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Learning Serbian with exercises, video lessons and online courses

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Friday, October 25, 2019

Serbian 401 - Mala istorija Srbije, drugi deo

Serbian 401 - Mala istorija Srbije, drugi deo


Sigurna sam da ste uživali vežbajući srpski uz Malu istoriju Srbije, prvi deo. Danas stiže drugi deo da vidim koliko se sećate i šta ste naučili do sada ;)

Mala istorija Srbije - vežba, Serbian 401




Perfective and imperfective "se" verbs in  Serbian 401 - Mala istorija Srbije, drugi deo

  1. SMEJATI SE = to laugh (nasmejem se/nasmejao sam se - smejem se/smejao sam se)
  2. UDARATI SE = to hit oneself (udarim se/udario sam se - udaram se/udarao sam se)
  3. ZAGRCNUTI SE /zadaviti se = to choke oneself with food (zagrcnem se/zagrncuo sam se - zadavim se/zadavio sam se)
  4. DEŠAVATI SE = to happen (desi se/ desilo se - dešava se / dešavalo se)
  5. ZVATI SE = to be called (this is used both as a perf. and imperf. verb, but I can add a similar perf. form with a slight change in meaning (give oneself a name): prozovem se/prozvao sam se - zovem se / zvao sam se)... this reminded me of two-aspect verbs, which we could cover in the future!
Nadam se da ste uživali gledajući seriju Mala istorija Srbije i radeći vežbe!

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Serbian 301 - Retelling Story

In Serbian 301 one is practicing to confidently ask and answer questions about some past tense events. This can be practiced in different ways:

  • talking about your past, or past events in your life
  • talking about your friends and family and their experiences
  • retelling a short story that we have previously learnt
  • retelling an interesting film/book plot
Additionally, you can also practice telling a story based on a suitable song. Let's take Kristing by Zdravko Čolić, for example!

Retelling Story in Serbian - Song 


Retelling Story in Serbian

For the sake of understanding here comes a page with the lyrics translation (not the perfect one, though, but you'll get the gist) and now you can practice retelling the story with the following set of exercises:







Retelling Story by asking questions

Now that you know what has actually happen, can you add your questions in the comments below?
Let me start with just a few:
  1. Kada je Zdravko išao na salaš?
  2. Gde je bio salaš?
  3. Šta sve znači "društvo"?
  4. Ko je stajao na vratima?
  5. Šta je petrolejka?

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Serbian 201 - Zvati SE in Past Tense

In the previous post we practiced the phrase "what's your name" or "how are you called" = "kako se zoveš" in Present Tense. Today we are practicing the same phrase but in the past tense with the family vocabulary :)

Zvati se in Past Tense - MATCH



Learning Zvati se in Past  



Test with zvati se in Past


Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Serbian 102 - Word order with SE

It can be tricky to learn how to cope with some simple sentences and questions when this "se" word shows up. The best way to cope with it is to practice with a set of familiar phrases:

Word order with SE - Learn


Word order with SE - Flashcards


Word order with SE - Match


Monday, October 21, 2019

Serbian 101 - Asking Simple Questions in Serbian

Asking Questions about different topics


In the previous posts there are a bunch of exercises to practice asking questions in Serbian. You can find all of them here.

Today, I'll add some exercises for you to practice and play with:



Asking Questions with Ti 

Flashcards



Match



Learn


Asking Questions with Vi 


Flashcards



Match



Learn

Friday, October 11, 2019

PO- Prefix with Verbs - Serbian 701

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:
  1. making a perfective verb out of an imperfective one: jesti - pojesti
  2. adding up "distributive meaning", often combined with the word "sve": krasti - pokrasti (there will be a special post dedicated to this)
  3. beginning of the action: leteti -  poleteti
  4. spatial meaning (additional meaning "over") : bacati -  pobacati
  5. action which lasts for a long time: živeti - poživeti

Exercise with Po- Prefix in Serbian

Let me add five lists of verbs for which you have to decide which group they belong to:

Can you think of any other examples?

Here are some of my ideas:

  1. pokisnuti
  2. poleteti
  3. pozlatiti
  4. pokrenuti 
  5. polupati
  6. posvađati 
  7. porazbijati
  8. pokrasti



Examples with Po- Prefix in Serbian Literature

Here comes the famous story Sve će to narod pozlatiti by Laza Lazarević, written back in 1881. 




- 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?

Thursday, October 10, 2019

QAs About Most Common Mistakes in Serbian

Most Common Mistakes in Serbian

I'm sure you've seen a lot of interesting photos which explain most common mistakes in the Serbian language, such as this one:






















Video with Most Common Mistakes in Serbian

Today, I've come across this great video with similar examples. I am sure you'll enjoy watching it! 

Wednesday, October 09, 2019

Serbian 201 - Pronouns in Accusative

Serbian Pronouns in Accusative

The best way to practice this phrase is to play a game and point to the different food items in the kitchen saying:
  • Feminine singular: Vidim ribu, vidim je!
  • Masculine and Neuter Sg: Vidim hleb / meso, vidim ga!
  • Plural, all genders: Vidim jaja, vidim ih! 

save image


Useful Vocabulary

  • Ananas = pineapple
  • Grožđe = grapes
  • Dinja = melon
  • Višnje = sour cherries
  • Trešnje = sweet cherries

How to pronounce Pronouns in Accusative


Tuesday, October 08, 2019

Serbian 102 - Past tense of Biti

Stiže još jedan / još jedna set of exercises to practice one of the lessons from Serbian 102 course!



Past tense of To be Explained

You can find the pronunciation and the form of the verb to be in Serbian in this post published earlier.



Past tense of To be with Exercises




Past tense of To be - Games



Monday, October 07, 2019

Serbian 101 - What do you see?

What do you see in Serbian?  


The best way to start practicing Serbian cases, the Accusative for example, is to start simple and easy, with food. After the verb to see, you'll simply change the final A of the noun into U
  • VIDIM BANANU - BANANA
  • VIDIM JABUKU - JABUKA
  • VIDIM JAGODU - JAGODA
  • VIDIM LIMUNADU - LIMUNADA
  • VIDIM LUBENICU - LUBENICA
  • VIDIM PAPRIKU - PAPRIKA
  • VIDIM PICU - PICA
  • VIDIM POMORANDŽU - POMORANDŽA
  • VIDIM RIBU - RIBA
  • VIDIM SUPU - SUPA
  • VIDIM VODU - VODA



What do you see in Serbian - Exercises 




What do you see in Serbian - Games






Sunday, October 06, 2019

Serbian 401 - Mala istorija Srbije

Srpski 401 se bazira na preslatkoj mini seriji koja se zove Mala istorija Srbije, o kojoj sam pisala pre pet godina (vreme baš leti = time really flies by)!

Hajde da ponovo pogledamo prvu epizodu i uradimo sledeće vežbe:


Don't forget that for more exercises like this one with explanations and video lessons with slow pronunciation you can join Patreon page, tier one.

Saturday, October 05, 2019

This is, These are in Serbian

This is, These are - in Serbian

Let's jump with joy each time we come across a phrase or two which are easier in Serbian than in English.

There is no need for you to think how to say THIS and THESE, simply say OVO and it covers both categories!



  • Ovo je haljina = this is a dress
  • Ovo su čizme = these are boots

  • The only thing we are actually practicing is IS and ARE in Serbian, in different contexts:


    1. Odeća = Clothes
    2. Životinje = Animals 
    3. Hrana = Food
    4. Poslovi = Jobs 

    Ovo je, ovo su with Clothes



    This is, These are -Exercises








    This is, These are - Games





    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