If you enjoyed reading the previous post about different meanings of the verb " nositi " in Serbian, I am sure you'll find this list of common phrases and idioms with the same verb quite interesting :

• Vreme nosi svoje (breme) / sve u svoje vreme (а)= everything is good in its season

Svako vreme nosi svoje breme koje ga karakteriše i identifikuje. To breme ga u isto vreme razlikuje i čini sličnim prethodnim epohama. Tako i dvadeset prvi vek, poput svojih prethodnika, donosi pregršt pitanja, problema i nedoumica, stavlja ih pred savremenog čoveka kao izazove, kao svojevrsne zadatke koje ovaj treba da reši.

Vreme nosi svoje. Sedamdesetih godina ljudi su se najviše družili sa gitarom i ljudsko uho je bilo neverovatno naklonjeno zvuku tog angažovanog pesničkog izražavanja uz gitaru koja nije tražila nikakva elektronska pomagala.

• Nositi glavu u torbi (б)= to live in constant danger, to tempt fate, to stick one's neck out. For example: 

Uprkos visokoj sigurnosti bolida Formule 1 i staza, piloti najbržeg cirkusa na svetu ne smatraju se bez razloga najhrabrijim sportistima današnjice koji, iz trke u trku, nose glavu u torbi.

ili

Oni nose glavu u torbi da bi mi bili sigurni. 

• Zaklati gusku/koku koja nosi zlatna jaja (в) = to destroy a source of income, to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. For example:

Šta god da se priča, malo je verovatno da će kineski vodji ubiti "koku koja nosi zlatna jaja", odnosno odustati od 9,5 procenata godišnjeg ekonomskog rasta od 1979.

ili

...ova vlada ce nam dati svakome gusku koja nosi zlatna jaja samo da dobiju izbore,a ako dobiju ostaje nam samo perje od guske jer i guska i jaja odose...

• Nositi zmiju u nedrima & Gajiti guju u nedrima (г) = to befriend a treacherous person, to nurse a viper in one's bosom. For example:

p.s. ovo na dobro ne može da ispadne ima iz istorije poznata epioda koja je sažeta u sintagmi "gajiti zmiju u nedrima Rima"! Taj datum ama baš ništa neće značiti, ja malo pratim medije, i trovanje naroda ponovo ušlo u 4 brzinu.

or

Above the title: "Zmija" u nedrima vlasti 

As you have noticed I added the examples ranging from current affairs articles, folk songs to ordinary people's comments, just to show that these idioms are frequently used. Since there is a list of eight more phrases with the verb "nositi", I'll divide this post into three parts in order to give you as many examples as possible.

Ако учите српски већ дуже време и већ сте на напредном нивоу, сигурно ће вам се свидети вежба да за сваки пример дате различито значење речи "носити" из претходног поста. На пример значење речи "носити", у примеру  а,  је исто као и у примеру б, док је различито од значења у примерима в и г :)

Part 2:

• Ne zna se šta nosi dan, a šta no
• Koja kokoš mnogo kokodače, malo jaja nosi
• Nositi svoj krst
• Nositi se mišlju

• Idi gde te (oči vode i) noge nose
• Pas laje, vetar nosi
• Plati pa nosi
• Nositi breme

The verb "nositi" in Serbian has many different translations into English :

• nositi odeću = to wear clothes
• nositi  torbu   = to carry a bag
• nositi dete   = to bear a child
• nositi se sa problemima = to cope with problems

If you liked the first part about how to describe people's age in Serbian, I'm sure you'll enjoy practising following features with the people & places video below:

• age (godište)
• clothes (odeća)

1. ... je prosečne visine = ... is average height.
2. ... je visok = ... is tall.
3. ... je nizak = ... is short.
4. ... je debeo / punačak =... is fat / overweight
5. ... je mršav = ... is thin
6. ... je vitak  = ... is slim

 

• hair (kosa):

1. duga kosa: ... ima dugu kosu = ...has long hair
2. kratka kosa: ... ima kratku kosu = ... has short hair
3. kosa srednje dužine ... ima kosu srednje dužine = ... has medium-length hair
4. crna kosa ... ima crnu kosu = ...has dark hair
5. plava kosa ... ima plavu kosu = ... has fair hair
6. crvena kosa ... ima crvenu kosu = ... has red/ginger hair
7. (svetlo / tamno) smeđa kosa ... ima (svetlo /tamno ) smeđu kosu = ... has (light / dark) brown hair
8. seda kosa ... ima sedu kosu = ... has gray hair
9. kovrdžava kosa ... ima kovrdžavu kosu = ... has curly hair
10. talasasta kosa ... ima talasastu kosu = ... has wavy hair
11. ravna kosa ... ima ravnu kosu = ... has straight hair
12. ... je ćelav = ... is bald
13. ... je proćelav  ... has a receding hairline.
14. ...ima šiške (pluralia tantum) = ... has a fringe (in Serbian this word is always in plural, like "vrata"=door)
15. ...nosi pletenice = ... is wearing her hair in plaits
16. ...nosi kikice = ... is wearing her hair in pig-tails
17. ...nosi rep = ... is wearing her hair in a pony-tail
18. ...nosi puštenu kosu = ...is wearing her hair loose
19. ...nosi razdeljak (na stranu / u sredini) = ... has a (side / centre) parting

Many thanks to all the faithful followers of this blog for celebrating European Day of Languages every day :) I'm not a big fun of one-day praznik-a, but let me share with you some great resources for learning Serbian which cover this topic:

• Proslavite Evropski dan jezika - Serbian version flyer
• Celebrate the European Day of Languages - English version (check for flyers in other languages)
• An RTV Article 
• Today's video about this topic:

• An excellent 2012 video on this topic:

Can you watch it several times, if necessary, and jot down at least three reasons why learning different languages is important, according to the interviewees ?

If you are following the Word Order in Serbian series of blog posts, you surely remember that the first one was about simple verbs (not -se verbs) in the Present Simple tense. This time, I'll cover the same set of sentences in the same tense, but with their negative forms:

Another great song which all the devojčice i dečaci sing is "Ivin voz" by Dragan Laković . It's also perfect to introduce a complex lexical system of the Serbian verb (which mirrors English phrasal verbs as well as perfectve /imperfective aspects ) :



The Cyrillic script version:
Ћиху, Ћиху, ћиху-ху...

Из куће је излетео на улицу Ива
сав задихан захуктао к'о локомотива.

Видели га другови, па за њим и они
потрчали, захуктали к'о прави вагони.

Ћиху, Ћиху, ћиху-ху...

Сад улицом тако јури та чудна колона
то воз Ивин путује са седам вагона.

The Latin script version:
Ćihu, Ćihu, ćihu-hu...

Iz kuće je izleteo na ulicu Iva
sav zadihan zahuktao k'o lokomotiva.

Videli ga drugovi, pa za njim i oni
potrčali, zahuktali k'o pravi vagoni.

Ćihu, Ćihu, ćihu-hu...

Sad ulicom tako juri ta čudna kolona
to voz Ivin putuje sa sedam vagona.


Interesting verb lexicology:

• leteti = to fly, IZleteti = to fly out of 
• huktati = to make a sound like a to train (figuratively: to complain) , ZAhuktati se  = to gather speed (for a train, or when doing something)
• trčati = to run, POtrčati = to start running

In part one of this short series of blog posts on how to describe a person in Serbian, I'll cover just how to describe someone's age, and give you lots of sample sentences, so you can try to describe people in the photo below, focusing on their age ( and a little bit on clothes ):

Godište = Age

• beba  = baby
• dete =  child
• dete koje je tek prohodalo = toddler
• dečko = boy
• devojčica = girl
• tinejdžer = teenager 
• mladić = young man (short "a")
• devojka = young woman 
• omladina = youth
• čovek u zrelim godinama = middle-aged man
• žena u zrelim godinama = middle-aged woman 
• stariji čovek / žena = elderly man/ woman
• ... ima dvadeset pet godina =... is 25 
• ...ima tridesetak godina = ... is thirty something
• ...ima oko četrdeset godina = ... is about forty
• ...ima pedeset i kusur = ... is fifty odd.
• ... je u (svojim) ranim / kasnim dvadesetim = ... is in (her /his) early / late twenties

In order to persevere with learning the Serbian language you have to be proactive in finding fun and quality material on the internet. In the morning you can work on more demanding materials, such as :

• Short news
• Weather Forecast in Serbian
• For women (choose the topic you like and try to figure out what it is about :)
• For men Short Sports News
• Films
• Serbian lessons and exercises
• Recepti = recipes

and in the evenings always flick through some easy, fun and relaxing stuff :

• Vukajlija  = fun vocabulary definitions(urban dictionary) with photos
• Vicevi po temama = jokes divided in topics
• FaceBook Grupa: Nostalgija 
• Demotivacija - slike sa kratkim tekstom = photos with short text
• Njuz - vesti u ogledalu = (more advanced students - fun texts ) 
• Kupindo - check out the second-hand things you can buy and how much they cost

Slažu se kao pas i mačka :)

The verb "slagati se" imperf.(with first "a" being long) /"složiti se" perf.  = to agree * can have a range of different meanings in Serbian and we're going to discuss them today, because I'll need it for my next lesson about Serbian history.

• If two colours match, we say "slažu se". For example: Plava se slaže sa žutom, ali se ne slaže sa crvenom (slagati se = to match)
• If a brother and sister get on/along with each other, we say "oni se slažu". For example: Baš imaš sreće, tvoj  brat i ti se dobro slažete. (You are rally lucky, your brother and you get along very well)
• If you agree to go out with your friend, you will say: "slažem se". For example: Hoćeš li da idemo u restoran večeras ? Važi, slažem se! (Would you like to go to a restaurant tonight ? OK, I agree!)
• If two people are at each other's throats, i.e." fight like cat(s) and dog(s)" you can similarly describe it in Serbian as "slažu se kao pas i mačka"!

For learners of Serbian as a foreign language often times it's difficult to pronounce the Serbian sound "LJ" or "Љ" correctly. That's because some students tend to pronounce "L" and then "J" separately. If you'd like to make your pronunciation of "lj" perfect, follow these steps:

1. Try to say "L", as in English word "love". Where is your tongue ? Up or down ?
2. Try to say "J", as in English word "yes". Where is your tongue ? Up or down ?
3. Right, so you noticed that in "L" the tongue is up, just behind your upper  teeth, while with "J", the tongue is down. If you want to say "lj" correctly, the tongue mustn't move from the upward position downwards, because it's one sound.
4. Now, keep your  tongue as if you want to pronounce "J" as in "yes", because it's the right tongue position for the perfect "lj", and at the same time try to pronounce "L", WITHOUT raising your tongue upwards. What happens ? Did you hear your first "lj" ? Now keep practising !

Keep your tongue low, as if you want to pronounce "J" (as in "yes") sound, but say "L" (as in "love")

This part is preparing you to practise word order with the words with the reflexive/impersonal pronoun "se". This time I've chosen only the verbs which are widely used when you talking about important life phases, so all the sentences in the videos will be in the Simple Past:

• roditi se = to be born
• školovati se = to be schooled
• upisati se (u školu / na fakultet) = to enrol (a school / university)
• zaposliti se = to start working / to get a job
• preseliti se = to move (to another city / country)
• kvalifikovati se (za) = to get qualified (for)
• venčati se = to get married

One of the most common mistakes students of Serbian as a foreign  language tend to make is to use the verbs of movement "ići " + u, "stići" + u, "vratiti se" + u, "posetiti" with the noun in Dative, instead of Accusative. That's why it's often heard:

Idem u Beogradu (incorrect)

instead of

Idem u Beograd (correct)

In the case of the listed verbs above (ići = to go to/ stići = to arrive at/ vratiti se = to come back to /posetiti = to visit), the noun which follows them is in the Accusative case (so called the Accusative of goal/aim).

That's why I've created this video with which you can make simple sentences such as:

• Idem u London / Budimpeštu (Present Simple)
• Stižem u London / Budimpeštu (Present Simple word order)
• Posetio sam London /Budimpeštu (Past Simple)
• Vraćam se u London / Budimpeštu (Present Simple word order with "se")