Imagine where someone might naturally say “Učitelj je podelio listove svim polaznicima.”. Place “Posle ručka smo malo porazgovarali.” in a second scene and practise moving between those contexts without English.
One of the common and very productive ways of expanding a verb meaning is the process of "prefixation" in Serbian. While in English this additional meaning is conveyed through use of different tenses or prepositions in phrasal verbs, at a sentence level, in Serbian it is achieved through only one word, at the lexicology level.Today we are talking about PO- prefix and its meanings.
Meaning of Po- Prefix in Serbian
There are five main meanings of PO- prefix when added to a verb. These are as follows:- making a perfective verb out of an imperfective one: jesti - pojesti
- adding up "distributive meaning", often combined with the word "sve": krasti - pokrasti (there will be a special post dedicated to this)
- beginning of the action: leteti - poleteti
- spatial meaning (additional meaning "over") : bacati - pobacati
- action which lasts for a long time: živeti - poživeti
Exercise with Po- Prefix in Serbian
Here are some of my ideas:
- pokisnuti
- poleteti
- pozlatiti
- pokrenuti
- polupati
- posvađati
- porazbijati
- pokrasti
Examples with Po- Prefix in Serbian Literature
- What is the meaning of the noun ZLATO and verb POzlatiTI?
- What meaning(s) does this prefix add?
- What is the gist of the story?
Five Prefixed Verbs in Exact Context
Keep the meanings contributed by po- in advanced Serbian verbs at the centre of your attention. “Učitelj je podelio listove svim polaznicima.” supplies the first clue, while “Posle ručka smo malo porazgovarali.” shows how the same topic behaves in a different setting.
Without looking, dictate “Deca su posakrivala igračke po sobi.” to yourself in Latin script and “Predsedavajući je pobrojao glavne primedbe.” in Cyrillic. Check the forms, then use both ideas in a compact spoken summary.
PO- Changes More Than the Beginning of a Verb
Turn “Vetar je polomio nekoliko suvih grana.” into a question, then answer it with information from your own life. Write the final exchange in both Serbian scripts.
Sort Distribution, Brief Action and Completion
| Latin script | Cyrillic script | English |
|---|---|---|
| Učitelj je podelio listove svim polaznicima. | Учитељ је поделио листове свим полазницима. | The teacher distributed the sheets to all participants. |
| Posle ručka smo malo porazgovarali. | После ручка смо мало поразговарали. | After lunch we talked for a little while. |
| Vetar je polomio nekoliko suvih grana. | Ветар је поломио неколико сувих грана. | The wind broke several dry branches. |
| Deca su posakrivala igračke po sobi. | Деца су посакривала играчке по соби. | The children hid toys all around the room. |
| Predsedavajući je pobrojao glavne primedbe. | Председавајући је побројао главне примедбе. | The chairperson enumerated the main objections. |
Explain What PO- Adds to Each Sentence
Produce five Latin-script answers and transliterate them yourself. Use “Posle ručka smo malo porazgovarali.” to verify the target pattern, then justify one choice in your own words.
- The teacher distributed the sheets to all participants.
- After lunch we talked for a little while.
- The wind broke several dry branches.
- The children hid toys all around the room.
- The chairperson enumerated the main objections.
Solutions prepared for PO- Prefix with Verbs - Serbian 701
- Učitelj je podelio listove svim polaznicima.
Учитељ је поделио листове свим полазницима. - Posle ručka smo malo porazgovarali.
После ручка смо мало поразговарали. - Vetar je polomio nekoliko suvih grana.
Ветар је поломио неколико сувих грана. - Deca su posakrivala igračke po sobi.
Деца су посакривала играчке по соби. - Predsedavajući je pobrojao glavne primedbe.
Председавајући је побројао главне примедбе.