Doktorica mi je rekla da imam malu upalu, ali da nalaz još nije gotov.

Doktorica is the feminine noun meaning female doctor. Croatian often marks the person’s gender directly in the noun.

• doktor = male doctor
• doktorica = female doctor

Here it is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence.

Mi je rekla means told me.

Breakdown:

• mi = to me (dative clitic)
• je = is/has as an auxiliary here, used to form the past tense
• rekla = said/told (past participle, feminine singular)

So literally it is something like to me has said, but natural English is she told me.

The order looks unusual to English speakers because Croatian clitics like mi and je usually go near the beginning of the clause, in a fixed clitic position.

Because the speaker is referring to a female doctor.

In Croatian past tense, the participle agrees with the subject’s gender:

• rekao = a man said
• rekla = a woman said

Since doktorica is feminine, the correct form is rekla.

Croatian often leaves subject pronouns out when they are already clear from context or from the verb form.

So instead of saying:

• Doktorica mi je rekla da ona ima...

Croatian simply says:

• Doktorica mi je rekla da imam...

The subject is already obvious from doktorica and the verb forms.

Da introduces a subordinate clause after verbs like say, know, think, hear, tell, and similar verbs.

So:

• rekla da... = said that...

In this sentence:

• Doktorica mi je rekla da imam malu upalu = The doctor told me that I have a mild inflammation
• ...ali da nalaz još nije gotov = ...but that the test result/report is still not ready

Croatian commonly uses da where English often uses that.

Because there are really two coordinated subordinate clauses:

• da imam malu upalu
• da nalaz još nije gotov

So the structure is:

• She told me [that I have a mild inflammation], but [that the report/result is not ready yet].

Repeating da is very natural in Croatian and helps make the structure clear. In some contexts, people may omit the second da, but repeating it is completely normal and often preferred.

After da, Croatian normally uses a finite verb form, not the infinitive, for this kind of clause.

So:

• da imam = that I have

not

• da imati ❌

Also notice that Croatian does not do English-style tense backshift in the same way. Even though the main verb is in the past (rekla), the subordinate clause can stay in the present:

• rekla da imam = said that I have

This is very normal in Croatian.

Because imam takes a direct object, and the direct object here must be in the accusative case.

The basic form is:

• mala upala = nominative

But after imam (I have), it becomes accusative:

• malu upalu

Both the adjective and noun change because they are feminine singular:

• mala → malu
• upala → upalu

Upala usually means inflammation. In everyday medical speech, it can sometimes sound broader and may be translated depending on context as something like an inflammation, a minor infection, or an inflammatory condition.

So mala upala means something like:

• a mild inflammation
• a small/minor inflammation

Here mala is not really about physical size as much as severity.

In a medical context, nalaz often means:

• test result
• lab result
• medical report
• finding

So nalaz još nije gotov means the result/report is not ready yet.

This is a very common word in Croatian healthcare language.

Gotov means finished, ready, or completed.

It agrees with nalaz, which is masculine singular, so the form is:

• gotov = masculine singular
• gotova = feminine singular
• gotovo = neuter singular

Since nalaz is masculine, gotov is the correct form.

Još nije gotov means is not ready yet or still isn’t finished.

Breakdown:

• još = still / yet
• nije = is not
• gotov = ready / finished

With negation, još often corresponds to English yet or still depending on the sentence:

• još nije gotov = it’s still not ready / it isn’t ready yet

Because reći/rekla here works like say/tell to someone. The person receiving the information is in the dative.

So:

• mi = to me
• ti = to you
• mu = to him
• joj = to her

In natural English we say she told me, but Croatian expresses this with the dative clitic mi.

The sentence could be rearranged somewhat, but not completely freely.

The most important restriction is that clitics like mi and je tend to appear in a special early position. So:

• Doktorica mi je rekla... ✅

is the normal order.

You may see other rearrangements for emphasis, but for a learner, this version is the safest and most natural. Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but clitics have their own rules, so it is best to learn common patterns like X mi je rekla da... first.