Taj privjesak mi je dala sestra prije putovanja.

Croatian uses case endings and verb agreement, not just word order.

In Taj privjesak mi je dala sestra prije putovanja:

• taj privjesak = the thing that was given
• mi = to me
• sestra = the person who gave it
• dala = gave, and it agrees with sestra because sestra is feminine

So the sentence means:

• My sister gave me that keychain/charm before the trip

Even though sestra comes late in the sentence, it is still the subject.

It is in the direct-object case: accusative.

The reason it looks unchanged is that privjesak is a masculine inanimate noun. In Croatian, masculine inanimate nouns usually have:

• nominative singular = privjesak
• accusative singular = privjesak

So the object form is there, but it happens to look the same as the dictionary form.

The same is true for taj here:

• taj can be nominative or accusative masculine singular inanimate

So taj privjesak is correctly accusative, even though nothing visibly changes.

Mi here means to me.

It is the unstressed dative clitic form of ja.

Compare:

• mi = to me, unstressed, normal in sentences
• meni = to me, stressed or emphatic

So:

• Sestra mi je dala privjesak. = My sister gave me a keychain.
• Meni je sestra dala privjesak, a ne njemu. = My sister gave the keychain to me, not to him.

A learner may confuse mi with we in some Slavic languages, but in Croatian here it definitely means to me.

Because the verb dati (to give) normally takes:

• a direct object in the accusative
• an indirect object in the dative

In this sentence:

• taj privjesak = direct object
• mi = indirect object, so it must be dative

Forms of I/me here are:

• mene = accusative/genitive form
• meni = full dative form
• mi = short dative form

So mi is the right form because it means to me.

Because Croatian normally forms the past tense with:

• the auxiliary biti (to be) in the present tense
• plus the l-participle

So:

• je = auxiliary, third person singular
• dala = participle of dati

Together, je dala means gave / has given.

This is the normal standard pattern:

• dao je = he gave
• dala je = she gave
• dali su = they gave

In your sentence, the clitics move into their usual position, so you get:

• mi je dala

rather than the more English-like order je mi dala.

Because dala agrees with the subject sestra, which is feminine singular.

The participle changes according to gender and number:

• dao = masculine singular
• dala = feminine singular
• dalo = neuter singular
• dali / dale / dala = plural, depending on gender pattern

So:

• Brat mi je dao privjesak. = My brother gave me the keychain.
• Sestra mi je dala privjesak. = My sister gave me the keychain.

The form dala tells you the giver is feminine.

Yes, you absolutely can say:

• Sestra mi je dala taj privjesak prije putovanja.

That is a very natural, neutral order.

The given sentence:

• Taj privjesak mi je dala sestra prije putovanja.

puts taj privjesak first for emphasis or topic, something like:

• That keychain — my sister gave it to me before the trip.

Croatian word order is more flexible than English because cases show grammatical roles. But there is still a pattern for clitics like mi and je: they usually go near the beginning of the clause, in second position.

So this sentence sounds natural because:

• Taj privjesak = first chunk
• mi je = clitics in second position
• dala sestra = rest of the clause

Prije means before, and it requires the genitive case.

The noun is:

• putovanje = trip, travel, journey

After prije, it becomes:

• putovanja = genitive singular

So:

• prije putovanja = before the trip / before traveling, depending on context

This is a very common pattern:

• prije škole = before school
• prije ručka = before lunch
• prije puta / prije putovanja = before the trip

It can suggest either, depending on context, because putovanje can mean:

• a trip / journey
• traveling

In this sentence, English will often translate it as:

• before the trip
• or before traveling

If the broader context is about one specific journey, before the trip is the most natural translation.

Croatian often leaves out possessives when they are obvious from context.

So sestra can naturally mean:

• my sister
• his sister
• her sister
• or just the sister

depending on the situation.

If the speaker wants to be explicit or emphatic, they can say:

• moja sestra = my sister

So both are possible:

• Sestra mi je dala privjesak.
• Moja sestra mi je dala privjesak.

The version without moja is very normal if everyone already knows whose sister is meant.

Taj is a demonstrative, so it really means that.

Croatian does not have articles like the or a/an, so learners sometimes feel that words like taj are acting like articles. But grammatically, taj still has its full demonstrative meaning.

Very roughly:

• ovaj = this
• taj = that (often something already mentioned or closer to the listener)
• onaj = that over there / that one yonder

So:

• taj privjesak = that keychain/charm

If you just wanted a/the keychain in a more neutral sense, you might simply say:

• privjesak

without any article at all.