Želim da poništim karticu.

I want to invalidate the card.

Breakdown of Želim da poništim karticu.

• želeti: to want
• da: that
• kartica: card
• poništiti: to invalidate

Questions & Answers about Želim da poništim karticu.

Why is it želim da poništim instead of using an infinitive, like želim poništiti?

In modern Serbian, after verbs like želim (I want), it is very common to use da + present tense instead of an infinitive.

So:

• Želim da poništim karticu. = the most natural everyday pattern
• Želim poništiti karticu. = possible in some contexts, but less common in ordinary speech

This da + present structure is extremely important in Serbian and often corresponds to English to + verb.

So English:

• I want to cancel the card

Serbian often expresses as:

• Želim da poništim karticu.

What exactly does da do in this sentence?

Here, da introduces a subordinate clause that functions a bit like the English to in to cancel.

In this sentence:

• Želim = I want
• da poništim = roughly to cancel / that I cancel

A very literal breakdown would be something like:

• I want that I cancel the card

But that sounds unnatural in English, so the real translation is just:

• I want to cancel the card

This use of da is one of the most common patterns in Serbian grammar.