Znam da sam pretjerala.

to be

Breakdown of Znam da sam pretjerala.

• znati: to know
• da: that
• pretjerati: to overreact; go too far

Questions & Answers about Znam da sam pretjerala.

Why is there da in Znam da sam pretjerala?

Da introduces a subordinate clause, usually equivalent to English that.

So:

• Znam = I know
• da sam pretjerala = that I overdid it / that I went too far

In English, that is often optional: I know (that) I overdid it.
In Croatian, da is normally kept in this kind of sentence.

Why is sam used here?

Sam is the 1st person singular form of the auxiliary verb biti (to be) used to form the Croatian past tense.

Croatian past tense is usually made with:

• the auxiliary biti
• plus the l-participle of the main verb

So:

• sam pretjerala = I overdid it / I went too far

Compare:

• sam radio = I worked (masculine speaker)
• sam radila = I worked (feminine speaker)

Why does it say pretjerala, not pretjerao?