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Plače mi se! Croats use a very interesting turn of phrase when they want to say “I feel like doing something”. For example: Pije mi se I feel like drinking/I feel like having a drink Spava mi se I feel like sleeping/I feel like having a sleep Šeta mi se I feel like walking/I feel like having a walk And, to give a free plug to a book by Ingrid Divković (whom I have never heard of) …  I feel like living So, the structure of the phrase obeys the following rules:
And it is not always me who feels like doing something …. Čita mu se He feels like reading Igra im se They feel like playing [I’d have been tempted to say Igraju im se. But no, it must be third-person singular.] And if we really, really, strongly feel like doing something .... Baš mi se nešto pije! I really feel like drinking something! [See the blog Baš] Sometimes we don’t feel like doing a certain action: Ne radi nam se We don’t feel like working Ne gleda joj se She doesn’t feel like looking Ne pije mi se I don't feel like like drinking Sometimes we may not feel like drinking anything ...... Ne pije me se ništa And sometimes perhaps seriously not ...... Baš mi se ništa ne pije! I really don't feel like drinking anything! And if we want to ask somebody if they feel like doing a certain action: Da li ti se igra? Do you feel like playing? Da li im se piše? Do they feel like writing? [Be careful!] If, to the first of these questions you get the answer Da, igra mi se then you might ask further ...... Onda što ti se igra? Or, the person that you ask may not feel like playing ... Ne igra mi se I don't feel like playing And if really truly not ........ Baš mi se ne igra! I really don't want to play. Suppose that you ask 'Zašto ne?' Here is an answer I can't explain grammatically .... Ne da mi se I don't feel like it and, with feeling and emphasis .... Baš mi se ne da! I really don't feel like it! 'Da' is the third-person singular of the verb dati (in continuous) - but why da is used when we refer to the non-specific 'it', I have no idea. Sorry! Sometimes we want to express a desire to do something more specific: Pije mi se sok od naranče I feel like drinking orange juice Šeta im se pokraj rijeke They feel like walking along the river And if you want to stress just who it is that feels like doing the action, the sentence can be expressed in the emphatic form .. Meni se pije sok od naranče I feel like drinking orange juice I am the one who feels like drinking orange juice Njoj se ide u šetnju She feels like going for a walk She is the one who feels like going for a walk With reflexive verbs The continuous verb for “I am drinking” is piti, so “I feel like drinking” is pije mi se. OK, we’ve talked about that above …. but what about if the verb is reflexive, and already has se with it - for example, vračati se, or tuširati se? Surely “I feel like returning” is not Vrača se mi se !!!? Indeed not ...... I feel like returning. Vrača mi se. I feel like showering/having a shower. Tušira mi se. Common sense reigns. But just to confuse us (as required by law, I think) Now that we have got used to these: Radi mi se. I feel like working. Trči mi se. I feel like running. How can we reconcile this ..... Čini mi se It seems to me Huh? What !!!!!? Hats off to the Committee for Confusing English Native Speakers. You have been spectacularly successful, once again! Easy peasy? … NOT! There is only one way to respond ...  Plače mi se! Little girl, you think that you have problems, because you can't have an ice cream. If you can't handle that, don't ever try to learn Croatian! Post script After trying to express above all that I don't know about saying "I feel like (doing something)", and in the process becoming ashamed of my ignorance, a horrible realization has just hit me ... I haven't even thought about this expression in either the past tense nor the future tense. How do I say "I felt like crying" and "I will feel like crying"? Or, for example, "Did you feel like crying?" or "No, I will not feel like crying" Correction: "Yes, I will feel like crying"! That is just too much to deal with now. After I have wiped away my tears, I will go for help to my wonderful teacher Mateja (speakcro.com) and then express more about my new-found ignorance, and my struggles, in another post (I felt like crying, I will feel like crying). Click here to go to Aha! Croatian: A ROAD MAP
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