Jedva sam našla karticu.

to be

Breakdown of Jedva sam našla karticu.

• naći: to find
• kartica: card
• jedva: barely

Questions & Answers about Jedva sam našla karticu.

What does jedva mean in this sentence?

Jedva means barely, hardly, or with great difficulty.

So Jedva sam našla karticu means that the speaker did manage to find the card, but it was difficult and happened only just in time or after a lot of effort.

A good English sense is:

• I barely found the card.
• I could hardly find the card.
• I only just managed to find the card.

It implies success, but difficult success.

Why is sam in the second position?

Because sam is a clitic: a short unstressed word that normally goes in second position in the sentence or clause.

In Jedva sam našla karticu, the first element is Jedva, so the clitic sam comes right after it.

This is a very common Serbian rule. Short forms like these usually behave this way:

• sam
• si
• je
• smo
• ste
• su

So:

• Jedva sam našla karticu. ✔
• Jedva našla sam karticu. ✘

What tense is sam našla?