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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Serbian Idioms and Phrases with "faliti"

common phrases , Serbian idioms
Serbian Idioms and Phrases with "faliti"
If you are wondering how I choose the topics for everyday blog posts, the answer is very simple: they are based on the questions my students ask me in our online lessons.

One of the recent ones was to list phrases with the verb "faliti", which can mean "to miss", "not to have", "to lack", but in some idioms it cannot be translated in such a simplistic manner:

  • Šta fali ? = So what ? or What's wrong with that ? This phrase is often used to strongly disagree with someone who has a different point of view. Let me make up a short dialogue: 
Ana:   Nemoj piti tu vodu !
Pera:  Što ? Šta joj fali ????


  • Fali joj/mu daska u glavi ! = To have a screw loose in one's head or Not to have all their marbles. 
Na primer: Šta ovaj bunca ? - Ma pusti ga!  Očigledno mu fali daska u glavi !


  • Neće ti faliti ni dlaka s glave ! = Not a hair on your head will be harmed ! 
Na primer: Ne smeju ti ništa dok sam ja uz tebe! Ne brini, neće ti faliti ni dlaka s glave !

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment box below ;-)
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Serbian for Kids - Bedtime Stories

Serbian for children , Serbian for kids
Serbian for Kids - Bedtime Stories
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Friday, August 16, 2013

Funny Grammatical Categories in Serbian

Accusative in Serbian , Learn Serbian online
Funny Grammatical Categories in Serbian
One of the funny grammatical categories you might come across in Serbian are "animate" vs. "inanimate"  nouns, which is for instance reflected in the Accusative declensions, only for Sg. Masculine. This means that just because you've seen (to see = videti)  or taken a photo ((u)slikati) of a person, not a thing, a noun like "dečak" will take the Genitive declension markers (suffix -a)  instead of Accusative (zero suffix), although it's still an Accusative case. (I'm talking only about the form here).

For example: Ovo je dečak. Videla sam dečaka. Slikala sam dečaka. (there's also a stress change from the first to the second syllable).



While the linguists dwell on these topics and enjoy discussing whys and ifs of such irregularities, I always enjoy helping you in the most practical way. That's why Ivan and I created these two videos, carefully choosing nouns both in singular and then in plural and grouping them. With both videos you can practice saying simple sentences, with the verbs:
  • videti (to see )
  • fotografisati  = slikati = uslikati (to take a photo of )
  • snimati (to record)
The first video covers the grammatical category of "inanimate" objects:

The second one is obviously all about "animate" category - this time the topic is "people " (so switch to the Genitive endings for masc. please).


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Thursday, August 15, 2013

What Does it Mean in Serbian ?

asking for clarification in Serbian , Serbian language 365
What Does it Mean in Serbian ?
A  photo I took the other day - just for you  :)

If you don't understand what's being said ( or written ) in Serbian, you can always ask questions such as:
  • Šta znači " Gazda bio, gazda ost'o 100 % " ? = What does "..." mean ?
  • Ne razumem = I don't understand
  • Možeš li da mi objasniš (šta znači) "..." ? = Can you explain what  "..." mean ?
  • Možeš li da ponoviš "..." ? = Can you repeat "..." ?
  • Ponovi još jednom, molim te ? = Repeat once again, please ?
  • Molim ? = Pardon ?
  • Možeš li da ponoviš malo sporije ? = Can you repeat it a bit slower ?
  • Kako se izgovara ova reč ? = How do you pronounce this word ?
  • Kako se čita ova reč / ovo slovo ? = How do I read this word / letter ?
  • Kako se piše slovo "ć" ? = How do you write letter "ć" ?
Da li neko ima ideju kako najbolje prevesti " Gazda bio, gazda ost'o 100 %" ?


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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Word order in Serbian Sentences in the Simple Past

Serbian language 365 , Word order in Serbian
Word order in Serbian Sentences in the Simple Past
In one of the previous blog posts about the "red reči" in a Serbian sentence, I covered the word order in the present tense and it's time to talk about the past simple. Don't forget that the letter  N is used for the most neutral / natural sounding sentence:

One word verb: pevati (to sing)

Past tense OF "I sang / I was singing."

Subject (S) + predicate (P)

  • Pevao / pevala sam. N
  • Ja sam pevao/pevala. 
  • Ti si igrao, a ja sam pevala. N 
  • Ti si igrao i ja sam pevala. N 
  • Komšije su čule kako sam pevala. N
  • Priznajem da sam pevala. N


















S + P +  direct object (dO)
  • Pevala sam pesmu. N
  • Ja sam pevala pesmu.
  • (not neutral, but rather poetic word order would be: Pesmu sam pevala / Ja sam pesmu pevala. / pesmu pevala sam ja (reminded me of "zaboravio sam jutros pesmu jednu ja" - watch the video)
  • Čuješ da sam otpevala  pesmu.  N
  • Svi su čuli da sam pevala pesmu. 

S  + P + dO + adverb of time (AoT)

  • Pevala sam pesmu svaki dan. N
  • Svaki dan sam pevala pesmu. N
  • Moji prijatelji su juče čuli kada sam pevala pesmu. N


    S + P + dO + AoT + AoP (adverb of place)
    • Pevala sam  pesmu svaki dan  kod kuće.  N
    • Pevala sam pesmu kod kuće svaki dan. N
    • Svaki dan sam pevala pesmu kod kuće. N
    • Kod kuće svaki dan sam pevala pesmu. N
    • Moje komšije su juče čule kada sam kod kuće pevala pesmu. N
    • Moje komšije su čule  kada sam  pevala pesmu pre nedelju dana kod kuće. N
    • Moje komšije su igrale uz iks-boks dok sam pevala pesme kod kuće pre nedelju dana. N
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    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
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