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Showing posts with label Serbian phrases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Serbian phrases. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Serbian Phrases: Don't Argue with Me

Would it be funny for you to hear a phrase "Don't argue with mine!", whatever that might mean?

Here comes a short clip with a similar phrase, which is obviously wrong and make people laugh (together with a specific pronunciation of  Mr. Šojić's "ć" in "ćao" :)



- Nemaš! Šta moliš? Imaš (li) kod sebe 350 Evra?
- Ma gospodine Šojiću...
- Ma, ćao! Nemaš! Ćao! Ne raspravljaj se sa mene! Ne raspravljaj se!

Don't argue with me!

The correct Serbian phrase: "Don't argue with me" would be as follows:

- Ne raspravljaj se sa mnom! (not "sa mene"=)

The verb "to argue" is always used with "se" form: raspravljati se. A few synonyms would be:
svađati se and prepirati se. (Ne svađaj se sa mnom / Ne prepiri se sa mnom). 

 Instrumental of Serbian Pronouns

The preposition "with" requires the Instrumental  form of the pronoun so you can use the mentioned verbs with the following pronouns as well:
  • with me = sa mnom
  • with you = sa tobom
  • with him/it = sa njim
  • with her = sa njom
  • with us = sa nama
  • with you = sa vama / Vama
  • with them = sa njima
If you would like to get all my video lessons with explanations in English, translations and additional exercises like the ones above, in the meaningful order, consider joining me on Patreon. HVALA!

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Practising Phrases in Serbian - I need

If you were happy with my short video lesson about the very simple form of the phrase "I need somethingyesterday, I am sure you are now ready for a few exercises. Let me start with the easier ones and then I'll add some for more advanced students:

  • For Beginners: Practising only "Treba mi +  different international words"

  • For Intermediate students: Practising "Treba + mi/  ti / Vam / mu / joj / nam / im + international words"
d. Test



  • For Advanced students: Practising the past tense form "I needed + something", which is more complicated because here the past tense form of the word has to agree with the direct object (something): "TrebalE su mi jabukE // TrebalI su joj prijateljI // TrebalA nam je vodA" (+ word order with 3rd person Sg of the direct object).


Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Serbian Fun Expressions and Idioms

In one of my more advanced Serbian lessons there came up a few expressions which I wanted to share with you today. I will copy-paste a part of the text about Jeremija, with whom you can learn Serbian from the very start.  I'll list the tasks below this short excerpt:

Jeremija je bio veoma srećan tog jutra, jer je bio potpuno siguran da će dobiti povišicu na poslu. Njegov šef je u nekoliko navrata natuknuo Jeremiji da će od sledećeg meseca omastiti brk, kao i da je to potpuno zaslužio. Jeremija se pravio lud i uspešno se uzdržavao da ne vuče šefa za rukav i postavlja dodatna pitanja. Bio je svestan da sve što bude dobio jeste rezultat njegovog sopstvenog rada i da nije jednostavno palo s neba. Posebno mu je bilo milo što ovaj put nije morao da se kiti tuđim perjem. Njegova zasluga je bila očigledna. Kada je tog jutra stigao na posao i otvorio svoju kancelariju, imao je šta da vidi. Na stolu je stajao potpuno nov kompjuter i pored njega još noviji mobilni, a šef je sav sijao od sreće! "Šta sam ti rekao? Borio sam za tebe kao vučica... i izborio sam se! Najnoviji model? Hm? Šta kažeš?" Jeremija nije morao da se pretvara - na njegovom licu se videlo da su mu sve lađe potonule... Bio je 100% siguran da će dobiti veću platu, a sada mu je postalo jasno da je ostao kratkih rukava! Šta će mu sada Spomenka reći?
Right, now there are three tasks for you:
  1. The easiest task: Can you find the synonyms for these words in the text:
  • drago
  • aludirao
  • apsolutno
  • pravi
  • narednog
  • jako
  • blesav
  • totalno
  • puta
  • shvatio
  • sasvim
  • samo
     2. The more difficult task: which phrases and idioms mean:
  • down in the dumps/ in the doldrums
  • fight like a wolf
  • to be absolutely certain about something
  • keep asking for something
  • get a raise
  • take an advantage of something
  • to deck oneself in  borrowed finery
  • to get the worst of a bargain/ to come away empty-handed
     3. The most difficult task: what will Spomenka say to him when he arrives back home? Try to come      up with a suitable idiom or expression. Let me help you with a few ideas, and you try to guess                which ones are the most appropriate:
  • ko drugome jamu kopa sam u nju upada
  • svako nosi svoj krst
  • nema ti ravna
  • prvo skoči pa reci hop
  • nije zlato sve što sija
  • ko rano rani dve sreće grabi
  • doterao je cara do duvara
  • poklonu se u zube ne gleda



Monday, February 03, 2014

Revising Serbian Phrases

It's true that it might be difficult to understand some of the Serbian phrases if pronounced quite fast and somewhat incomprehensibly, but the real challenge is surely how to respond appropriately!

That's why I recorded a new video lesson for you, which can be used at all levels (click stop when you are out of your depth). You can use it in different ways:
  • To check how well you can understand fast speech, simply listen to the phrases and try to jot them down, without watching the video below!
  • If it is too easy, try to hear the phrase and then respond to it, as fast as you can, without clicking the pause button.
  • If you are not sure if you understood the phrases, play the video while watching it. 
  • Now, if you are sure what all the phrases mean, try to respond to them, even try to write down/practice with your language partner, how you'd continue the conversation. 
  • Have fun!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Let's Practice Serbian Cyrillic Script - Part 2

Advanced Serbian - Srpski kao drugi jezik

Gde je ključ? Где је кључ? - Učimo srpski sa Marinom
Gde je ključ? ...
Where is the Key?-...
By Marina Petrović
Photo book