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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

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