Questions & Answers about Želim da udomim mačku.
What form is Želim?
Želim is the 1st person singular present tense of želeti, so it means I want.
What does da do in this sentence?
Here, da introduces a subordinate verb clause. In sentences like this, it often does the job that English to does in to adopt.
So Serbian says:
Želim da udomim...
where English says:
I want to adopt...
It is not best understood as a literal word-for-word that here.
Why does Serbian use da + verb instead of an infinitive?
Because that is a very common Serbian pattern after verbs of wanting, planning, trying, and similar ideas.
So Želim da udomim mačku is the normal, natural Serbian structure.
The infinitive udomiti exists, but in modern Serbian, da + present tense is usually more natural in this kind of sentence.
Why is udomim also in the first person singular?
Because the subject of that second verb is still I.
In Serbian, after da, the verb is normally fully conjugated:
- Želim da udomim mačku = I want to adopt a cat