Use short authentic videos to notice and correct common Serbian spelling and grammar mistakes before they become habits.

Common Mistakes in Serbian

I must tell you that I am more than happy that there has been more and more educational videos about the Serbian language. They cover different topics, such as:
Today I wanted to present the series of short videos about the most common mistakes in Serbian called Negujmo srpski jezik! The first video in the series is about the words "all" and "he acted".

Common Mistakes in Serbian - sve or svo?




After listening to this video can you tell which of  the mentioned words is correct (tačna) and which one is incorrect (netačna):
  1. sve
  2. svo
  3. glumeo
  4. glumio
You can use the following form to say what you think: 

Mislim da je reč "svo" netačna / tačna.

Let' check the correct answers:

  1. Reč "sve" je tačna. 
  2. Reč "svo" je netačna.
  3. Reč "glumeo" je netačna.
  4. Reč "glumio" je tačna. 

Expressions that do not translate word for word

A useful correction routine has three stages: first decide which form looks or sounds right, then explain the rule, and finally use the correct form in a new sentence. Serbian learners benefit from separating pronunciation from spelling because a form heard in rapid speech may not reveal its written boundaries. Keep a personal list of errors that recur in your own writing.

Sve vreme and svejedno are the kind of phrases that cause trouble because the English equivalent is structured differently. Svejedno mi je has no subject at all in the English sense — it means roughly it's all the same to me, and the person is in the dative. Learn the whole phrase, not its parts.

Frequently misused expressions, both scripts

Latin scriptCyrillic scriptEnglish
Sve vreme učim srpski.Све време учим српски.I am studying Serbian all the time.
On se sve vreme smeje.Он се све време смеје.He keeps laughing all the time.
Svejedno mi je.Свеједно ми је.It is all the same to me.
On se pravio da ništa ne zna.Он се правио да ништа не зна.He pretended not to know anything.
Nisam video nijednu grešku.Нисам видео ниједну грешку.I did not see a single mistake.

These phrases turn up constantly in speech and almost never in beginner textbooks, which is exactly why they get learned wrong. Read them in Cyrillic too — you will meet свеједно in a text message from a Serbian friend long before you meet it in a course book, and it should not stop you.

Using them in your own sentences

Build one sentence with each expression about something in your own life, then say it aloud. For svejedno mi je, think of a real choice you genuinely do not care about. Expressions like these stick when they are attached to a real situation and stay slippery when they are attached to a grammar rule.

Expression exercise

Translate these sentences into Serbian in Latin and then Cyrillic, keeping each expression whole rather than translating it word by word.

  1. I am studying Serbian all the time.
  2. He keeps laughing all the time.
  3. It is all the same to me.
  4. He pretended not to know anything.
  5. I did not see a single mistake.

Answers

  1. Sve vreme učim srpski.
    Све време учим српски.
  2. On se sve vreme smeje.
    Он се све време смеје.
  3. Svejedno mi je.
    Свеједно ми је.
  4. On se pravio da ništa ne zna.
    Он се правио да ништа не зна.
  5. Nisam video nijednu grešku.
    Нисам видео ниједну грешку.