeniti.
     (still using je)

So you generally either keep je or explicitly repeat prošlost. Dropping both makes the sentence sound unfinished unless the object is extremely obvious from context.

Why is it promijeniti and not mijenjati? What is the aspect difference here?

Croatian verbs come in aspect pairs:

• mijenjati – imperfective (to be changing, to change repeatedly / in progress)
• promijeniti – perfective (to change, with a completed result)

In this sentence:

• ne možemo je promijeniti uses the perfective infinitive.
• It talks about the possibility of achieving a completed change in the past (changing it into something else).
• The meaning is: we cannot effect a change in it at all / we cannot alter it as a fact.

If you said ne možemo je mijenjati, it would sound more like:

• “we cannot keep changing it / engage in the process of changing it”
  which is not the usual idea when talking about the past. We normally mean we can’t alter it at all, so the perfective promijeniti is the natural choice.

Can we replace Bez obzira na to što with Iako or Premda and keep the same meaning?

Yes, you can, with very similar meaning:

• Iako je prošlost ponekad tužna, ne možemo je promijeniti.
• Premda je prošlost ponekad tužna, ne možemo je promijeniti.

Both iako and premda mean roughly although / even though.

Nuances:

• Bez obzira na to što… literally focuses on “regardless of that fact”.
• Iako / Premda… simply say “although / even though”.

In everyday language, they can often be interchanged here without a significant change in meaning. All three versions sound natural:

• Bez obzira na to što je prošlost ponekad tužna…
• Iako je prošlost ponekad tužna…
• Premda je prošlost ponekad tužna…

Why is there a comma before ne možemo je promijeniti?

The comma marks the boundary between:

• a subordinate clause introduced by Bez obzira na to što…
• and the main clause ne možemo je promijeniti.

In Croatian, when a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, you normally separate them with a comma:

• Kad padne kiša, ostajemo doma.
• Iako je kasno, još uvijek radim.
• Bez obzira na to što je prošlost ponekad tužna, ne možemo je promijeniti.

If you reverse the order, the comma is usually not needed:

• Ne možemo je promijeniti bez obzira na to što je prošlost ponekad tužna.