Ne mogu se sjetiti što je rekla učiteljica.

I can’t remember what the teacher said.

Breakdown of Ne mogu se sjetiti što je rekla učiteljica.

• biti: to be
• ne: not
• moći: to be able to
• učiteljica: teacher
• reći: to say
• sjetiti se: to remember
• što: what/that which

Questions & Answers about Ne mogu se sjetiti što je rekla učiteljica.

Why does Croatian say Ne mogu and not something like Ne mogu ja or Ja ne mogu?

Because Croatian is a pro-drop language: the subject pronoun is usually omitted since the verb ending already shows the person/number.

• (Ja) ne mogu = I can’t (same meaning; ja is only added for emphasis/contrast).
  Word order is flexible:
• Ne mogu se sjetiti... (very natural)
• Ja se ne mogu sjetiti... (more emphatic; also natural)

What exactly is se sjetiti? Why is se there?

The verb is sjetiti se = to remember / to recall. The se is a fixed part of the verb (a reflexive clitic), so you normally can’t drop it:

• Sjetiti se = remember
• Sjetiti (without se) is not used in this meaning in standard Croatian.

Why is se placed after mogu: Ne mogu se sjetiti?

Croatian clitics (short words like se, je, sam, etc.) tend to go in the so-called second position: very early in the clause, typically after the first “chunk.”
Here, Ne mogu is the opening chunk, so se comes right after it: Ne mogu se sjetiti...
Other valid structures exist, but they often sound more marked:

• Ne mogu sjetiti se... (possible but usually less natural)

Why does sjetiti appear in the infinitive form?

Because moći (to be able/can) is followed by an infinitive:

• mogu + infinitive = can / am able to + verb
  So mogu se sjetiti literally = I can remember / I’m able to recall.

What does što mean here, and why not da?

Here što means what and introduces an embedded question/statement of content:

• Ne mogu se sjetiti što je rekla... = I can’t remember what she said...
  Da usually introduces a that-clause (a plain statement), not a what-clause:
• Ne mogu se sjetiti da je rekla... = I can’t remember that she said... (i.e., I can’t remember the fact that she said it)

Is što the only option? What about šta?

Both exist, but usage differs:

• što is standard and widely used in Croatia.
• šta is common in some regional varieties and is standard in some other BCMS standards.
  In many contexts you’ll hear both, but što is the safer default in standard Croatian.

Why is there je in što je rekla učiteljica?

Je is the present tense of biti (to be) used as an auxiliary to form the past tense (the “perfect”):

• je rekla = has said / said (Croatian past)
  So što je rekla literally = what (she) said.

How does the past tense work in je rekla? Why rekla and not rekao?

Croatian past tense = auxiliary (biti) + past participle. The participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.

• učiteljica is feminine singular, so: rekla (fem. sg.)
  If the subject were masculine (e.g., učitelj), it would be:
• što je rekao učitelj (masc. sg.)

Why is učiteljica at the end? Could it be što je učiteljica rekla instead?

Yes, both are correct:

• što je rekla učiteljica
• što je učiteljica rekla
  Croatian word order is flexible. Placing učiteljica at the end can sound slightly more like adding/confirming who said it (“…what the teacher said”), or it may simply be stylistic.

Does sjetiti se normally take a case (like genitive)? How does that work with a whole clause?

Yes—sjetiti se typically takes the genitive when the object is a noun/pronoun:

• Ne mogu se sjetiti njezina imena. = I can’t remember her name. (genitive)
  But instead of a noun, you can also have a clause introduced by što:
• Ne mogu se sjetiti što je rekla. = I can’t remember what she said.

Why is there no comma before što?

In Croatian, you generally don’t use a comma before što when it functions like what introducing the content of remembering/knowing/saying (an embedded clause).
Commas are used in other relative-clause situations, but here it’s a tightly integrated object clause: remember what....

Would Ne mogu se sjetiti što je učiteljica rekla. mean the same thing?

Yes, essentially the same meaning. The difference is mainly word order/focus:

• što je učiteljica rekla foregrounds učiteljica earlier.
• što je rekla učiteljica can feel a bit like revealing who said it at the end, or just a neutral alternative.