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:
plural masc. - li
plural fem. - le
plural 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)

A small detail changes the whole message. Plural past forms reveal both number and gender, which makes a comic scene a useful place to compare -li, -le and -la.

Notice the mirror inside past tense with garfield dzon danas sam

Plural past forms reveal both number and gender, which makes a comic scene a useful place to compare -li, -le and -la. The pattern becomes visible through comparison. Read the Serbian examples as complete thoughts, not as containers for isolated vocabulary. Notice which word changes the meaning most strongly, and allow the surrounding words to show its grammatical job.

Five careful lines for past tense with garfield dzon danas sam

LatinicaĆirilicaEnglish
Dečaci su pojeli sve palačinke.Дечаци су појели све палачинке.The boys ate all the pancakes.
Devojčice su nacrtale velikog mačka.Девојчице су нацртале великог мачка.The girls drew a large cat.
Mačići su se sakrili ispod kreveta.Мачићи су се сакрили испод кревета.The kittens hid under the bed.
Jutros smo zaboravili ključeve u stanu.Јутрос смо заборавили кључеве у стану.We forgot the keys in the flat this morning.
One su se glasno nasmejale vicu.Оне су се гласно насмејале вицу.They laughed loudly at the joke.

A rhythm from recognition to speech with past tense with garfield dzon danas sam

Move from Dečaci su pojeli sve palačinke. towards One su se glasno nasmejale vicu., but stop at the sentence that feels least comfortable. Record one reading and listen for the endings, and then use that thought as the beginning of a two-line exchange. Tomorrow, return through a different sentence so that the order of the table cannot do the remembering for you.

Five moves before the trail disappears from past tense with garfield dzon danas sam

  1. Translate into English: Dečaci su pojeli sve palačinke.
  2. Rebuild in Serbian from memory: “The girls drew a large cat.”
  3. Write the third sentence in Cyrillic without copying it.
  4. Change one detail in Jutros smo zaboravili ključeve u stanu. and keep the sentence grammatical.
  5. Create a new question connected with One su se glasno nasmejale vicu..

Check the map you have made through past tense with garfield dzon danas sam

  1. The boys ate all the pancakes.
  2. Devojčice su nacrtale velikog mačka. / Девојчице су нацртале великог мачка.
  3. Мачићи су се сакрили испод кревета.
  4. Answers vary; the changed word must still agree with the rest of the sentence.
  5. Answers vary; keep the question directly connected with the situation.