Breakdown of Prodavačica mi je dala račun i rekla da je povrat moguć.
Questions & Answers about Prodavačica mi je dala račun i rekla da je povrat moguć.
Prodavačica means (female) shop assistant / saleswoman. The suffix -ica often forms a feminine noun from a masculine base:
- prodavač = male shop assistant / salesperson
- prodavačica = female shop assistant
If you don’t want to specify gender, Croatian still often defaults to a gendered job title depending on the person.
mi is the dative (indirect object) form of ja = to me.
In Prodavačica mi je dala račun, the structure is give (something) to someone:
- dala = gave
- račun = (the) receipt (direct object)
- mi = to me (indirect object)
You’d use mene (accusative/genitive) in different roles, e.g. Vidi mene = She sees me (less neutral), or Ne vidi me = She doesn’t see me.
Croatian has a set of “clitic” words (short unstressed forms like mi, je) that usually go in the second position of the clause. In practice, mi je often appears as a cluster early in the sentence:
- Prodavačica mi je dala račun.
Other word orders are possible for emphasis, but clitics still try to stay in that early slot:
- Račun mi je dala prodavačica. (emphasis on račun)
- Prodavačica je meni dala račun. (using stressed meni for emphasis)
Croatian commonly forms the past tense with:
- present tense of biti = to be (auxiliary) + past participle
So je dala literally works like has given / gave:
- je = auxiliary (is/has)
- dala = past participle (given)
Together: je dala = gave / has given (English usually just says gave).
The past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number:
- prodavačica is feminine singular ⇒ dala (feminine sg.) Compare:
- prodavač mi je dao račun (male clerk)
- osoblje mi je dalo račun (neuter “staff”, depending on wording)
Here račun is the direct object of dati (to give), so it’s in the accusative. For many masculine inanimate nouns, accusative = nominative, so it stays račun.
You’d see računa in other cases, for example:
- Bez računa = without a receipt (genitive)
- Na računu = on the receipt (locative)
i means and and simply coordinates two past actions:
1) Prodavačica mi je dala račun
2) (i) rekla …
It doesn’t change the tense or case; it just links two verbs with the same subject (prodavačica).
Croatian typically uses da + present tense to report what someone said, thought, claimed, etc.:
- rekla da je povrat moguć = she said that a return is possible
An infinitive after reći is not used the way English might allow.
After da, Croatian often uses the present tense to state something that is generally true at that time or presented as a fact:
- rekla da je povrat moguć = she said that a return is possible
Using a past tense there would usually shift meaning (e.g., that it was possible earlier but maybe not anymore), which isn’t intended here.
povrat here means return / refund (in a shopping context)—the act of giving something back and/or getting money back.
- povrat = return/refund (commerce, money, goods)
- povratak = return (coming back), e.g. povratak kući = return home
People also say refundacija in some contexts, but povrat is common and natural in everyday shopping language.
Because moguć is an adjective agreeing with the noun povrat:
- povrat is masculine singular ⇒ moguć (masc. sg.)
If you use an impersonal structure, you often get the neuter adverb-like form moguće:
- Moguće je da… = It is possible that…
Both exist, but the grammar is different: povrat je moguć (adjective + noun) vs. moguće je (impersonal).
It’s grammatically possible, but less natural. Croatian generally prefers the noun before the predicate adjective:
- More natural: da je povrat moguć
- Less common/stylish/emphatic: da je moguć povrat (puts emphasis on moguć)