Read “Trebalo bi da razgovaraš sa nastavnikom.” and “Na tvom mestu, sačekala bih još jedan dan.” as parts of a real exchange. Decide who is speaking, what happened earlier and which response would logically follow.


Here comes a very simple exercise, based on two short texts. Hope you'll be able to do it perfectly well:







Asking for Advice in Serbian




Giving Advice in Serbian


Treba, Valjalo Bi or Da Sam na Tvom Mestu

Two starting points are “Trebalo bi da razgovaraš sa nastavnikom.” and “Na tvom mestu, sačekala bih još jedan dan.”. Together they reveal useful Serbian structures for direct, gentle and conditional advice; underline only the element that makes each sentence fit its situation.

Latin scriptCyrillic scriptEnglish
Trebalo bi da razgovaraš sa nastavnikom.Требало би да разговараш са наставником.You should talk to the teacher.
Na tvom mestu, sačekala bih još jedan dan.На твом месту, сачекала бих још један дан.In your place, I would wait one more day.
Pokušaj da napraviš kraću pauzu.Покушај да направиш краћу паузу.Try to take a shorter break.
Možda bi mogao da zapišeš svoje mogućnosti.Можда би могао да запишеш своје могућности.Perhaps you could write down your options.
Nemoj odmah da donosiš konačnu odluku.Немој одмах да доносиш коначну одлуку.Do not make a final decision immediately.

Advice That Fits the Situation

Let “Pokušaj da napraviš kraću pauzu.” begin a two-line dialogue. Supply a natural response, switch scripts for the reply, and read both roles without pausing.

Five Ways to Help without Ordering

Without looking, dictate “Možda bi mogao da zapišeš svoje mogućnosti.” to yourself in Latin script and “Nemoj odmah da donosiš konačnu odluku.” in Cyrillic. Check the forms, then use both ideas in a compact spoken summary.

Give One Kind Piece of Advice

Translate the meanings without copying. When every line is complete in both scripts, compare your third answer with “Pokušaj da napraviš kraću pauzu.” and correct the remaining forms.

  1. You should talk to the teacher.
  2. In your place, I would wait one more day.
  3. Try to take a shorter break.
  4. Perhaps you could write down your options.
  5. Do not make a final decision immediately.

Solutions prepared for Giving advice in Serbian

  1. Trebalo bi da razgovaraš sa nastavnikom.
    Требало би да разговараш са наставником.
  2. Na tvom mestu, sačekala bih još jedan dan.
    На твом месту, сачекала бих још један дан.
  3. Pokušaj da napraviš kraću pauzu.
    Покушај да направиш краћу паузу.
  4. Možda bi mogao da zapišeš svoje mogućnosti.
    Можда би могао да запишеш своје могућности.
  5. Nemoj odmah da donosiš konačnu odluku.
    Немој одмах да доносиш коначну одлуку.