Grammar guide · A2
Reflexive verbs and the particle se
The little word se changes the meaning of many Croatian verbs and is easy to drop by mistake. Here is when it is required and where it sits in the sentence.
Some verbs simply carry se
A large group of everyday Croatian verbs include se as part of the verb. Leaving it out is a real error, not just a stylistic slip — the sentence stops meaning what you intend.
Zovem se Ana.
My name is Ana.
Without se this is no longer 'I am called'.
Kako se osjećaš?
How do you feel?
Nadam se da ćeš doći.
I hope you'll come.
se can make an action turn back on itself
With many verbs, se signals that the subject is also the receiver of the action, or that something happens on its own.
Ujutro se tuširam.
I shower in the morning.
Vrata se otvaraju.
The door opens.
Where se goes in the sentence
The particle se is a clitic: it wants the second position in the clause, right after the first stressed word. It almost never starts a sentence.
Ujutro se tuširam.
In the morning I shower.
se sits in second position.
Tuširam se svaki dan.
I shower every day.
When the verb comes first, se follows it.