Želim da zamenim oštećenu stvar.

to want

Breakdown of Želim da zamenim oštećenu stvar.

• da: that
• stvar: thing
• oštećen: damaged

Questions & Answers about Želim da zamenim oštećenu stvar.

Why does Serbian use da zamenim after želim instead of an infinitive?

In Serbian, it is very common to use da + present tense after verbs like želeti (to want).

So:

• Želim da zamenim... = I want to replace...

This structure is often preferred in everyday Serbian over the infinitive.

You may also see the infinitive in some contexts:

• Želim zameniti...

but Želim da zamenim... sounds more standard and natural in most modern usage.

So the key pattern is:

• želim da + verb

Examples:

• Želim da idem. = I want to go.
• Želim da kupim ovo. = I want to buy this.

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What form is zamenim here?

Zamenim is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb zameniti.

Literally, it is the form for I replace, but after da it often functions like to replace in English-style meaning:

• Želim da zamenim = I want to replace

So even though English uses an infinitive (to replace), Serbian uses a present-tense form after da.

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Why is it zamenim and not zamenjujem or ?