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...'
Ivan is first described from the outside. The moment he begins to speak for himself, on becomes ja, njegova becomes moja, and several verb endings move with him.
Let Ivan take over the narration
Do not replace only the pronoun. The whole grammatical viewpoint changes: on živi becomes ja živim, on ima becomes ja imam, and njegova boja becomes moja boja. Serbian often omits ja because the verb ending already identifies the speaker.
Five new details Ivan can tell us himself
| Latinica | Ćirilica | English |
|---|---|---|
| Zovem se Ivan i živim blizu Dunava. | Зовем се Иван и живим близу Дунава. | My name is Ivan and I live near the Danube. |
| Moja soba je puna plavih igračaka. | Моја соба је пуна плавих играчака. | My room is full of blue toys. |
| Sa starijom sestrom često igram šah. | Са старијом сестром често играм шах. | I often play chess with my older sister. |
| Posle škole uključujem kompjuter. | После школе укључујем компјутер. | I turn on the computer after school. |
| Vikendom pozivam drugove kod mene. | Викендом позивам другове код мене. | At weekends I invite my friends over. |
Change the camera angle
Read one sentence about Ivan, close your eyes and imagine that you are Ivan. Say the same information with ja. On the next round, omit ja but keep the first-person verb ending.
Ivan finds his own voice
- Change: On živi u Novom Sadu.
- Change: Njegova omiljena boja je plava.
- Change: On ima stariju sestru.
- Change: On se igra na kompjuteru.
- Begin Ivan’s introduction with “My name is...”.
Ivan’s first-person version
- Živim u Novom Sadu.
- Moja omiljena boja je plava.
- Imam stariju sestru.
- Igram se na kompjuteru.
- Zovem se Ivan.