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Learning Serbian with exercises, video lessons and online courses

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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Srećna Nova Godina!




Danas je prvi dan, početak.

Želim vam da vas ne boli ono sto vas je bolelo a da vas voli ono sto vas nije volelo.

Želim da vam deca budu bolja od vas, da se više vi hvalite njima nego oni vama...

Duško Radović


Saturday, December 26, 2009

Ordering food in Serbian


+ Listening (If you are asked for user name/password, just click 'Enter as a Guest', and you'll be able to listen to the dialogue and practise)

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Body parts in Serbian


A few days ago Nat, AhoyEnglish sent me this lovely pic with body parts in four languages. Let's listen to Ivan's pronunciation of the words and how they can be used in the context.

Let's start with Fem. Sg. nouns:

Ruka
Noga
Šaka
Glava

*Šta se desilo ? (What's happened?)
**Boli me ruka. (My hand hurts)
*Ruka? Kako si povredio rukU? (Hand? How did you hurt your hand?)
**Sankao sam se i onda sam pao i povredio je.(I was sledding and then I fell over and hurt it: 'her' nju = je = it for Feminine Sg. nouns in accusative)
Now you do the same for noga, šaka, glava: (the answer key is in the comment)

Neuter Sg. nouns:


Rame
Koleno
Stopalo
Uvo (ear)

*Šta se desilo ? (What's happened?)
**Boli me rame. (My shoulder hurts)
*Rame? Kako si povredio rame? (Shoulder? How did you hurt your rame?)
**Sankao sam se i onda sam pao i povredio ga.(I was sledding and then I fell over and hurt it : njega = ga = it for Neuter and Masculine Sg. nouns in accusative)

Masculine Sg. nouns:

Lakat
Nokat
Prst
Zub

*Šta se desilo ? (What's happened?)
**Boli me lakat. (My elbow hurts)
*Lakat? Kako si povredio lakat? (Elbow? How did you hurt your elbow?)
**Sankao sam se i onda sam pao i povredio ga.(I was sledding and then I fell over and hurt it : 'him' njega = ga = it for Neuter and Masculine Sg. nouns in accusative).

Sooooo, what are the sufixes for Accusative case in Singular, for the following genders
(1) Fem.?
(2) Neu.?
(3) Masc.?
For more information about Accusative you can check this document published by Larisa Zlatić

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Where is the cat?




1. The cat is under the table.
MAČKA JE ISPOD STOLA (Nominative Sg. STO - Genitive STOLA)
2. The cat is sitting on the chair.
MAČKA SEDI NA STOLICI (Nom. Sg. STOLICA - Locative STOLICI)
3. The cat is behind the tree.
MAČKA JE IZA DRVETA (Nom. Sg. DRVO - Genitive DRVETA)
4. The cat is in the wellington boot.
MAČKA JE U ČIZMI (Nom. Sg. ČIZMA - Locative ČIZMI)
5. The cat is on the table.
MAČKA JE NA STOLU (Nom. Sg. STO - Locative STOLU )
6. The cat is under the car.
MAČKA JE ISPOD AUTA (Nom.Sg. STO - Genitive AUTA )

Vocabulary

Cat: ---------------MAČKA
Car: ---------------AUTO / KOLA
Chair: -------------STOLICA
Table: -------------STO
Tree: --------------DRVO
Wellington boot:--- ČIZMA

Prepositions of location:

On ----------NA
Under -------ISPOD
Behind ------IZA
In (Inside) -- U

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Demo lesson of Serbian at Egyp TESOL Conference

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Questions and conjugations in Serbian

Present tense verb conjugations
-AM group ("-am" for 1st person Sg)

1. Kada obično ručaš? Obično ručam u tri.
When do you usually have lunch - I usually have lunch at 3.
KADA = when
RUČATI = have lunch/dinner

2. Kada obično večeraš? Obično večeram u 7.
When do you usually have dinner? I usually have dinner at 7.
OBIČNO - usually
VEČERATI = have dinner/supper

3. Gde obično večeraš? Večeram u kuhinji.
Where do you usually have dinner? I have dinner in the kitchen.
GDE = where
KUHINJA = kitchen (u kuhinjI- in the kitchen)

4. Gde obično gledaš televiziju? Ne gledam televiziju.
where do you usually watch TV? I don't watch TV.
GLEDATI = to watch
TELEVIZIJA = television (gledam televizijU)

5. Koliko često čitaš knjige? Čitam knjige vikendom, kad imam vremena.
How often do you read books? I read books at weekends, when I have time.
KOLIKO ČESTO = how often
ČITATI = read
KNJIGE = books
VIKEND = weekend (vikendOM = at weekends)
IMATI = to have (imaM = I have)
VREME = time (imam vremena = I have time)

All the verbs in this group have these endings:

I = JA PEVAM - am,
YOU = TI PEVAŠ - aš,
HE,
SHE,
IT, = ON, ONA, ONO PEVA -

WE = MI PEVAMO - mo
YOU = VI PEVATE - te
THEY = ONI-ONE-ONA PEVAJU - ju

other verbs from this group:
čekati, čitati, duvati, gledati, igrati, imati, izgledati, mešati, obožavati, padati

A good idea for an exercise:
Use the first 5 sentences and start each one with
a. On
b. Mi
c. Vi
d. Oni

-IM group - Video practice:


Monday, October 26, 2009

Numbers in Serbian

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Father - Tata



TATA

Tata (dad =father)
Tatin tata (dad's dad = grandfather)
Tatinog tate tata (dad of dad's dad = great grandfather)
Tatinog tate tatin tata (dad's dad of dad's dad great-great grandfather)
Tatinog tate tatin tata tata (dad's dad of dad's dad dad - whatever)
Sto komada tata (a hundred of dads)
Dok se rodi jedan (until one ('tata-mata') is born)
Tata-mata. (any ideas how to translate 'tata-mata'?)

by Dušan Radović

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Monolingual Serbian online dictionary

Serbian - Serbian and working!
VOKABULAR.ORG



Here is the fun one where you can add your own (fun) definition:
VUJAKLIJA.COM





Which is your favourite online/offline dictionary?

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Exercise your tenses in Serbian :D

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Conjugations of Most Common Serbian Verbs

Listen to this song and fill in the gaps:






















<br /> <br /> Živeti, pitati, raditi, ići, znati, biti<br /> <br />














































Živeti, pitati, raditi, ići, znati, biti




Gap-fill exercise












Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!
























Što me kako

Što me kako ja
kako i šta
to dobro , to dobro !

Što me kuda idem ja
kuda i šta
to dobro znaš, to dobro !

Što me dal sam srećna ja
dal srećna, i šta ,
to dobro , to dobro znaš!

























































Saturday, August 08, 2009

Parafraza I by Miroslav Antić

Predeli, predeli, predeli
vredeli, vredeli, vredeli.

Predeli, predeli, predeli
bledeli, bledeli, bledeli.

Predeli, predeli, predeli
u mestu sedeli, sedeli…

Predeli, predeli, predeli
u sedenju osedeli.

***Advanced Serbian with poems by Miroslav Antić ******

1. predeo (Sg. Masc.) - predeli (pl.) = landscape
2. vredeo (verb in the past agreeing with sg. masc.) - vredeli (verb in the past agreeing with sg. masc.) - be worth something
3. bledeo (v. agreeing with sg. masc.)- bledeli (v. agreeing with pl. masc.)= fade out
4. u mestu (mesto - sg. neut.)= in one place
5. sedeo (v. agreeing with sg. masc.)- sedeli (v. agreeing with pl. masc.)= sit down
6. sedeti is a verb , sedenje is a gerund =sitting, u sedenju = while sitting
7. osedeti is a verb meaning 'grow gray' - osedeli ((v. agreeing with pl. masc.)

Friday, July 24, 2009

Listening comprehension exercise in Serbian



Listen to this short reportage on the statue of Rocky in a Serbian village.

Then read the following questions and try to answer them:


MINUTES> 00:00 - 00:22

1. Where is the statue being made?

2. What will happen in August?

MINUTES> 00:22 - 00:36

3. When did the sculptor begin his work?

4. When is he going to finish?

MINUTES> 00:55 - 01:12

5. Where is the sculptor from?

6. Whose idea was it to make the statue?

MINUTES> 01:09 - 01:39

7. Where is Bojan from ?

8. What is Bojan's plan?

MINUTES> 01:40 - 01:50

9. Who made the first statue of Rocky?

10. How many such statues are there in the world?

MINUTES> 01:56 - 02:15

11. What is Zoran Batic talking about?

12. How many internet sites does he mention?


MINUTES> 02:25 - 02:35

13. What will the statue be made of?

14. How much will the statue weigh?

Monday, July 20, 2009

Useful vocabulary pages in Serbian

Since there was a comment from someone asking for months in Serbian, Cyrillic version, I am currently adding up all the material (follow Marina's courses - Vocabulary and Phrases) I have posted on this blog and the power point slides I've been using in my online teaching onto my SkolaSrpskog.com site. After each post, I added as many links to either pronunciation or cyrillic version as I have found so far.
pozz = pozdrav
ps. април = april

Friday, July 17, 2009

Past Tense Plural suffixes in Serbian

Past Tense with Garfield

Džon: Danas sam naporno radio.
Danas - today
Sam - to be ( I am = ja sam)
Raditi - to work (Sing. masc. radio, fem. radila, neuter radilo)
Naporno - hard (to work hard - naporno raditi)

Gafrild: Znači sad je vreme za zabavu.
Znači - it means
Sad - now
Je - to be (it is - to je ('to' refers to 'vreme' (neuter))
Vreme - time
Za - for
Zabavu - entertainment, fun

Practice : Turning Past Tense Sg for masc. and fem. into Plural

As I mentioned in some of the previous posts, in the Past Tense there is an important
distinction among masc. ending in -o, fem. ending in -la, and neuter. ending in -lo.
For Plural, the endings are as follows:
Pl. masc. - li
Pl. fem. - le
Pl. neut. -la

Try to turn the Singular forms for Masc. / Fem. nouns from the previous exercise into Plural:

1. USTATI (GET UP)
1a. TO A GIRL: ustala
TO GIRLS ustale

1b. TO A BOY: ustao
TO BOYS: ustali

2. ZAVRŠITI (FINISH)
2a. TO GIRLS:
2b. TO BOYS:

3. KUPITI (BUY)
3a. TO GIRLS:
3b. TO BOYS:

4. ZABORAVITI (FORGET)
4a. TO GIRLS:
4b. TO BOYS:

5. VIDETI (SEE)
5a. TO GIRLS:
5b. TO BOYS:

6. PRODATI (SELL)
6a. TO GIRLS:
6b. TO BOYS:
7. BITI (TO BE)
7a. TO GIRLS:
7b. TO BOYS:

8. SAKRITI (HIDE)
8a. TO GIRLS:
8b. TO BOYS:

9. UZETI (TAKE)
9a. TO GIRLS:
9b. TO BOYS:

10. DOBITI (GET)
10a. TO GIRLS:
10b. TO BOYS:


Now, do the same with full sentences: Don't forget the verb to be! There are two common word orders:

Formal. S + to be+ Vb+o/la/lo/li/le/la
example: Ona je ustala. (Singular) One su ustale. (Plural)

Informal. Vb+o/la/lo/li/le/la + To Be
example. Ustala je. (Singular) Ustale su. (Plural)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Singular and Plural in Serbian


Neki ljudi svoje kućne ljubimce posmatraju kao decu.

1. NEKI - some
2. LJUDI - people
3. SVOJ - possesive pronoun like my/your /his /her/its /our/your /their, used when the possesion refers to the subject
4. KUĆNI LJUBIMAC - pet
5. POSMATRATI - to watch, regard as, think of
6. KAO - as, like (there is no distinction between AS and LIKE in Serbian)
7. DECA - children


PA...TATA, IMAŠ LI TESTAMENT?

1. PA... - well...
2. TATA - dad
3. IMATI - to have
4. LI - used for question forms in all tenses
5. TESTAMENT - the will (a legal declaration of a person's wishes as to the disposition of his or her property or estate after death, usually written and signed by the testator and attested by witnesses)


Translation:
Some people regard their pets as children.
Well, daddy, do you have the will ?

Practice. FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR Singular - Plural Exercise

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Exit Novi Sad

FROM THE NEWS REPORT, FOLLOW THE LINK

Američka televizija Si-En-En uvrstila je ovogodišnji "Egzit", koji se od 9. do 12. jula održava u Novom Sadu, među 12 najboljih muzičkih festivala na svetu u 2009. godini.
Novosadski festival "Egzit" (EXIT) uvršten je među 12 najboljih u godišnjem vodiču američke televizije Si-En-En."Egzit", koji će ove godine doživeti svoje jubilarno 10. izdanje, nalazi se na spisku "Vodič do najboljih svetskih muzičkih festivala".

“Egzit“ na listi najboljih festivala

****************** objašnjenje reč po reč :
1. NA - on

2. LISTA - a list

3. na listI - on a list


4. NAJBOLJI - the best (dobar-bolji- najbolji)




Američka televizija Si-En-En uvrstila je ovogodišnji "Egzit", koji se od 9. do 12. jula održava u Novom Sadu, među 12 najboljih muzičkih festivala na svetu u 2009. godini.

****************** objašnjenje reč po reč :

5. AMERIKA - AMERIČKI : America - American

6. TELEVIZIJA : Television

7. SI-EN-EN: CNN

8. UVRSTITI : include, insert, shortlist

9. JE UVRSTILA: past tense of 'uvrstiti' (TV je uvrstila Exit ... TV included EXIT ...)

10. OVOGODIŠNJI: this year's

11. EGZIT : exit

12. KOJI : which

13. ODRŽAVATI SE : to take place (Egzit se održava ove godine... Exit takes place this year...)

14. OD... DO : from ... to

15. U : in

16. MEĐU : among/between

17. MUZIČKI FESTIVAL: music festival (među muzičkim festivalima - among music festivals)

18. SVET : world (na svetu : in the world)

19. GODINA : year (u ... godini : in ... year)

Novosadski festival "Egzit" (EXIT) uvršten je među 12 najboljih u godišnjem vodiču američke televizije Si-En-En.

****************** objašnjenje reč po reč :

(this is almost the same sentence as the first one, but in the passive voice)

ACTIVE:

CNN je uvrstila Exit među 12 najboljih muzičkih festivala. (notice the active ending 'LA')

PASSIVE:

Exit je uvršten među 12 najboljih muzičkih festivala. (notice the passive ending 'N' )


"Egzit", koji će ove godine doživeti svoje jubilarno 10. izdanje, nalazi se na spisku "Vodič do najboljih svetskih muzičkih festivala".

****************** objašnjenje reč po reč :

20. ĆE : will (Conjugation of the aux. vb. 'will' in Serbian: ĆU, ĆEŠ, ĆE, ĆEMO, ĆETE, ĆE )

21. OVE: this (Sg. Nominative: OVAJ masculine, OVA fem. , OVO neuter)

22. SVOJE : its

23. JUBILARNO: in Serbian often used as 'milestone/important/10year"

24. IZDANJE: issue / release /publication / edition / (here 'event')

25. NALAZITI SE : be somewhere

26. SPISAK: list

27. VODIČ : guide

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Useful phrases and links for tourists coming to Novi Sad

AUTOBUS - bus / coach

VOZ - train

TROLEJBUS - trolley-bus


TRAMVAJ -tram


BICIKL - bicycle

AVION - plane




AUTOBUSKA STANICA - bus/ coach station
POLAZAK / POLASCI - departure
DOLAZAK / DOLASCI - arrivals
ŽELEZNIČKA STANICA - railway station
AERODROM - airport

KOLIKO KOŠTA ... - how much is ...

AUTOBUSKA KARTA - bus ticket
VOZNA KARTA - railway ticket
ULAZNICA - entrance fee
RENTIRANJE - renting of



ULICA - street


GLAVNA ULICA - main street


MOST -bridge


PARK - park


REKA - river


ŠKOLA - school


HOTEL - hotel


CRKVA - church

KATEDRALA - cathedral

MUZEJ - museum


POZORIŠTE - theatre

RESTORAN - restaurant

PAB - pub

KAFE - cafe

BOLNICA - hospital


CENTAR GRADA - city centre/ downtown


ZOOLOŠKI VRT - zoo


PIJACA - market


ŠOPING CENTAR - shopping centre


KAMP - camp

EXIT - izlaz

ENTRANCE - ulaz


TVRĐAVA - fortress



PETROVARADINSKA TVRĐAVA - Petrovaradin Fortress

POLICAJAC - policeman

POLICIJSKA STANICA - police station


KONZULAT - consulate


AMBASADA -embassy


******************* phrases in context:
questions:
HOW MUCH IS...? - koliko košta ...?
WHERE IS ... ? - gde je ... ?
(for pronunciation check this video)
possible answers :
THERE - tamo
TURN - skreni
(ON THE) LEFT - levo
(ON THE) RIGHT - desno
GO - idi / idite
STRAIGHT - pravo

Sunday, June 28, 2009

MAL for Serbian

Recently I came across this great site called MAL (Master Any Language) with flash cards, games and lists of words in Serbian and English. It is obviously in an early phase, and there are a few mistakes, which really made me laugh. For instance, for the word 'train' we use 'voz', never 'komora' or for 'hot' we say 'vruć' not 'gorući', and for the part of the body called 'calf', we use 'list', never 'batak' (this is used for poultry or for women's legs in sleng, usu. in Pl 'koji bataci', but this is not suitable translation for a flash card at an official language learning site) :o) Nevertheless, I am sure these mistakes will be corrected.


"noga" or "list" not "batak"!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Clothes in Serbian 2



Part two combines asking questions from part no. 1 (gde je / gde su) with answers (ona je u + ormanU (suffix '-u' for masc. nouns denotes the locative case). Take a look at the example examples:

1. CIPELE (Fem - Pl)
a. Gde su cipele? (Where are the shoes)
b. One su u ormanu. (They are in the cupboard)

2. KUPAĆI KOSTIM (Masc. - Sg)
a. Gde je kupaći kostim?
b. On je u ormanu.

5. ODELO (Neuter - Sg)
a. Gde je odelo?
b. Ono je u ormanu.

Now you can continue:

3. JAKNA (Fem - Sg)
4. CIPELE (Fem - Pl)
5. ODELO (Neut - Sg)
6. ŠAL (Masc - Sg)
7. HALJINA (Fem - Sg)
8 / 10. GAĆE (Fem - Pl)
9. POTKOŠULJA (Fem - Sg)
11. RUKAVICE (Fem - Pl)
12. ŠORC (Masc - Sg)
13. ČARAPE (Fem - Pl)
14. ČIZME (Fem - Pl)
15. PRSLUK (Masc - Sg)
**************************

Sg Masculine (he) ON
Sg Feminine (she) ONA
Sg Neuter (it) ONO
Pl Masculine (they) ONI
Pl Feminine (they) ONE
Pl Neuter (they) ONA

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Personal Pronouns in Serbian

Personal pronouns in Serbian

Once you start learning Serbian you will be taught the most basic words, usually together with the verb to be, and these are the personal pronouns:

  • Ja = I
  • Ti = you (for one person, informal = for members of the family, people we know well, younger people than we are)
  • Vi = You (for one person, formal = used at work, in formal situations, with people you don't know or want to show respect. Children use this form to talk to adults. This form is not common among the members of the family, though.)
  • On = he
  • Ona = she
  • Ono = it
  • Mi = we
  • Vi = you (more than one)
  • Oni = they for masculine
  • One = they for feminine
  • Ona = they for neuter
You can hear the pronunciation of the personal pronouns in Serbian in the following video where Jeremy practices the verb to be:


Present Tense Conjugation in Serbian

April u __________ by Zdravko Čolić





Listen to this lovely song and fill in the gaps. In order to be able to determine the right form, the corresponding subjects are highlighted red. If you need more info or practice on "u + location", check out the new blog post about the Locative case.


______________ (prolaziti) i ______________ (vraćati) se s lastama
Sunčani i nasmijani dani
opet
_________ (biti) u mojoj duši proljeće,
da l'
_________ (biti) djevojka il' žena sada ti?


April u Beograd__ uzaludno
(ja) ______________ (tražiti)
Usne jedne djevojke sto se divno
______________ (maziti)April u Beograd_ ____________ (milovati) joj kosu
Ispod Savskog mosta
to ____________ (biti) možda ona
Al' je
drugi _______________ (ljubiti). ______________ (prolaziti) i ______________ (vraćati) se s lastama
Sunčani i nasmijani dani
opet
_________ (biti) u mojoj duši proljeće,
da l'
_________ (biti) djevojka il' žena sada ti?



April u Beograd__ jedno prošlo doba
(ja)_______________ (nositi) ga u mislima iz vojnickih soba
April u Beograd__ umorno se
______________ (smešiti)
Ispod savskog mosta dok se sumrak ___________ (spremati)
vise mene
_______________ (nemati).



Locative in Serbian

Gap-fill exercise

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!
Part one:

Prolaze i vraćaju se s (with sparrows)
Sunčani i nasmijani (plural of "day" = dan)
opet je u proljeće, (my soul)
da l' si djevojka il' sada ti? (woman)

Chorus:

April u (Belgrade) uzaludno tražim
Usne jedne djevojke sto se divno mazi.
April u (Belgrade) miluje joj (hair in Acc.)
Ispod savskog mosta to je možda (she)
Al' je drugi ljubi.

Part one again

Chorus (a bit changed):
April u , jedno prošlo (age)
nosim ga u (thoughts) iz vojničkih soba
April u umorno se smeši
Ispod savskog mosta dok se (dusk) sprema
više mene nema.

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