Give “Danas kuvam ručak, a juče sam kuvala večeru.” a real speaker and listener. Then decide where “Sada Miloš trči, a jutros je plivao.” happens and what comes immediately afterwards.

Present Tense to Past Tense

Here comes a fun exercise to help you practice the Simple past tense in Serbian. Let's turn this present tense story into the past tense:

Serbian Past Tense Exercise
Pay attention, the underlined words are in the Nominative/infinitive



Carry a Serbian Action from Today into Yesterday

To move an event into the past, replace the present form with the auxiliary and an agreeing participle. Keep the person, gender and number visible while changing the time expression.

Five Events across Two Time Frames

Finish with “Sada pada sneg, a noćas je padala kiša.” and “Danas putujemo vozom, a prošle nedelje smo išli kolima.”. One should become a short dialogue; the other should be recorded twice, with clearer rhythm and more confident recall on the second attempt.

Present Endings Give Way to Past Agreement

Latin scriptCyrillic scriptEnglish
Danas kuvam ručak, a juče sam kuvala večeru.Данас кувам ручак, а јуче сам кувала вечеру.Today I am cooking lunch, and yesterday I cooked dinner.
Sada Miloš trči, a jutros je plivao.Сада Милош трчи, а јутрос је пливао.Miloš is running now, and this morning he swam.
Učenice danas pišu, a juče su čitale.Ученице данас пишу, а јуче су читале.The female students are writing today, and yesterday they read.
Sada pada sneg, a noćas je padala kiša.Сада пада снег, а ноћас је падала киша.It is snowing now, and last night it rained.
Danas putujemo vozom, a prošle nedelje smo išli kolima.Данас путујемо возом, а прошле недеље смо ишли колима.Today we are travelling by train, and last week we went by car.

Reconstruct “Danas kuvam ručak, a juče sam kuvala večeru.” after hearing its English meaning. Read “Sada Miloš trči, a jutros je plivao.” from Cyrillic and respond spontaneously to “Učenice danas pišu, a juče su čitale.”.

Transform the Time without Losing the Subject

Translate all five meanings without copying. Use “Sada Miloš trči, a jutros je plivao.” only as a final reference point, and supply both Serbian scripts before checking the complete answers.

  1. Today I am cooking lunch, and yesterday I cooked dinner.
  2. Miloš is running now, and this morning he swam.
  3. The female students are writing today, and yesterday they read.
  4. It is snowing now, and last night it rained.
  5. Today we are travelling by train, and last week we went by car.

Answers and both Serbian scripts

  1. Danas kuvam ručak, a juče sam kuvala večeru.
    Данас кувам ручак, а јуче сам кувала вечеру.
  2. Sada Miloš trči, a jutros je plivao.
    Сада Милош трчи, а јутрос је пливао.
  3. Učenice danas pišu, a juče su čitale.
    Ученице данас пишу, а јуче су читале.
  4. Sada pada sneg, a noćas je padala kiša.
    Сада пада снег, а ноћас је падала киша.
  5. Danas putujemo vozom, a prošle nedelje smo išli kolima.
    Данас путујемо возом, а прошле недеље смо ишли колима.