p.s. you can also check out the gap-fill quiz with the song.
A hidden object changes the ending
Picture a flat that only you can see. When you ask where an object is, u and na describe a fixed location and are followed here by the locative: u kuhinji, u hodniku, na terasi. This is different from movement towards a place, where the accusative normally appears.
The verb must also agree with the object you are searching for. Use je with one item and su with several: Da li je lampa u spavaćoj sobi? but Da li su jastuci na krevetu? A correct case ending cannot rescue the sentence if the singular–plural signal is wrong.
Rooms answer where, not where to
| Latinica | Ћирилица | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ogledalo je u uskom hodniku. | Огледало је у уском ходнику. | The mirror is in the narrow hallway. |
| Tri šolje su na kuhinjskoj polici. | Три шоље су на кухињској полици. | Three cups are on the kitchen shelf. |
| Jastuk nije u dečjoj sobi. | Јастук није у дечјој соби. | The cushion is not in the children’s room. |
| Biljke stoje na sunčanoj terasi. | Биљке стоје на сунчаној тераси. | The plants are on the sunny terrace. |
| Daljinski upravljač je u velikoj fotelji. | Даљински управљач је у великој фотељи. | The remote control is in the large armchair. |
Let your partner reconstruct the flat
Sketch four rooms and secretly place six household objects in them. Your partner may ask only yes–no questions with da li je or da li su; after every no, the next question must use a different room.
- Complete: Tepih je u ______ sobi. (dnevna)
- Choose: Knjige je / su na polici.
- Write na sunčanoj terasi in Cyrillic.
- Which case describes a fixed position after u?
- Turn into plural: Lampa je u sobi.
The last door opens onto the balcony
- dnevnoj
- su
- на сунчаној тераси
- the locative
- Lampe su u sobi.
Now describe the imagined home from memory. If your listener can draw it accurately, your location phrases are doing real work.
Marina Petrović