Želim ne samo da vežbam nego i da ojačam mišiće.

to want

Breakdown of Želim ne samo da vežbam nego i da ojačam mišiće.

• da: that
• mišić: a muscle
• vežbati: to exercise

Questions & Answers about Želim ne samo da vežbam nego i da ojačam mišiće.

What does ne samo ... nego i ... mean?

It means not only ... but also ....

In this sentence, it links two things the speaker wants:

• da vežbam = to exercise
• da ojačam mišiće = to strengthen my muscles

So the structure is:

• ne samo X nego i Y
• not only X but also Y

A very close alternative is ne samo ... već i ..., which also means not only ... but also ....

Why is da used before the verbs?

In Serbian, after verbs like želeti (to want), it is very common to use:

• da + present tense

instead of an infinitive.

So:

• Želim da vežbam = I want to exercise
• literally: I want that I exercise, but naturally it just means I want to exercise

This is one of the most important patterns in Serbian. English uses to + verb, while Serbian very often uses da + present.

Why is da repeated twice?

Because the sentence contains two coordinated actions:

• da vežbam
• da ojačam mišiće

Repeating da makes the structure clear and balanced: