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Learning Serbian with exercises, video lessons and online courses

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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Children's songs in Serbian


Listen to the song and write the appropriate form of the word in brackets. Good luck = Srećno!

Vuče, vuče, bubo lenja



Neko pliva u ____________
(Sava - one of the longest rivers in Serbia)
Neko živi u ____________
(Ruma - name of a city in Vojvodina)
Neko raste u ____________
(trava - grass)
A vuk živi u ____________
(šuma - forest)


U __________ (škola - school) ga ne vide
__________ (nemati - doesn't have) ni maturu
U muzeje ne _________ (ići - go)
Prezire kulturu


Vuuuče vuučue bubo leenjaa
Štaa će reeći pokoleenjaa
Vodio si život buuuraan
Pa ostao nekultuuuuraaaan


Usta su _________
(his) snažna
Duša _________
(his) je drumska
Obećanja lažna
A ćud ________
(his) je šumska


Kad _________
(is) srećan leži
Kad _________
(is) ljut on reži
Ka zverstvima teži
_______
(when) ga vidiš beži

Vuuuče vuučue bubo leenjaa
Štaa će reeći pokoleenjaa
Vodio si život buuuraan
Pa ostao nekultuuuuraaaan!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Serbian Tongue Twisters

BRZALICE I PESMICE (poems and tongue twisters)

(in the photo ODŽAČAR - ОЏАЧАР)



R ---- na vrh brda vrba mrda

LJ--- ljubim Ljubu i ljubicu i ljujam se

Č ---- čuči čavka na čađavom čotu, pričajte nam priče o životu

NJ--- njegova njuška njuška li njuška

Ž ---- od jednoga žira, pa do neke ruže puž dva dana puže, a možda i duže

H --- hvala lepo, lepo hvala, šala mala

Ć --- po dvorištu ćuran šeće, vazda pućka i blebeće

vs.
Đ razvedri se nebo sivo, prevari se vrabac Dživo, pa izete iz odžaka na oluku da podžaka. Narogušen, sav u čađi - iako je s njom u svađi - dira macu 'Čik izađi'



Thursday, December 25, 2008

ABC-BOOK

БУКВАР = BUKVAR

Б б (Cyrillic script) = В в (Latin letter)

БАЛОН = BALON = BALOON
БОР =
BOR = FIR TREE
БАРА = BARA = PUDDLE
ГОЛУБ
= GOLUB = PIGEON
РУБ
= RUB = BRIM, EDGE
ЛАБУД
= LABUD = SWAN
ДУБОК
= DUBOK = DEEP

MY FAVOURITE "БУКВАР" POEM:

Бубамаро, лет, лет,
у широки свет!
Донеси ми писмо!
Видели се нисмо
још од прошлог маја
ја и ујка Паја.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Expressions of politeness in Serbian

IZRAZI UČTIVOSTI NA SRPSKOM

1. MOLIM? I beg Your pardon?
2. OPROSTITE I am sorry.
3. ŽAO MI JE I am sorry.
4. IZVINITE Excuse me.

5. MOLIM VAS, RECITE MI...Please, tell me...
6. MOLIM VAS, POKAŽITE MI... Please, show me...
7. MOLIM VAS, DAJTE MI... Please, give me...
8. DA LI BISTE, MOLIM VAS... Would you, please...
9. ŽELEO-ŽELELA BIH ... I would like...
10. HVALA Thank you.
11. HVALA LEPO Thank you very much.
12. HVALA UNAPRED Thank you in advance.
13. HVALA TAKOĐE Thank you, too.
14. NEMA NA ČEMU Don't mention it.
15. VEOMA SAM ZAHVALAN I am very grateful.
16. VRLO STE LJUBAZNI You are very kind.
17. NE LJUTITE SE NA MENE Don't be angry with me.
18. NE BRINITE ZA TO Don't worry about it.
19. NADAM SE DA ĆETE MI OPROSTITI I hope you will forgive me.


Sunday, December 14, 2008

Dative Case in Serbian

Dative in Serbian

Form:

Masculine Sg. grad+u
Masculine Pl. grad+ov+ima
Neuter Sg. sel+u
Neuter Pl. sel+i+ma
Feminine Sg. stvar+i / zemlj+i
Feminine Pl. stvar+ima / zemlj+ama

Usage:

Dative is a case which denotes a thing or a being to whom something is sent, directed or given. It is used both with and without prepositions.

Dative without prepositions:

1. Dative of purpose - Dedi i baki unuka poklanja osmeh.
2. Dative of benefit - Tesla je ucinio dobro ljudima.
3. Subject dative - Starcu se dremalo.
4. Possessive dative - Ja sam Petru brat.
5. Dative of affection - Kako si mi?
6. Dative in oaths - Tako mi postenja!
7. Dative with phrases evo, eno, eto - Evo ti jabuka!
8. Dative with verbs of movement - Petar pridje svom drugu.

Dative with prepositions:

  1. k, ka = to (dative only) - Krenuo je ka Parizu.
  2. prema = towards (both dative and genetive) -Idemo prema Srbiji.
  3. protiv, suprot, nasuprot, uprkos = against (dative only) - Pobedili smo uprkos vremenu.
( Dative with 'ka' and 'prema' are the ones most frequently used)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Čika Jova Zmaj - Тихо Ноћи

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Pronunciation of sounds ш (š), љ (lj), ж (ž)

Кашика, виљушка, нож.
Иде брзи воз.

У возу се возе: кашика, виљушка, нож.


Kašika, viljuška, nož.
Ide brzi voz.
U vozu se voze: kašika, viljuška, nož.



Monday, November 17, 2008

Asking Yes/No questions in Serbian

If you want to ask Yes/No questions in Serbian always start with 'DA LI', no matter what tense. For the Present Tense keep this word order :
  • Da li (+Subject if it is necessary, or cannot be inferred from the conjugation) + Verb ... Example: Da li Ivan živi u Novom Sadu? Da li živimo u Novom Sadu?
  • Da li + Verb TO BE  (+ S ) Example: Da li si u Parizu? Da li si ti Ivan? 
  • Da li + se  (+ S) + Verb  in case of verbs with reflexive pronoun 'se' ... Example: Da li se on zove Ivan? Da li se budiš u pet ili u šest?

Let me add the word order commonly used in colloquial speech:



  • Živi li Ivan u Novom Sadu ? - Verb + li + (S)
  • Jesi li u Parizu ? - To be (only the full forms: jesam/jesi/jeste/jesmo/jeste/jesu) + li + (S) ...
  • Zoveš li se Ivan ? - Verb + li + se + (S)  / Jel' + se +(S) + Verb


Exercise: Make 6 Yes/No questions about Ivan. The answers are in the first comment, because Ivan doesn't feel like recording his own voice right now :o(

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

A story about Ivan


Priča o Ivanu


Ovo je Ivan. On živi u Novom Sadu. Njegova omiljena boja je plava. On ima stariju sestru. On obožava da se igra na kompjuteru. On ima puno igračaka.

Instructions: turn this story into first person Singular - starting with 'Zovem se Ivan/ Ja sam Ivan...'

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Locative in Serbian

Lokativ

Lokativ ____ (is) padež koji ide uz predloge 'na', 'u', 'o', 'po', 'pri'. On označava mesto ____ ( where) se vrši radnja ili gde se nešto nalazi. Zato se i ______ (named) padežom mesta. Latinski 'locus' ______ (means) mesto. Evo nekoliko primera ______ (with) predlogom 'U':

Ljudi žive u Beograd__ , u Kruševc__, u Brisel__ ili na sel_. Kada ____ (are) imenice muškog i srednjeg roda u jednini, onda se doda nastavak 'U'. Ljudi žive i u Srbij___, Belgij__, Italij__ - ali pošto su ovo imenice ženskog roda u jednini, one gube poslednje 'a', i dodaje im se nastavak 'I'.

Lokativ se _________ (also) koristi i da iskažemo o kome pričamo, i tada se koristi _______ (with) predlog "o". Juče sam pričala o prijatelj___, muškarcim_, drugaric__ i odel___- u množini lokativ zahteva sledeće nastavke -ima, za muški rod, -ama i srednji -ima!

*********** Translation & Answers*******************

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Case suffixes in Serbian

One of the most difficult features of the Serbian language are declensions, i.e. different suffixes which words such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives take in different cases. Let me add all of them in one place, while in the following posts you will be able to focus on practicing these cases, one by one and in a more fun way!

Singular Cases Suffixes in Serbian 

Case name:Answers question:Used to describe:Suffixes (I tried describing just the majority of case endings, general rule, not the exceptions and specific ones)
NominativeKO?
ŠTA?

Who? What?
Usually the subject of a sentence and predicative- Masc. most often ends in a consonant
- Fem. most often ends in A
- Neut. most often ends in -E or -O
Genitive KOGA?ČEGA?

Of who? Of what?
Possession, belonging, a part of something- Masc. nouns take an - A ending
- Fem. nouns drop the final -a and take an -E ending
- Neut. nouns drop the final -e or -o and take an - A ending (while some nouns in animate category add an infix T, so you get deteTA, pileTA)
DativeKOME?ČEMU?

To whom? To what?
The noun to which/ whom something is given, shown, etc.- Masc. nouns take an - U ending
- Fem. nouns drop the final -a and take an -i ending
- Neut. nouns drop the final -e or -o and take an - U ending
AccusativeKOGA? ŠTA?

Whom? What?
Usually the object of a sentence- Masc. nouns describing inanimate concepts don't change while nouns in animate category (person / animal / plant) take an - A ending, the same as the genitive case
- Fem. nouns drop the final -a and take an -U ending
- Neut.  nouns describing inanimate concepts don't change, regardless of the category (animate/inanimate) 
VocativeHEJ! Calling someone or in poems referring to something or some placeUsed to address somebody or something- Masc. nouns ending in a consonant take an - E ending, the ones ending in an -a drop the final -a and take an -O suffix, otherwise they don't change (examples: Dejvid - Dejvide! Pera - Pero! Mirko - Mirko! )
- Fem. nouns  of the foreign origin don't change in the locative, while the two and more syllable ones drop the final -a and take an -O ending, while names ending in -CA drop the final A and take an -E  (Marina! Kim! Nada - Nado! Ljubica - Ljubice!)
- Neut. nouns don't change 
InstrumentalS KIM?
ČIM?

Using, with, whom? Using, with, what?
Company (with preposition s) or utilization of something or someone to accomplish an action- Masc. nouns take an - OM ending
- Fem. nouns drop the final -a and take an -OM ending
- Neut. nouns drop the final -e or -o and take an - OM ending
>>> for all genders, after some "soft" sounds you will have an ending -EM (mužEM, tušEM...)
LocativeGDE?
O KOME? O ČEMU?

Where? About whom?
Location, Relation(It's good to know that the locative = dative in form)
- Masc. nouns take an - U ending
- Fem. nouns drop the final -a and take an -i ending
- Neut. nouns drop the final -e or -o and take an - U ending

Plural Cases Suffixes in Serbian ... coming soon

Exercise with Case Suffixes in Serbian


Draga Anna,

Hvala ti za predivnu idej__ kako da vodim ovaj blog. Trudiću se da redovno objavljujem kratke prič__ ili postov__ , bez nastavak__ za padež___, a rešenj___ ćeš moći da pročitaš u audio fajl__ na vrhu___ svak___ post___. U početk___ ću pisati lakše tekst___ , pa sve teže i teže. Možeš mi i dojaviti šta ti se sviđa, a šta ne u komentar___.
Pošto svakodnevno izmišljam test____ za učenik___ englesk___, neće mi biti teško da to radim i za srpsk___ . Nadam se da ćeš uživati, kao i ostali vredni učenic__ koji nalete na ovaj blog.
Do sledećeg javljanj___ sve najbolje i puno pozdrav___
od Marin___

 ps. the answer key is in comments

Friday, October 31, 2008

Questions in Serbian

KO? - who?
ŠTA? - what?
KADA? - when?
GDE? - where?
KAKO? - how?
KOLIKO? - how much/many?
ZAŠTO ? - why?
ZBOG ČEGA ? - what for?
S KIM? - who with?
KOME? - who to?


Question words in Serbian (mp3)

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Myngle wins!

from MYNGLE blog

It is with great excitement that I inform you that yesterday we won the Accenture Innovation Award!

Amongst 230 companies that applied, Myngle was first selected as one the top 5 that would present the concept in front of a jury panel from broader media, consulting, investment world. Quite exciting!
As founder of Myngle, I recorded a short 1 minute pitch, which was showed already in a posting below, and a longer one, which was shown during the conference, you can watch it here too:

During the pitch, I thought I had to be myself, and tell the real reasons that had brought me to start Myngle. It is not only about business, but also about some idealistic little voice inside me that sometimes speaks somewhat harder; something that made me believe that there are possibilities within our capacity that can really make a difference. I had a dream… that was Myngle J


you can continue reading here

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Week Days in Serbian

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

How do I say my name and address in Serbian

Name and address in Serbian

Let's start with vocabulary covering the most essential phrases:

LIČNI PODACI = personal data

IME = first name
PREZIME = surname
DEVOJAČKO PREZIME = maiden name
LIČNA KARTA = identity card
PASOŠ = passport
MESTO ROĐENJA = place of birth
DATUM ROĐENJA = date of birth
STALNA ADRESA = permanent address
POŠTANSKA ADRESA = postal address
OŽENJEN = married (for men)
NEOŽENJEN = single (for men)
UDATA = married (for women)
NEUDATA = single (for women)
RAZVEDEN = divorced (for men)
RAZVEDENA = divorced (for women)
UDOVAC = widower
UDOVICA = widow
POL = sex
MALE = muški
FEMALE = ženski

How do I say my name and address in Serbian?

Friday, August 01, 2008

Lesson 1 - Serbian Alphabet



Take a look at the Cyrillic( Ćirilica) and Latin (Latinica) scripts which we have and repeat the letters one by one. For the sake of easy learning and translation to English, I use the Latin alphabet, but you can always print both on one page and keep it handy. If you hava a colour printer, you can use this link to print it on one A4 page.



There is one more explanation, where you can clearly hear and see the letters of both alphabets Link 1.:




For more videos check out my Youtube channel SerbianLessons!


Advanced Serbian - Srpski kao drugi jezik

Gde je ključ? Где је кључ? - Učimo srpski sa Marinom
Gde je ključ? ...
Where is the Key?-...
By Marina Petrović
Photo book