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Learning Serbian with exercises, video lessons and online courses

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Sunday, December 26, 2010

Suffixes in Serbian



One gap= one letter

Song 1: Bledi Mesec

Bledi mesec zagrlio zvezd_ Danic_,
a ja mrsi_ tvoju zlatn_ kosic_.
Samo rec_ mi, da me ljubi_ ti,
da živi_ _ k’o svi srećn_ presrećn_.

Vesla će_ _ ostaviti, ne treba_ _ nam,
mi ćemo se zagrli_ _, čun će plovit’ sam.
On će tada sam kuć_ ploviti
Teraće ga hitr_ morsk_ valov_.

Sve će zvezdic_ s neba gleda_ _
i zavidet’, dušo, naš_ _ ljubav_.


Song 2: Seća_ li se onog sata


Seća_ li se onog sata
kad si meni oko vrat_
kad si meni oko vrat_
bele ruke savi_ _.

I krijući svoj_ lice
ti si men_ nehotice
ti si men_ nehotice
tajnu ljubav otkri_ _.

Seća_ li se ono_ jada
kad glas dođ_ iznenada
kad glas dođ_ iznenada
k'o iz vedra neb_ grom.

Da ja mora_ odlaziti
teb_ draga ostaviti
teb_ draga ostaviti
i svoj mil_ star_ dom.

Seća_ li se onog sata
kad si men_ oko vrat_
kad si men_ oko vrat_
bele ruke savi_ _.

Song 3: Sedi Mara na kamen studencu

Sedi Mara na kamen studenc_,
svoj_ tajn_ otkrila je zdenc_.
Suzama ga orosi_ _ Mara,
sudbinu je svoju oplaka_ _.

How to Pronounce Serbian ''š, č, đ, ć"


Jedina by Zdravko Čolić

Ostani, da ti kažem nesto ___________
Ostani, ovaj dan je bio ___________
Ostani da ne budem __________ sam
jer je tuga sve __________ znam.

___________ mi
makar bajke bile to
___________ mi
ti ____ otjerati zlo
___________ mi
nek me umire na __________
tvoje ruke i tvoj glas.

Chorus:

Ti si jedina od svih
koja _________ kada treba
ti si sunce moga neba
tebi mogu _________ sve.

Ti si jedina od svih
koja tajne moje __________
ti si moja ljubav prva
za mnom _________ bilo gdje.

Ostani
nisi ista ali ________
Ostani
da mi opet snage _______
_________ mi
nek me umire na ________
tvoje ruke i tvoj glas.

Chorus

Friday, December 24, 2010

Learn Serbian with Children's Songs

Let's practise the Genetive case in Serbian with this lovely song:



Nema __________ ni planete (world =svet)
Gde _________ stići dete, (can not)
Jer sve ______________ staze vode (children's = deca)
Od igre do _________________.(freedom = sloboda)

Nema __________ ni planete (world =svet)
Gde _________ stići dete, (can not)
Jer sve ______________ staze vode (children's = deca)
Od igre do _________________.(freedom = sloboda)

Chorus:
Cveće je ukras ______________ (of garden = bašta)
Leptir je ukras _____________, (of flower= cvet)
A deca puna _____________ (of imagination = mašta)
Deca __________ (are)
Ukras _____________... (of the world = svet)

Chorus

_____________ pesme tihe tajne (beautiful=lep)
Sve ljubavi _____________ sjajne, (of children's = deca)
Neka planu _________ se rode (let's)
Od ___________ do slobode. (from game/play = igra)

Chorus

Happy Holidays from Ivan&Marina & Nat (AhoyThere)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

What's the weather like in Serbian?

Look at the video, listen to Ivan and guess the meaning of the following phrases:

1. Sunčano je.
2. Tmurno je i uskoro će oluja.
3. Juče je bilo jako hladno, a danas je sve zaleđeno.
4. Jutro će biti maglovito.
5. Posle kiše se vidi duga.
6. Oblačno je.
7. Pao je sneg.
8. Hladno je i vetrovito.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Basic phrases about playing a sport in Serbian


What do you do in your free time?
---> Šta radiš u slobodno vreme?
What sport do you play in your free time?
---> Kojim se sportom baviš u slobodno vreme?
What do you like doing in your free time?
---> Šta voliš da radiš u slobodno vreme?

I play football.
---> Igram fudbal.
I don't play golf, but I play basketball.
---> Ne igram golf već košarku.
I go swimming and fishing.
---> Idem na plivanje i pecanje.

What about you? - A ti?

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Reflexive pronoun 'se' in Serbian

Here is the news from my town, followed by the video. I deleted all 'se' words. Try to guess where they are missing and then check your answers at the news source link.

U nesreći koja pre 4 dana desila u centru Novog Sada nekoliko lica je zadobilo lakše povrede, a na YouTube-u se ubrzo nakon toga našao video snimak ove nezgode. Kako navode svedoci, Fiat Punto sa novosadskim registarskim tablicama kretao ulicom Jovana Subotića iz pravca Trga Marije Trandafil ka centru. Prešao je na suprotnu stranu kolovoza, okrznuo sa jednim gradskim autobusom i Opel Corsom, te direktno sudario da drugim autobusom GSP-a odmah iza Corse. (4 missing 'se')

Monday, December 13, 2010

Verb Prefixes in Serbian

I'm sure that many eager learners of Serbian are often puzzled by the meaning of prefixes and suffixes which are added to verbs in our language. While English uses different tense aspects (progressive, perfective) and phrasal verbs to express the same meaning, we tend to express aspect at the lexical level - that's why numerous prefixes and suffixes!

I think it's useless to puzzle students by bombarding them with numerous prefixes with one verb stem e.g. izaći, ući, otići, prići, doći etc. especially in one lesson. I think it's more effective to introduce one prefix, with common meaning, applied to the verbs with which students are already familiar with.

That's why I'll introduce the prefix "do-" = similar to English 'to'

1. meaning towards someone or something, or some finishing phase

trčati (run) - dotrčati (run to)
Sima trči (Sima is running)
Sima je trčao (Sima was running)
Sima je dotrčao (Sima has run (to me or some place))

šetati (walk) - došetati (walk to)
Ja šetam (I am walking/I walk)
Ja sam šetala (I was walking)
Došetala sam se do parka (I've walked to the park)
Došetaću se do tebe. (I'll walk to your place)

2. meaning 'additional'

pisati (write) - dopisati (add to what you've written)
Pišem knjigu (I'm writing a book)
Pisao sam pismo. (I was writing a letter)
Dopisao sam komentar (I added a comment)
Dopisao sam još jednu rečenicu (I've written one more sentence)

zidati (build) - dozidati (build some more/build up)
Zidali smo kuću pet godina (we were/have been building the house for five years)
Dozidali smo jednu sobu (we built up one more room)

dati (give) - dodati (add)
Dali su nam tortu (they gave us a cake)
Dodali smo malo šećera(we added a little sugar)

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Verb Conjugations in Serbian: To Love

VOLETI conjugations in the Present Simple:

Ja volim
Ti voliš
On, ona, ono voli

Mi volimo
Vi volite
Oni, one, ona vole

--- you can easily omit the personal pronoun:

Koju boju voliš? Volim žutu, ali ne volim crnu.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Present Simple Conjugation in Serbian

Verb ''nositi''
= to wear + nouns
(this time Feminine only )

******with Fem. Plural nouns:
CIPELE =shoes
PANTALONE = trousers
FARMERKE = jeans
ČARAPE = socks

****** with Fem. Singular nouns:
HALJINA = dress
MAJICA = T-shirt
KOŠULJA = shirt
SUKNJA = dress

Practise: NOSIM... / NE NOSIM.... (I wear/I don't wear)

Šta nosiš kada ideš na posao ?
= What do you wear when you go to work ?

Šta nosiš kada ideš u školu ?
= What do you wear when you go to school ?



You can download the slides from www.lewinow.com

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Pronunciation of the Verb To Be in Serbian

Conjugation of To Be in Serbian

----------Present Tense of the verb TO BE - BITI in Serbian
Ja sam
Ti si
On je
Ona je
Mi smo
Vi Ste
Oni/one/ona su
---------------Past Tense of the verb TO BE - BITI in Serbian
Ja sam bio/bila
Ti si bio/bila
On je bio
Ona je bila
Ono je bilo
Mi smo bili(masc)/bile(fem)/bila (neuter)
Vi ste bili(masc)/bile(fem)/bila (neuter)
Oni su bili(masc)
One su bile(fem)
Ona su bila (neuter)
---------------------Future Tense of the verb TO BE - BITI in Serbian
Ja ću biti
Ti ćeš biti
On će biti
Ona će biti
Ono će biti
Mi ćemo biti
Vi ćete biti
Oni/one/ona će biti

Don't forget to check:

Passive Voice in Serbian

in The Passive Voice is not widely used in the Serbian language. That's why it doesn't have some special morphological means to express it, but uses the following:

1. Auxiliary + passive participle (-n/-t endings)
Stolica je polomljeNA. = The chair is broken.

2. Reflexive forms (impersonal structures with the impersonal pronoun 'se')
Novine se štampaju svaki dan. = Newspapers are printed every day.

3. Active forms (passive in deep structure)
Ovde piše da ... = It is written (Someone has written) that ...

Since the first structure is called 'Passive Voice' in Serbian, let's practise it!

Turn the following sentences into the Passive (I'm using only -N endings)
RULE: TO BE * + Infinitive Stem (usually) or Present Stem (prezentska osnova)** and -N suffixe
Sg. Fem. -na
Sg. Masc. -n
Sg. Neuter -no
Pl. Fem. -ne
Pl. Masc. -ni
Pl. Neuter -na

EXAMPLE:
I ate a hamburger= Ja sam pojeo hamburger.
Hamburger je pojeden.

1. Mi smo primili pismo.
2. Sonja je ispravila imeil.
3. Ja sam popila vodu.
4. Sestra je istukla brata.
5. Marko je zaprosio Anu.

Listen!
--------
* TO BE (sam, si, je, smo, ste, su)
** Present Stem is formed by omitting the suffix in the Present Simple third person plural

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Telling Time In Serbian


What's the time ? Koliko je sati ?


11.00 Tačno (je) jedanaest sati. Jedanaest je sati.
12.05 Dvanaest i pet. Dvanaest i pet minuta.
01.10 Jedan i deset.
02.15 Dva i petnaest.
03.20 Tri i dvadeset.
04.25 Četiri i dvadeset pet.
05.28 Pet i dvadeset osam.
06.30 Šest i trideset. Pola sedam.
07.35 Sedam i trideset pet. Dvadeset pet do osam.
08.37 Osam i trideset sedam. Dvadeset tri do devet.
09.40 Devet i četrdeset. Dvadeset do deset.
10.45 Petnaest do jedanaest.
10.50 Deset do jedanaest.
11.55 Pet do dvanaest.

This text used to have a few mistakes which are recorded in this video. Can you spot them in the video?
For more details about numbers check out this link.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Practise Personal Pronouns in Serbian

Pronoun for the First Person Plural:
WE = mi

mi
nas (from us)
nama (to us)
nas (us)
mi
s nama (with us)
o nama (about us)

Possessive Adjective for the
First Person Plural:
OUR = naš
Singular
Fem. naša sestra
Masc. naš brat
Neuter. naše dete

Plural
Fem. našE sestrE
Masc. našA braćA
Neuter. našA decA

Now, enjoy listening to this 'ancient' song and filling the gaps:



Ljubav _______ (to us) više nije prijatelj
ponekad svrati ___________ (only) kao gost
zašto se ljubav gubi _________ (without) traga
__________ (my) draga?

Do juče smo se lepo __________ (we lied)
i verovali slepo u ________ __________ (that lie)
____________ (why) se ljubav gubi bez traga
moja ________________ (darling)?

Chorus:

_________ (where) je sad tvoj Beograd
gde _________ (is) sad moj Beograd
_________ _______ (where is) sad tvoj Beograd
a gde _______ (are) sada _____ (you)
a gde _______ (am) sada ______ (I) ?


Sreća nam _________ (more) nije dobar drug
sa __________ (us) trči poslednji put
zašto se ljubav ___________ (it disappears) bez traga
________ (my) draga?

Sad život __________ (our) ne vredi kao pre
a i vreme kao da _____________ (to us) izmiče
zašto se ljubav gubi bez ____________ (trace)
___________ (my) draga ?

Chorus

Monday, November 29, 2010

Listening Comprehension Exercise - Weather Phrases in Serbian

Jot down the Serbian phrases you hear:

Listen!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Serbian For Beginners, Perica At School

Perica: Učiteljice, nisam zaslužio da mi date keca na kontrolnom zadatku!

Učiteljica: U pravu si, ali manje nisam mogla da ti dam!

Listen!

*** v o c a b u l a r y ***

1. učiteljica = teacher
2. zaslužiti da = deserve to (nisam zaslužio - I haven't deserved)
3. mi (meni) = me (to me)
4. dati = give
5. kec (sl.) = failing grade (one)
6. na kontrolnom zadatku = in the test
7. u pravu si = you are right
8. ali =but
9. manje = fewer/less
10. moći = can (nisam mogla = I couldn't)

*** a u d i o ***

*** practice ***
Verb ZASLUŽITI (deserve) - Write the negative form of the verb:

ja=I
Zaslužio sam =__________ zaslužio
Zaslužila sam = __________ _________

ti=you
Zaslužio si =__________ _________
Zaslužila si =__________ _________

on/ona = he/she
Zaslužio je =__________ _________
Zaslužila je = __________ _________

mi= we
Zaslužili smo = __________ _________
Zaslužile smo =__________ _________

vi = you
Zaslužili ste= __________ _________
Zaslužile ste= __________ _________

oni/one/ona = they
Zaslužili su=__________ _________
Zaslužile su =__________ _________
Zaslužila su =__________ _________

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Serbian for Beginners, Jokes about Perica


Perica: Mama, rekao sam ti sto puta da ne volim sir s rupama!
Mama: Ti onda jedi sir, a rupe ostavi.
********AUDIO************
I told you = rekao sam ti (Masc.)rekla sam ti (Fem.)
Hundred times = sto puta
I don't like/love = ne volim
cheese = sir
with = s
holes = rupe (with holes = s rupama)

Monday, November 15, 2010

Serbian Verb Conjugations Free Listening Exercise

Vino točim
by Miroslav Ilić



Exercise 1: Write down the conjugations of the verbs below
Past Tense for First Person Sg. Masculine of the following verbs:

SRESTI = meet
ZNATI = know
ŽELETI = want
DATI = give


Exercise 2: Present Tense for First Person Singular of the following verbs:

TOČITI = pour
PITI = drink
KRITI = hide
LJUBITI = kiss
GUBITI = lose, waste

Exercise 3: Negative form of 'there is'

Exercise 4: Present Tense for Third Person Singular of the following verbs:

KRITI = hide
UZDISATI = sigh
ČUVATI = save/take care of
MIRISATI = smell

Now, check your answers:

Ja sam do sad mnoge žene _____________ (I met)
al' za ljubav ipak nisam _____________ (I knew)
ljubio sam sve sto sam _______________ (I wanted)
al' sam samo tebi srce _______________ (I gave)

ljubio sam sve sto sam _______________ (I wanted)
al' sam samo tebi srce _______________ (I gave)

Chorus 2x

Vino ____________ (I'm pouring), a vino __ ________________ (I'm not drinking)
srce imam, osećanja __________________ (I'm hiding)
usne imam, al' koga ___ _______________ (to kiss (I))
kad si s drugim, a ja mladost _________________ (I'm wasting)



_____________ (there's no) vina da mi bole smiri
_____________ (there's no) pesme da srce umiri
_____________ (there's no) noči da mi oči sklopi
hej ljubavi, ti mi dušu opi
_____________ (there's no) noči da mi oči sklopi
hej ljubavi, ti mi dušu opi

Chorus 2x

Što se ljubi kad se ljubav ______________ (is hiding)
što se voli kad srce ____________________ (is sighing)
što se čuva cvece najmilije ______________ (is saving/taking care of)
kad ga drugi bere i _______________ ((he) smells)


Chorus 2x

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Future Tense in Serbian - exercise



Future Tense in Serbian

RULE: infinitive stem + Future tense suffix, depending on the person

Future Tense suffixes:
-ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će

Example: to sing=pevati ---> peva+ćeš

Now, you do the same for the first (I= ja) and second person singular (you=ti) for these verbs:

to have = imati
to play = igrati
to kiss = ljubiti
to be = biti

Great! Now, listen to this song and check your answers:


______________ (You'll have) ih mnogo _______________ (you'll play) se njima
______________ (You'll kiss) ih mnogo ali ne daj se baš svima
U ponoć _____________ (I'll be) tu i _____________ (I'll kiss) te tad
U ponoć poželi tvoj deda-mraz sam ______ (I).


Nove godine zato _______________ (are coming)
Nove godine u pravi čas za ______ (us).

Nove __________ (years) zato dolaze
Nove __________ (years) u pravi čas za nas.

______________ (You'll have) ih mnogo _______________ (you'll play) se njima
______________ (You'll kiss) ih mnogo ali ne daj se baš svima
U ponoć _____________ (I'll be) tu i _____________ (I'll kiss) te tad
U ponoć poželi tvoj deda-mraz sam ______ (I).


Chorus

Chorus

Monday, November 01, 2010

Jesen = Autumn

Autumn (jesen)

Nestalo je __________ (leto), došla jesen _________ (žut),
Nema više veća kraj _________________ (šuma) i puta.

A ptičice __________ (mali) otišle su ____________ (jug),
Nema više __________ (pesma) u ____________ (šuma) i lugu.

Ništa zato _________________ (deca),
Jesen će ____________ (mi) proći
Onda će ____________ (mi) opet
______________ (white) zima doći.

Pre-teach "nestalo je"

1-brašno (flour)

Nestalo je brašna

2-mleko (milk)

Nestalo je mleka

3-šećer (sugar)

Nestalo je šećera

4-benzin (petrol)

Nestalo je šećera

5-voda (water)

Nestalo je vode

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Fill in the gaps with Ć, Č, Đ, DŽ

Imao otac sedam sinova, sedam sva_alica. Sva_ajući se zanemariše sav ku_ni posao i sve im po_e naopako.

Bilo je sebi_nih i r_avih suseda koji su se radovali njihovom sva_anju i njihov nazadak skretali su na svoju korist. Lako je grabiti onde gde nema ko da _uva, kad se _uvari me_u sobom sva_aju.

Videvši da će biti zlo i naopako, otac se veoma zabrinu. Jedanput skupi sinove oko sebe, pa im pokaza sedam prutova povezanih u jedan snop i re_e:

- Koji od vas ovaj snop prelomi, onome _u dati deset dukata.

Sedam sinova pokuša da prelomi snop:probali su ovako i onako. I naposletku svaki re_e da ne može.

A otac će im onda:
- _udim se da ne možete, jer je to sasvim lako.

On odreši uzicu kojom je bio snop vezan, štapi_i se razmakoše i on jedan po jedan prelomi bez po muke.

Sinovi su se nasmejali:
- E, to je lako! Tako bi moglo i nejako dete!

Otac završi:
- Evo vam, deco, slike i prilike vaše. Ne budete li snop, bi_ete sedam prutova koje, kao što ste sami rekli, može slomiti i nejako dete.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Asking Questions in Serbian



Fill in the gaps = popuni prazna mesta:

Q: A _______________ (what) najviše ____________ (like) u tenisu ?
A: Pa najviše ____________(like) u tenisu forhend, bekhend _______ (and) volej. S njima pobeđujem ove __________________ (opponents).

Q: A da _________ se protivnici ljute _____________ (when) ih pobediš ?
A: Ne

Q: A ti __________ (when) te ___________ (they) pobede ?
A: ______
Q: Znači, ______________ (real) fer plej:o)

Q: Dobro, a da ________ se __________________ (you play)?
A: Paa, igram _______, igram se _____________ (at night). Pošto ______________ (during the day) __________________ (I have) školu i treninge imam ________________
(in the afternoon), i završim domaći ________________ (after) treninga, i zato se _______________ (I play) noću.

Q: Da li je tenis za tebe igra ____________ (or) obaveza?
A: Pa tenis za _____________ (me) je obaveza.

Q: _________ (what) ti je cilj u tenisu?
A: Cilj u _____________ (tennis) mi je ____ _______________ (to become) prvak.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Životinje = Animals



Femininte - Masculine - Neuter

KOZA - _________ - JARE
OVCA - OVAN - __________
_________ - MAČAK - __________
GUSKA - _________ - __________
MEČKA - _________ - MEČE
_________ - PATAK - __________

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Joke = Vic


zašto ?= why?
žene = women
piju = ( they ) drink
kafu (kafa) = coffee
razgovaraju = (they) talk
da ne bi = (in order) not to
zaspati (zaspale fem.past form) = fall asleep (fell asleep)
dok = while
druga (fem.) = the other (one) (for Masc. it would be ' drugi ')
priča (ona priča) = (she) talks

Zašto žene
piju kafu dok razgovaraju?

Da ne bi zaspale dok druga priča.

Saturday, September 04, 2010

onlinetranslato.rs

I have noticed that sometimes people searching for some kind of translation/übersetzung/prevod, end up at this blog. If you happen to need different kinds of widgets, online translation sites, or even live online translators, you can find all of these on this lovely onlinetranslato.rs site. Here comes an additional exercise about this topic, where you can simply add a missing word which will be one of the verbs 'to have = imati' or 'to be= biti' in the Simple Present tense:

Ovaj sajt _______ četiri različite stranice. Prva________ početna stranica na kojoj se nalaze objašnjenja i linkovi (veze). Na drugoj stranici, koja se zove 'Prevodioci i Tumači ', (vi) _______ brojne linkove ka raznim prevodilačkim udruženjima. Treća stranica ________ verovatno ono što vas najviše interesuje - onlajn sajtovi za prevođenje, počev od GOOGLE prevodioca, BABYLONa, do SYSTRANa. Četvrta stranica ____________ brojne 'widget'-e, ili programčiće koji kada se umetnu na jednu stranicu omogućavaju da se ona prevede na bilo koji jezik.



Friday, September 03, 2010

Verb 'To Be' and Plural Nouns in Serbian



Tad još _________ ništa znao
i još _________ verovao
da na svetu tuge ima.
Jedino mi važno __________
da postanem levo krilo
il' centarfor školskog tima.

Tad __________iznenada sreo
najtoplijeg leta deo
to su njene __________ bile. (Sg. oko)
Imala je _____________ plave (Sg. kosa)
i u njima na vrh glave -
belu mašnicu od svile.

Prva ____________ ljubav
došla tiho nezvana, sama
za sva _______________, (Sg. vreme)
skrila se tu, negde -
duboko u nama.

Kad ____________ prošlo đačko vreme,
padeži i _______________ (Sg. teorema)
i ________ ispod klupe (Sg. strip)
nije više ___________ klinka,
počela ________ da se šminka
i da želi ___________ skupe. (Sg. stvar)
Tako mi ________ svakog dana
_______________ više strana,
slutio sam šta nas čeka,
pa sam da brinem
kako da joj __________ skinem (Sg. zvezda)
postala mi ___________daleka.

Prva ___________ ljubav
došla tiho nezvana, sama
za sva _______________, (Sg. vreme)
skrila se tu, negde -
duboko u nama.

Danas _____________ na sedmom nebu,
kažu mi da čeka bebu,
našla _________ sigurnost, sreću, dom.
Ima muža inženjera
pred kojim __________ karijera
i mesto u društvu visokom.

Ja još kradem __________ Bogu (Sg. dan)
ja još umem, ja još mogu
da sam sebi stvorim neki mir...
Još sam sretan što postojim,
pišem pesme, _________ brojim, (Sg. zvezda)
još __________ isti vetropir.

Prva _________ ljubav
došla tiho nezvana, sama
za sva _______________, (Sg. vreme)
skrila se tu, negde -
duboko u nama.

Još ________ sretan što postojim,
pišem ____________, zvezde brojim, (Sg. pesma)
još _________ onaj isti vetropir..

(dame biraju, uvek pogrešne __________ (Sg. tip))

Ja još kradem __________ bogu (Sg. dan)
ja još umem, ja još mogu
da sam sebi stvorim neki mir...
Još sam sretan što postojim,
pišem ___________, zvezde brojim, (Sg. pesma)
još ____________ onaj isti vetropir.

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Koga voliš? Who do you love?

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Gde? Kada? U koliko sati?

This is a listening comprehension exercise. While listening to this 34sec long video, try to answer the following questions: 

Video Quiz 



Exercise (write numbers) 



Or 

  • Where is the event taking place? Gde se održava ovaj koncert? ______________________
  • When, What date ? Kada, Kog datuma? _____________________ 
  • What time? Tačno vreme? ________________

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Mine or Yours in Serbian


Listen to this song and try to figure out which gaps with  numbers are for  "moj" (mine or my for Masc.sg.) and where "tvoj" (yours or your for Masc.sg.) and for the gaps with letters, you will notice that the verb TO BE is missing.


Apsolutno __1__ (apsolutno __2____)
Samo mi ___a____ taj (genijalan spoj)
Apsolutno  ___3___ život je  ___4___

Permanentno  ___5___ (permanentno  ___6___)
Samo ti ____b_____ taj (specijalan broj)
Permanentno  ___7___ život je  __8____

Apsolutno ___9____ si broj
Aposlutno ja   __c__   _10____
Genijalan mi ___d____ spoj
Permanentno biću ___11____
Since this is  a part of Serbian101 lesson, feel free to send me your answers there.

Serbian TO BE with the song "Čokolada"


Remember the verb TO BE in Serbian ?
Listen to this song and try to add the missing 
Ti ___1____ moja čokolada
Ja ___2___ tvoja čokolada
I da ____3____ tako mlada, _____4____ bih te ljubio x2
__5__ bih te ljubio...
__6__ bih te ljubio x10
--- When you send me the reply, you'll receive the vocabulary and translation :-)
Enjoy singing the song because "ko peva zlo ne misli" :)

Essential Serbian on AudioBoo

Interactive Essential Serbian on Audioboo

Radim, živim, volim = I work, I live, I love/like

Rad, živ, vol = You work, you live, you love/like

***********************
Živim u Beogradu.

A ti? ______________

Radim u Subotici.

A ti? ______________

Ja volim mamu, tatu, brata, sestru, sina, ćerku, muža.

A ti? Koga ti voliš? _______________________

Volim srpski, nemački, engleski i francuski jezik. (language)

A ti? Šta ti voliš? _________________________

Volim da jedem hamburger, hot-dog i sendvič.

A ti ? Šta voliš da jedeš? ___________________

Volim da pijem vodu, mleko i đus.

A ti? Šta voliš da piješ? ___________________

Monday, August 30, 2010

Looking 4 Best Translation

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Present Simple Verbs and Infinitives in Serbian, gap filling exercise



Fijaker stari ulicama ________ ( wanders)
i sobom ___________ (carries ) zaljubljeni par
cele noći sneg polako ____________ (falls)
a dvoje mladih _________ (warms ) srca žar (x2)

Prošla je noć ta kao oka treptaj
i zora rana ___________ ( leaves =ostaviti) svoj trag
ja ________ (leave = napustiti ) najmiliju dragu
sve divne noći i taj Sombor grad. (x2)

Samo da mi se lastom __________ (to become)
i još da mogu nebom ___________ (to fly)
leteo _______ (would) ceo dan i noć
samo da mogu svojoj dragoj ________ (to come) (x2)

Fijaker stari sad više _____ ___________ (doesn't wander)
i ____ _________ (is not heard) onog vranca bat
zaboravit' ____________ (have to) svoju dragu
sve divne noći i taj Sombor grad. (x2)

Friday, August 27, 2010

Public Signs in Serbian

Let's start from the most common ones:

улаз, ULAZ = entrance
излаз, IZLAZ = exit
улаз је слободан, ULAZ JE SLOBODAN = free admission
заузето, ZAUZETO = occupied
затворено, ZATVORENO = closed
отворено, OTVORENO = opened
дозвољено, DOZVOLJENO = allowed
забрањено,ZABRANJENO = forbidden
пушачи, PUŠAČI =  smokers
непушачи, NEPUŠAČI = non-smokers
мушки, MUŠKI (toalet) = gentlemen (toilet)
женски, ŽENSKI (toalet)= ladies
на продају, NA PRODAJU = for sale
соба за издавање, SOBA ZA IZDAVANJE = a room for rent
звонити, ZVONITI! = ring!
затварај врата, ZATVARAJ VRATA = close the door
не узнемиравај, NE UZNEMIRAVAJ = do not disturb
пази, PAZI! OPASNOST! = watch out! danger!
чувај се, ČUVAJ SE PSA = beware  of the dog!
стој, STOJ! = stand still!
тишина, TIŠINA = be silent
вуци, VUCI = pull
гурај, GURAJ = push
затвори врата, ZATVORI VRATA = close the door
не дирај, NE DIRAJ = do not touch! If you are never sure how to pronounce these words, you can hear the slow pronunciation in some of my videos on Youtube or Serbian Phrases Cyrillic version of the course.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Serbian pronouns

Kafu ______ (to me), draga, ispeci
baš kao da je draga dušo ____ _______ (for you).

Aj, _______ (I) ću doći oko pola noći
da sednem _______ ________ (next to you). x 2


Dušek _______ (to me), draga, razmesti
baš kao da je
draga dušo za ________ (you).

Aj, ______ (I) ću doći oko pola noći
da legnem kraj _______ (you). x 2

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Šta radiš? What are you doing?

Take a look at the previous blogpost and let's try to explain why (ZAŠTO) we are waiting for someone or something.

Čekamo mamu da idemo u prodavnicu.

We are waiting for my mum to go to the shop.

Now. Let's do it together using 'we' (MI):

1. Čekamo autobus da idemo u Beograd.

2. Čekamo tatu da idemo na pijacu. (market)

3. Čekamo priljatelje da idemo na ručak. (lunch/dinner)

4. Čekamo rođake (relatives) da idemo na izlet. (picnic)

5. Čekamo decu (kids) da idemo na sajam. ( fair)

6. Čekamo roditelje (parents) da idemo u galeriju porcelana. (porcelain gallery)

Audio by Ivan

***** Now, you try the same but imagine you are talking about your friends :o)

Example: (Oni) čekaju mamu da idu u prodavnicu.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Šta vidiš? (What can you see?)

Šta vidiš? (What can you see?)

NOGA = leg, RUKA = arm, KOSA = hair

Vidim...
nogU
noge
vidim... rukU
ruke
Vidim... kosU.

***************

OBRAZ = cheek, NOS = nose, OKO= eye

Vidim obraz. Vidim nos. Vidim oko.


To practise Plural forms click SkolaSrpskog

To listen to the pronunciation click our TalkGroup
To practise a little bit on your own, tell me what they can see, and check the answers in our Talk Group. Feel free to record your own answer :o)

Oni vide...
KUĆA (house), DRVO (tree), ZVUČNIK (loudspeaker), KAMERA (video cam), STOLICA (chair), STO (table), DETE (child)

Monday, August 23, 2010

Šta čekaš? Koga čekaš?

Šta čekaš? = What are you waiting for?

Čekam ...
... autobus

... voz

... avion

Koga čekaš? = Who are you waiting for?

TATA= dad, MAMA=mum, ĆERKA= daughter



Čekam tatu.


Čekam mamu.

Čekam ćerku.

PRIJATELJ=friend, BRAT = brother, KONOBAR = waiter

Čekam prijatelja.

Čekam brata.

Čekam konobara.

Now, it's your turn... Who is he waiting for? He is waiting for...

Sada je red na vas... Koga on čeka? On čeka...

baba (granny), deda (grandpa), drug (friend), sestra (sister), šef (boss), dečko (boyfriend), devojka (girlfriend)

For the key, check the comments tomorrow
For the Plural Version, check SkolaSrpskog
For pronunciation, check our Talk Group at VoxoPop

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Šta čuješ ? What can you hear?

Let's learn the following words in context:

piano = taj klavir,
sea = to more,
bell = to zvono,
clock = taj sat,


violin =ta violina
guitar = ta gitara
song = ta pesma


So, let's see what happens with the noun after the verb
HEAR = ČUTI


Šta čuješ? Čujem...
...klavir.


... more
... zvono

... sat

Šta ona čuje? (What can she hear?)
Ona čuje...

... gitaru

... violinu

... pesmu

Now, you try the same with 'ON'' (HE) "Šta on čuje? ..." and record it via VoxoPop

Saturday, August 21, 2010

What is it? Šta je ovo?


It looks like...

Meni izgleda kao neka lopta.
Meni liči na neku loptu.

Meni izgleda kao
kugla sladoleda.
Meni liči na
kuglu sladoleda.

Izgleda mi kao galerija.
Liči mi na galeriju.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Capital Letters in Serbian


Velika slova u srpskom jeziku

The intitial capital letter in Serbian is used for:

1. name, surname and nick name (Nikola Tesla, Josip Broz Tito)
2. nationalities as nouns, but not corresponding adjectives signifying a language or nationality
(Englez - an Englishman, engleski jezik =the English language, engleska zastava= English flag)
3. names of countries, continents, cities (Srbija, Evropa, Beograd)
4. companies, sports associations and edifices (Bambi-Banat, Savezna skupstina, Spartak)
5. wars, battles (Drugi svetski rat = World War II)
6. holidays (Bozic, Uskrs)
7. space objects (Mlecni put, Sunce, Mesec)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Speaking practice with Accusative, Questions and Conjugations

Watch this video and do the following exercises:



Speaking Exercise 1.
***Say the coulours as you see them (key in the comment)
Speaking Exercise 2.
*** Start with simple sentences such as:
''I like (green colour)/I don't like (blue colour)"
= VOLIM ZELENu /NE VOLIM PLAVu
(bear in mind that after this verb you need Accusative case:
plava boja --->plavu boju )
Speaking Exercise 3.
*** Say what you see (videti) "I can see (blue colour)" = VIDIM PLAVu BOJu
Speaking Exercise 4.
*** Ask a question "Can you see blue or green colour?"
a. form > DA LI VIDIŠ PLAVu ILI ZELENu BOJu?
b. form> VIDIŠ LI PLAVu ILI ZELENu BOJu?
--- exercises 3 and 4 include Present Simple Conjugations for the first and second person Singular, but you can make it for the plural and/or Past Simple as well (I'll give you one example in the following exercise)
Speaking Exercise 5.
*** Say what you've seen "I've seen/saw blue colour"
(Fem) VIDELA SAM PLAVu BOJu
(Masc) VIDEO SAM PLAVu BOJu
Speaking Exercise 6.
*** Ask a question in the past :
"Which colour have you seen?"
(Fem) KOJU SI BOJu VIDELA?
(Masc) KOJU SI BOJu VIDEO?
"Did you see blue colour?"
(Fem) DA LI SI VIDELA PLAVu BOJu?
(Masc) DA LI SI VIDEO PLAVu BOJu?

HAVE FUN = UŽIVAJTE

Friday, June 25, 2010

Festival Time soon

The Serbian National Tourist Office has produced a handy mini-dictionary on their webpage:

MINI-DICTIONARY

http://www.srbija.travel/about-serbia/typically-serbian/mini-dictionary/?lang=en

This may be useful for those of you intending to visit Serbia.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Little Library in Serbian




As you probably know, extensive reading and listening are the best way to learn a language easily and naturally. That's why I'd like to invite all the readers of this blog to become regular followers/listeners of this precious site:www.malabiblioteka.com. I am sure you'll enjoy building up your listening and reading skills by simply flicking through its colourful pages.

Uživajte!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Nouns with Prefixes in Serbian

Srpske imenice sa prefiksima

1. BEZ- (meaning of this prefix: 'without')
n.p. (e.g.) beskućnik, bezakonje, bezvlašće

2. ZA- (meaning of this prefix is 'behind')
n.p. zavetrina, zauške, zapećak

3. MEĐU- (meaning 'between', both for time and space)
n.p. međusprat, međuprostor, međuigra

4. NA- (meaning 'on')
n.p. načelnik (head of the dept/institution, literally '0n forehead person'), narečje (dialect)

5. NAD - ('above')
n.p. nadvojvoda, nadbiskup, nadstrešnica

6. NE- ('non')
n.p. neznanje (znanje=knowledge), neuspeh (uspeh=success)

7. NUZ- ('additional')
n.p. nusprostorija, nuspojava

8. PO- ('after, afterwards', 'adoptive')
n.p. pogovor, ponedeljak (after Sunday), pomajka, pobratim, poglavlje, poslastica

9. POD- ('under or sub')
n.p. podnaslov (subtitle), potkošulja (vest), podstanar (tenant), podsvest (subconsciousness)

10. PRA- ('ancestry')
n.p. prababa (great grandma), pradeda (great grandpa), pračovek ('prehistoric man')

11. PRED- ('before', 'front')
n.p. predstraža, predjelo, predvečerje

12. PRI- ('close, near')
n.p. primorje (coastal = close to the see (more)), prikolica, prikrajak, priručnik

13. PROTIV- ('against')
n.p. protivnapad, protivprimer, protivteža, protivusluga

14. RAZ- ('dividing')
n.p. razdoblje, raskršće (krst =cross, crossroads)

15. SA- ('together or with')
n.p. saputnik (putnik=passenger, companion), saborac, sazvučje

16. SU- (similar to 'SA-')
n.p. suosnivač=saosnivač (cofounder), sugrađanin, suvlasnik, suvozač (or nowadays borrowed 'KO', as in kopilot (copilot), koatuor (coauthor)...)

17. U- ('in')
n.p. ukućanin (living 'in house'), ukosnica

18. UZ- (similar to 'along or with')
n.p. uzrečica, uzglavlje

19. O- ('about, around', or sometimes used without any specific meaning)
n.p. ogrlica, okučnica, opušak, ogranak

Monday, June 07, 2010

"Nepostojano a" in Serbian Adjectives

''Nepostojano a'' (movable, or fleeting 'a' ) with adjectives :

Masculine - Feminine - Neuter

... čovek (man) - ... žena (woman) - ... dete (child)

dobar čovek - dobra žena - dobro dete (good)

hitar - hitra - hitro (fast)

čudan - čudna - čudno (funny, strange)

važan - važna - važno (important)

ogroman - ogromna - ogromno (huge, enormous)

tanak - tanka - tanko (thin)

šupalj - šuplja - šuplje (hollow)


šuplje drvo

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Declension in Serbian - Plural, practice

Ovo je prodavnica igracaka. Pogledajte, imamo veliki izbor! Mozete kupiti sta god pozelite za svoje dete:

brod-1, auto -2, cekic -3, lutka-4, kompjuter-5, kockica-6, knjiga-7, maketa aviona -8, karta-9, bojica-10, traktor -11

(now write the appropriate plural forms of the following nouns - boat, car, hammer, doll, computer, builiding block, book, model plane, card, coloured pencil, tractor ...)

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Noun Declensions in Serbian - practice

Imam _______1_______ (prijatelj) koji živi u ______2_______ (Italija). On je _____3_______ (doktor) po zanimanju. Prošle _______4_____ (godina) sam prolazio kroz _____5_____ (Italija) i odlučio sam da ga posetim. Hteo sam da ga iznenadim, pa sam ga pozvao _____6_____ (telefon). Kada sam čuo njegov _____7_____(glas), rekao sam: " ______8______ (doktor) i ______9_____ (prijatelj), izgubio sam se u ovoj prelepoj _____10_____(zemlja), mislim da se zove ______11____ (Italija)." On se samo nasmejao i odgovorio:" Ako si ti moj _____12______ (prijatelj) iz ____13______ (Srbije), onda svrati na ___14______ (kafa). Živim u visokoj _____15______ (zgrada) na ___16______ (ugao), u ____17_______ (stan) na poslednjem _____18______ (sprat). Ako se opet izgubiš, stvarno ti treba _______19________ (doktor)."

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

"What's the matter with you?" in Serbian



"Koji ti je andrak?" (what's the matter with you? what is wrong with you?) ... a blast from the past ! I was so happy when I came across this phrase which I haven't heard for ages :o) Where do words hide when they grow old?

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Noun Declension in Serbian: 1st Declension, part 1

According to the case suffixes, nouns in Serbian can be grouped into three or four declensions (the order and number hasn't been established yet). I'll list the three most commonly presented ones, starting from the most complex one, which is often subdivided, depending on the noun gender and its stem ending:

1. Declension:

Masculine nouns ending in a consonant
Neuter nouns ending in -o or -e

*Note that Masc. nouns in Sg. Acc. is the same as the Genetive if the noun denotes an 'animate concept', like human being or an animal, while the 'inanimate' ones are objects, but also plants and groups of people or animals (like 'a people'= 'narod' or pack (of wolves)= 'čopor')

** All Neuter nouns have the same form for Nominative, Accusative and Vocative, which is really great :o)

*** With Masc. nouns ending in palatal 'j, lj, nj, č, dž, đ, ć, š, ž'
a/ in Sg. Instrumental case it will end in 'em', instead of 'om'
b/ in Sg. Vocative case it will end in 'u' instead of 'e'

ANIMATE ANIMATE non-ANIMATE non-ANIMATE
Sing.




non-palatal ending palatal non-palatal palatal ending
Nom DOKTOR PRIJATELJ BROD ČEKIĆ
Gen DOKTOR-A PRIJATELJ-A BROD-A ČEKIĆ-A
Dative DOKTOR-U PRIJATELJ-U BROD-U ČEKIĆ-U
Acc DOKTOR-E PRIJATELJ-A BROD ČEKIĆ
Voc DOKTOR-E PRIJATELJ-U BROD-E ČEKIĆ-U
Inst DOKTOR-OM PRIJATELJ-EM BROD-OM ČEKIĆ-EM
Loc DOKTOR-U PRIJATELJ-U BROD-U ČEKIĆ-U

****The pattern for Plural being the same for all the forms:
Nom DOKTOR-I
Gen DOKTOR-A
Dative DOKTOR-IMA
Acc DOKTOR-E
Voc DOKTOR-I
Inst DOKTOR-IMA
Loc DOKTOR-IMA

*****Elongated Plural can be seen in the majority of one syllable and a good part of two syllable nouns. In the plural they get 'OV' or with palatal ones 'EV':



Elongated' = longer form
Nom STAN-ov-I
Gen STAN-ov-A
Dative STAN-ov-IMA
Acc STAN-ov-E
Voc STAN-ov-I
Inst STAN-ov-IMA
Loc STAN-ov-IMA

******* Sometimes, if the noun ends in -c, -s, -z or -t, there is an ending in -ev (e.g. vicevi (jokes), nosevi (noses) , putevi (roads) )

Well, as you can see, this is just the beginning of the story about Noun Declensions. If you are learning Serbian, I'd like to ask you if you find it easier to learn the language in this 'grammar oriented' fashion, or simply 'by ear'?

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Latin Alphabet to/from Cyrillic Serbian Script


Here comes a great link to script conversion. I needed some urgent Latin to Cyrillic script conversion yesterday night, and after trying out a few sites, this one proved to be the best.

So, let's try it out by rewriting the following Serbian proverb from the Cyrillic script into Latin Alphabet:

Ко не плати руком, он ће душом.

Now let's translate the phrase to English using online dictionaries (you might get different funny sentences):

1. Who do not pays handful , him will sweetheart.
2. Who doesn't pay the hand, it is soul.

Well, does it make sense? Does anyone have an idea what the correct translation is?

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Vowels in Serbian

There are five vowels in the Serbian language: a, e, i, o, u.

*A: ako (if), tavan (attic), ali (but), auto (car)


*E: evo (here), ekser (nail), med (honey), lep (beautiful)


*I: imati (to have), ili (or), iako (although), ići (to go)


*O: ovo (this), ono (that), oko (eye), brod (ship)


*U: u (in), uvo (ear), zub (tooth), uspeh (success)


However, in some words, the so called 'syllable forming r' (slogotvorno r) plays the vowel role. That's why some words in Serbian are difficult to pronounce. Let's practise together on our Pronunciation Site:

* R : prst (finger), krst (cross), srce (heart), Srpski (Serbian), pržiti (to fry)

Sunday, April 04, 2010

Uskršnje Jutro

Here is a link to a lovely video clip of a choir singing an Easter song:

Uskršnje Jutro (Easter Morning)

by
Čarolija


Uskršnje jutro kada se javi
Svakom na licu osmeh zablista.
Danas je praznik, danas se slavi
Dan vaskrsenja Isusa Hrista.

Šarena jaja na stolu stoje
U ispletenoj korpi od pruća.
Svako od nas će dobiti svoje
Ostaće jedno naš čuvar kuća.

Chorus (x2)
Pozdravimo Spasitelja
Njegova je bila želja
Da nas vodi ljubav, vera, nada.
Čovečanstvo neka celo
Isusovo sledi delo
Hristos Vaskrs!
Mir Božiji neka vlada!

Šarena jaja na stolu stoje
U ispletenoj korpi od pruća.
Svako od nas će dobiti svoje
Ostaće jedno naš čuvar kuća.

Pozdravimo Spasitelja
Njegova je bila želja
Da nas vodi ljubav, vera, nada.
Čovečanstvo neka celo
Isusovo sledi delo
Hristos Vaskrs!
Mir Božiji neka vlada!

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