Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Joke = Vic

zašto ?= why?
žene = women
piju = ( they ) drink
kafu (kafa) = coffee
razgovaraju = (they) talk
da ne bi = (in order) not to
zaspati (zaspale fem.past form) = fall asleep (fell asleep)
dok = while
druga (fem.) = the other (one) (for Masc. it would be ' drugi ')
priča (ona priča) = (she) talks

Zašto žene piju kafu dok razgovaraju?

Da ne bi zaspale dok druga priča.

Need pronunciation?

Need translation ;o)

onlinetranslato.rs

Marina translation sites ,

I have noticed that sometimes people searching for some kind of translation/übersetzung/prevod, end up at this blog. If you happen to need different kinds of widgets, online translation sites, or even live online translators, you can find all of these on this lovely onlinetranslato.rs site. Here comes an additional exercise about this topic, where you can simply add a missing word which will be one of the verbs 'to have = imati' or 'to be= biti' in the Simple Present tense:

Ovaj sajt _______ četiri različite stranice. Prva________ početna stranica na kojoj se nalaze objašnjenja i linkovi (veze). Na drugoj stranici, koja se zove 'Prevodioci i Tumači ', (vi) _______ brojne linkove ka raznim prevodilačkim udruženjima. Treća stranica ________ verovatno ono što vas najviše interesuje - onlajn sajtovi za prevođenje, počev od GOOGLE prevodioca, BABYLONa, do SYSTRANa. Četvrta stranica ____________ brojne 'widget'-e, ili programčiće koji kada se umetnu na jednu stranicu omogućavaju da se ona prevede na bilo koji jezik.

Altavista Babelfish Site Translatorgreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Verb 'To Be' and Plural Nouns in Serbian

Marina serbian songs , Singular and Plural in Serbian

Tad još _________ ništa znao
i još _________ verovao
da na svetu tuge ima.
Jedino mi važno __________
da postanem levo krilo
il' centarfor školskog tima.

Tad __________iznenada sreo
najtoplijeg leta deo
to su njene __________ bile. (Sg. oko)
Imala je _____________ plave (Sg. kosa)
i u njima na vrh glave -
belu mašnicu od svile.

Prva ____________ ljubav
došla tiho nezvana, sama
za sva _______________, (Sg. vreme)
skrila se tu, negde -
duboko u nama.

Kad ____________ prošlo đačko vreme,
padeži i _______________ (Sg. teorema)
i ________ ispod klupe (Sg. strip)
nije više ___________ klinka,
počela ________ da se šminka
i da želi ___________ skupe. (Sg. stvar)
Tako mi ________ svakog dana
_______________ više strana,
slutio sam šta nas čeka,
pa sam da brinem
kako da joj __________ skinem (Sg. zvezda)
postala mi ___________daleka.

Prva ___________ ljubav
došla tiho nezvana, sama
za sva _______________, (Sg. vreme)
skrila se tu, negde -
duboko u nama.

Danas _____________ na sedmom nebu,
kažu mi da čeka bebu,
našla _________ sigurnost, sreću, dom.
Ima muža inženjera
pred kojim __________ karijera
i mesto u društvu visokom.

Ja još kradem __________ Bogu (Sg. dan)
ja još umem, ja još mogu
da sam sebi stvorim neki mir...
Još sam sretan što postojim,
pišem pesme, _________ brojim, (Sg. zvezda)
još __________ isti vetropir.

Prva _________ ljubav
došla tiho nezvana, sama
za sva _______________, (Sg. vreme)
skrila se tu, negde -
duboko u nama.

Još ________ sretan što postojim,
pišem ____________, zvezde brojim, (Sg. pesma)
još _________ onaj isti vetropir..

(dame biraju, uvek pogrešne __________ (Sg. tip))

Ja još kradem __________ bogu (Sg. dan)
ja još umem, ja još mogu
da sam sebi stvorim neki mir...
Još sam sretan što postojim,
pišem ___________, zvezde brojim, (Sg. pesma)
još ____________ onaj isti vetropir.

Koga voliš? Who do you love?

Marina Serbian video lessons , Serbian vocabulary

Gde? Kada? U koliko sati?

Marina Listening comprehension ,

This is a listening comprehension exercise. While listening to this 34sec long video, try to answer the following questions:

Video Quiz

Exercise (write numbers)

Or

Where is the event taking place? Gde se održava ovaj koncert? ______________________
When, What date ? Kada, Kog datuma? _____________________
What time? Tačno vreme? ________________

Mine or Yours in Serbian

Marina Serbian101 ,

Listen to this song and try to figure out which gaps with numbers are for "moj" (mine or my for Masc.sg.) and where "tvoj" (yours or your for Masc.sg.) and for the gaps with letters, you will notice that the verb TO BE is missing.

Apsolutno __1__ (apsolutno __2____)
Samo mi ___a____ taj (genijalan spoj)
Apsolutno ___3___ život je  ___4___

Permanentno ___5___ (permanentno ___6___)
Samo ti ____b_____ taj (specijalan broj)
Permanentno ___7___ život je  __8____

Apsolutno ___9____ si broj
Aposlutno ja   __c__ _10____
Genijalan mi ___d____ spoj
Permanentno biću ___11____

Since this is a part of Serbian101 lesson, feel free to send me your answers there.

Serbian TO BE with the song "Čokolada"

Marina how to learn Serbian , Serbian for beginners

Remember the verb TO BE in Serbian ?

Listen to this song and try to add the missing

Ti ___1____ moja čokolada

Ja ___2___ tvoja čokolada

I da ____3____ tako mlada, _____4____ bih te ljubio x2

__5__ bih te ljubio...

__6__ bih te ljubio x10

--- When you send me the reply, you'll receive the vocabulary and translation :-)

Enjoy singing the song because "ko peva zlo ne misli" :)

Essential Serbian on AudioBoo

Marina Essential Serbian , verb conjugations in Serbian

Interactive Essential Serbian on Audioboo

Radim, živim, volim = I work, I live, I love/like

Radiš, živiš, voliš = You work, you live, you love/like

***********************
Živim u Beogradu.

A ti? ______________

Radim u Subotici.

A ti? ______________

Ja volim mamu, tatu, brata, sestru, sina, ćerku, muža.

A ti? Koga ti voliš? _______________________

Volim srpski, nemački, engleski i francuski jezik. (language)

A ti? Šta ti voliš? _________________________

Volim da jedem hamburger, hot-dog i sendvič.

A ti ? Šta voliš da jedeš? ___________________

Volim da pijem vodu, mleko i đus.

A ti? Šta voliš da piješ? ___________________

Looking 4 Best Translation

Marina

Present Simple Verbs and Infinitives in Serbian, gap filling exercise

Marina exercises , verb conjugations in Serbian

Fijaker stari ulicama ________ ( wanders)
i sobom ___________ (carries ) zaljubljeni par
cele noći sneg polako ____________ (falls)
a dvoje mladih _________ (warms ) srca žar (x2)

Prošla je noć ta kao oka treptaj
i zora rana ___________ ( leaves =ostaviti) svoj trag
ja ________ (leave = napustiti ) najmiliju dragu
sve divne noći i taj Sombor grad. (x2)

Samo da mi se lastom __________ (to become)
i još da mogu nebom ___________ (to fly)
leteo _______ (would) ceo dan i noć
samo da mogu svojoj dragoj ________ (to come) (x2)

Fijaker stari sad više _____ ___________ (doesn't wander)
i ____ _________ (is not heard) onog vranca bat
zaboravit' ____________ (have to) svoju dragu
sve divne noći i taj Sombor grad. (x2)

Public Signs in Serbian

Marina phrases in Serbian , Serbian phrases

Let's start from the most common ones:

улаз, ULAZ = entrance
излаз, IZLAZ = exit
улаз је слободан, ULAZ JE SLOBODAN = free admission
заузето, ZAUZETO = occupied
затворено, ZATVORENO = closed
отворено, OTVORENO = opened
дозвољено, DOZVOLJENO = allowed
забрањено,ZABRANJENO = forbidden
пушачи, PUŠAČI = smokers
непушачи, NEPUŠAČI = non-smokers
мушки, MUŠKI (toalet) = gentlemen (toilet)
женски, ŽENSKI (toalet)= ladies
на продају, NA PRODAJU = for sale
соба за издавање, SOBA ZA IZDAVANJE = a room for rent
звонити, ZVONITI! = ring!
затварај врата, ZATVARAJ VRATA = close the door
не узнемиравај, NE UZNEMIRAVAJ = do not disturb
пази, PAZI! OPASNOST! = watch out! danger!
чувај се, ČUVAJ SE PSA = beware of the dog!
стој, STOJ! = stand still!
тишина, TIŠINA = be silent
вуци, VUCI = pull
гурај, GURAJ = push
затвори врата, ZATVORI VRATA = close the door
не дирај, NE DIRAJ = do not touch! If you are never sure how to pronounce these words, you can hear the slow pronunciation in some of my videos on Youtube or Serbian Phrases Cyrillic version of the course.

Serbian pronouns

Marina pronouns in Serbian , serbian songs

Kafu ______ (to me), draga, ispeci
baš kao da je draga dušo ____ _______ (for you).

Aj, _______ (I) ću doći oko pola noći
da sednem _______ ________ (next to you). x 2

Dušek _______ (to me), draga, razmesti
baš kao da je
draga dušo za ________ (you).

Aj, ______ (I) ću doći oko pola noći
da legnem kraj _______ (you). x 2

Šta radiš? What are you doing?

Marina Serbian Noun Declension practice , verb conjugations in Serbian

Take a look at the previous blogpost and let's try to explain why (ZAŠTO) we are waiting for someone or something.

Čekamo mamu da idemo u prodavnicu.

We are waiting for my mum to go to the shop.

Now. Let's do it together using 'we' (MI):

1. Čekamo autobus da idemo u Beograd.

2. Čekamo tatu da idemo na pijacu. (market)

3. Čekamo priljatelje da idemo na ručak. (lunch/dinner)

4. Čekamo rođake (relatives) da idemo na izlet. (picnic)

5. Čekamo decu (kids) da idemo na sajam. ( fair)

6. Čekamo roditelje (parents) da idemo u galeriju porcelana. (porcelain gallery)

Audio by Ivan

***** Now, you try the same but imagine you are talking about your friends :o)

Example: (Oni) čekaju mamu da idu u prodavnicu.

Šta vidiš? (What can you see?)

Marina Serbian Noun Declension practice , verb conjugations in Serbian

Šta vidiš? (What can you see?)

NOGA = leg, RUKA = arm, KOSA = hair

Vidim... nogU
noge

vidim... rukU
ruke

Vidim... kosU.

***************

OBRAZ = cheek, NOS = nose, OKO= eye

Vidim obraz. Vidim nos. Vidim oko.

To practise Plural forms click SkolaSrpskog
To listen to the pronunciation click our TalkGroup
To practise a little bit on your own, tell me what they can see, and check the answers in our Talk Group. Feel free to record your own answer :o)

Oni vide...
KUĆA (house), DRVO (tree), ZVUČNIK (loudspeaker), KAMERA (video cam), STOLICA (chair), STO (table), DETE (child)

Šta čekaš? Koga čekaš?

Marina Serbian Noun Declension practice , verb conjugations in Serbian

Šta čekaš? = What are you waiting for?

Čekam ...

... autobus

... voz

... avion

Koga čekaš? = Who are you waiting for?

TATA= dad, MAMA=mum, ĆERKA= daughter

Čekam tatu.

Čekam mamu.

Čekam ćerku.

PRIJATELJ=friend, BRAT = brother, KONOBAR = waiter

Čekam prijatelja.

Čekam brata.

Čekam konobara.

Now, it's your turn... Who is he waiting for? He is waiting for...

Sada je red na vas... Koga on čeka? On čeka...

baba (granny), deda (grandpa), drug (friend), sestra (sister), šef (boss), dečko (boyfriend), devojka (girlfriend)

For the key, check the comments tomorrow
For the Plural Version, check SkolaSrpskog
For pronunciation, check our Talk Group at VoxoPop

Šta čuješ ? What can you hear?

Marina Serbian Noun Declension practice , verb conjugations in Serbian

Let's learn the following words in context:

piano = taj klavir,
sea = to more,
bell = to zvono,
clock = taj sat,

violin =ta violina
guitar = ta gitara
song = ta pesma

So, let's see what happens with the noun after the verb
HEAR = ČUTI

Šta čuješ? Čujem...
...klavir.

... more

... zvono

... sat

Šta ona čuje? (What can she hear?)
Ona čuje...

... gitaru

... violinu

... pesmu

Now, you try the same with 'ON'' (HE) "Šta on čuje? ..." and record it via VoxoPop

What is it? Šta je ovo?

Marina speaking drills ,

It looks like...

Meni izgleda kao neka lopta.
Meni liči na neku loptu.

Meni izgleda kao kugla sladoleda.
Meni liči na kuglu sladoleda.

Izgleda mi kao galerija.
Liči mi na galeriju.

Capital Letters in Serbian

Marina capital letters , pravopis

Velika slova u srpskom jeziku

The intitial capital letter in Serbian is used for:

1. name, surname and nick name (Nikola Tesla, Josip Broz Tito)
2. nationalities as nouns, but not corresponding adjectives signifying a language or nationality
(Englez - an Englishman, engleski jezik =the English language, engleska zastava= English flag)
3. names of countries, continents, cities (Srbija, Evropa, Beograd)
4. companies, sports associations and edifices (Bambi-Banat, Savezna skupstina, Spartak)
5. wars, battles (Drugi svetski rat = World War II)
6. holidays (Bozic, Uskrs)
7. space objects (Mlecni put, Sunce, Mesec)

Speaking practice with Accusative, Questions and Conjugations

Marina Accusative in Serbian , Question form in Serbian

Watch this video and do the following exercises:

Speaking Exercise 1.
***Say the coulours as you see them (key in the comment)
Speaking Exercise 2.
*** Start with simple sentences such as:
''I like (green colour)/I don't like (blue colour)"
= VOLIM ZELENu /NE VOLIM PLAVu
(bear in mind that after this verb you need Accusative case:
plava boja --->plavu boju )
Speaking Exercise 3.
*** Say what you see (videti) "I can see (blue colour)" = VIDIM PLAVu BOJu
Speaking Exercise 4.
*** Ask a question "Can you see blue or green colour?"
a. form > DA LI VIDIŠ PLAVu ILI ZELENu BOJu?
b. form> VIDIŠ LI PLAVu ILI ZELENu BOJu?
--- exercises 3 and 4 include Present Simple Conjugations for the first and second person Singular, but you can make it for the plural and/or Past Simple as well (I'll give you one example in the following exercise)
Speaking Exercise 5.
*** Say what you've seen "I've seen/saw blue colour"
(Fem) VIDELA SAM PLAVu BOJu
(Masc) VIDEO SAM PLAVu BOJu
Speaking Exercise 6.
*** Ask a question in the past :
"Which colour have you seen?"
(Fem) KOJU SI BOJu VIDELA?
(Masc) KOJU SI BOJu VIDEO?
"Did you see blue colour?"
(Fem) DA LI SI VIDELA PLAVu BOJu?
(Masc) DA LI SI VIDEO PLAVu BOJu?

HAVE FUN = UŽIVAJTE

Festival Time soon

Ahoythere Online mini-dictionary ,

The Serbian National Tourist Office has produced a handy mini-dictionary on their webpage:

MINI-DICTIONARY

http://www.srbija.travel/about-serbia/typically-serbian/mini-dictionary/?lang=en

This may be useful for those of you intending to visit Serbia.

Little Library in Serbian

Marina Listening comprehension , Serbian literature

As you probably know, extensive reading and listening are the best way to learn a language easily and naturally. That's why I'd like to invite all the readers of this blog to become regular followers/listeners of this precious site:www.malabiblioteka.com. I am sure you'll enjoy building up your listening and reading skills by simply flicking through its colourful pages.

Uživajte!

Nouns with Prefixes in Serbian

Marina Noun Prefixes , Prefixes in Serbian

Srpske imenice sa prefiksima

1. BEZ- (meaning of this prefix: 'without')
n.p. (e.g.) beskućnik, bezakonje, bezvlašće

2. ZA- (meaning of this prefix is 'behind')
n.p. zavetrina, zauške, zapećak

3. MEĐU- (meaning 'between', both for time and space)
n.p. međusprat, međuprostor, međuigra

4. NA- (meaning 'on')
n.p. načelnik (head of the dept/institution, literally '0n forehead person'), narečje (dialect)

5. NAD - ('above')
n.p. nadvojvoda, nadbiskup, nadstrešnica

6. NE- ('non')
n.p. neznanje (znanje=knowledge), neuspeh (uspeh=success)

7. NUZ- ('additional')
n.p. nusprostorija, nuspojava

8. PO- ('after, afterwards', 'adoptive')
n.p. pogovor, ponedeljak (after Sunday), pomajka, pobratim, poglavlje, poslastica

9. POD- ('under or sub')
n.p. podnaslov (subtitle), potkošulja (vest), podstanar (tenant), podsvest (subconsciousness)

10. PRA- ('ancestry')
n.p. prababa (great grandma), pradeda (great grandpa), pračovek ('prehistoric man')

11. PRED- ('before', 'front')
n.p. predstraža, predjelo, predvečerje

12. PRI- ('close, near')
n.p. primorje (coastal = close to the see (more)), prikolica, prikrajak, priručnik

13. PROTIV- ('against')
n.p. protivnapad, protivprimer, protivteža, protivusluga

14. RAZ- ('dividing')
n.p. razdoblje, raskršće (krst =cross, crossroads)

15. SA- ('together or with')
n.p. saputnik (putnik=passenger, companion), saborac, sazvučje

16. SU- (similar to 'SA-')
n.p. suosnivač=saosnivač (cofounder), sugrađanin, suvlasnik, suvozač (or nowadays borrowed 'KO', as in kopilot (copilot), koatuor (coauthor)...)

17. U- ('in')
n.p. ukućanin (living 'in house'), ukosnica

18. UZ- (similar to 'along or with')
n.p. uzrečica, uzglavlje

19. O- ('about, around', or sometimes used without any specific meaning)
n.p. ogrlica, okučnica, opušak, ogranak

"Nepostojano a" in Serbian Adjectives

Marina nepostojano A , Serbian adjectives

''Nepostojano a'' (movable, or fleeting 'a' ) with adjectives :

Masculine - Feminine - Neuter

... čovek (man) - ... žena (woman) - ... dete (child)

dobar čovek - dobra žena - dobro dete (good)

hitar - hitra - hitro (fast)

čudan - čudna - čudno (funny, strange)

važan - važna - važno (important)

ogroman - ogromna - ogromno (huge, enormous)

tanak - tanka - tanko (thin)

šupalj - šuplja - šuplje (hollow)

šuplje drvo

Declension in Serbian - Plural, practice

Marina Serbian Noun Declension practice ,

Ovo je prodavnica igracaka. Pogledajte, imamo veliki izbor! Mozete kupiti sta god pozelite za svoje dete:

brod-1, auto -2, cekic -3, lutka-4, kompjuter-5, kockica-6, knjiga-7, maketa aviona -8, karta-9, bojica-10, traktor -11

(now write the appropriate plural forms of the following nouns - boat, car, hammer, doll, computer, builiding block, book, model plane, card, coloured pencil, tractor ...)

Noun Declensions in Serbian - practice

Marina Serbian Noun Declension practice ,

Imam _______1_______ (prijatelj) koji živi u ______2_______ (Italija). On je _____3_______ (doktor) po zanimanju. Prošle _______4_____ (godina) sam prolazio kroz _____5_____ (Italija) i odlučio sam da ga posetim. Hteo sam da ga iznenadim, pa sam ga pozvao _____6_____ (telefon). Kada sam čuo njegov _____7_____(glas), rekao sam: " ______8______ (doktor) i ______9_____ (prijatelj), izgubio sam se u ovoj prelepoj _____10_____(zemlja), mislim da se zove ______11____ (Italija)." On se samo nasmejao i odgovorio:" Ako si ti moj _____12______ (prijatelj) iz ____13______ (Srbije), onda svrati na ___14______ (kafa). Živim u visokoj _____15______ (zgrada) na ___16______ (ugao), u ____17_______ (stan) na poslednjem _____18______ (sprat). Ako se opet izgubiš, stvarno ti treba _______19________ (doktor)."

"What's the matter with you?" in Serbian

Marina Serbian idioms ,

"Koji ti je andrak?" (what's the matter with you? what is wrong with you?) ... a blast from the past ! I was so happy when I came across this phrase which I haven't heard for ages :o) Where do words hide when they grow old?

Noun Declension in Serbian: 1st Declension, part 1

Marina 1st Declension , Serbian Noun Declension

According to the case suffixes, nouns in Serbian can be grouped into three or four declensions (the order and number hasn't been established yet). I'll list the three most commonly presented ones, starting from the most complex one, which is often subdivided, depending on the noun gender and its stem ending:

1. Declension:

Masculine nouns ending in a consonant
Neuter nouns ending in -o or -e

*Note that Masc. nouns in Sg. Acc. is the same as the Genetive if the noun denotes an 'animate concept', like human being or an animal, while the 'inanimate' ones are objects, but also plants and groups of people or animals (like 'a people'= 'narod' or pack (of wolves)= 'čopor')

** All Neuter nouns have the same form for Nominative, Accusative and Vocative, which is really great :o)

*** With Masc. nouns ending in palatal 'j, lj, nj, č, dž, đ, ć, š, ž'
a/ in Sg. Instrumental case it will end in 'em', instead of 'om'
b/ in Sg. Vocative case it will end in 'u' instead of 'e'

	ANIMATE	ANIMATE	non-ANIMATE	non-ANIMATE
Sing.
	non-palatal ending	palatal	non-palatal	palatal ending
Nom	DOKTOR	PRIJATELJ	BROD	ČEKIĆ
Gen	DOKTOR-A	PRIJATELJ-A	BROD-A	ČEKIĆ-A
Dative	DOKTOR-U	PRIJATELJ-U	BROD-U	ČEKIĆ-U
Acc	DOKTOR-E	PRIJATELJ-A	BROD	ČEKIĆ
Voc	DOKTOR-E	PRIJATELJ-U	BROD-E	ČEKIĆ-U
Inst	DOKTOR-OM	PRIJATELJ-EM	BROD-OM	ČEKIĆ-EM
Loc	DOKTOR-U	PRIJATELJ-U	BROD-U	ČEKIĆ-U

****The pattern for Plural being the same for all the forms:

Nom	DOKTOR-I
Gen	DOKTOR-A
Dative	DOKTOR-IMA
Acc	DOKTOR-E
Voc	DOKTOR-I
Inst	DOKTOR-IMA
Loc	DOKTOR-IMA

*****Elongated Plural can be seen in the majority of one syllable and a good part of two syllable nouns. In the plural they get 'OV' or with palatal ones 'EV':

	Elongated' = longer form
Nom	STAN-ov-I
Gen	STAN-ov-A
Dative	STAN-ov-IMA
Acc	STAN-ov-E
Voc	STAN-ov-I
Inst	STAN-ov-IMA
Loc	STAN-ov-IMA

******* Sometimes, if the noun ends in -c, -s, -z or -t, there is an ending in -ev (e.g. vicevi (jokes), nosevi (noses) , putevi (roads) )

Well, as you can see, this is just the beginning of the story about Noun Declensions. If you are learning Serbian, I'd like to ask you if you find it easier to learn the language in this 'grammar oriented' fashion, or simply 'by ear'?

Latin Alphabet to/from Cyrillic Serbian Script

Marina Serbian proverbs ,

Here comes a great link to script conversion. I needed some urgent Latin to Cyrillic script conversion yesterday night, and after trying out a few sites, this one proved to be the best.

So, let's try it out by rewriting the following Serbian proverb from the Cyrillic script into Latin Alphabet:

Ко не плати руком, он ће душом.

Now let's translate the phrase to English using online dictionaries (you might get different funny sentences):

1. Who do not pays handful , him will sweetheart.
2. Who doesn't pay the hand, it is soul.

Well, does it make sense? Does anyone have an idea what the correct translation is?

Vowels in Serbian

Marina Serbian pronunciation , Vowels in Serbian

There are five vowels in the Serbian language: a, e, i, o, u.

*A: ako (if), tavan (attic), ali (but), auto (car)

*E: evo (here), ekser (nail), med (honey), lep (beautiful)

*I: imati (to have), ili (or), iako (although), ići (to go)

*O: ovo (this), ono (that), oko (eye), brod (ship)

*U: u (in), uvo (ear), zub (tooth), uspeh (success)

However, in some words, the so called 'syllable forming r' (slogotvorno r) plays the vowel role. That's why some words in Serbian are difficult to pronounce. Let's practise together on our Pronunciation Site:

* R : prst (finger), krst (cross), srce (heart), Srpski (Serbian), pržiti (to fry)

Uskršnje Jutro

Marina Serbian holidays , Srećan uskrs

Here is a link to a lovely video clip of a choir singing an Easter song:

Uskršnje Jutro (Easter Morning)
by
Čarolija

Uskršnje jutro kada se javi
Svakom na licu osmeh zablista.
Danas je praznik, danas se slavi
Dan vaskrsenja Isusa Hrista.

Šarena jaja na stolu stoje
U ispletenoj korpi od pruća.
Svako od nas će dobiti svoje
Ostaće jedno naš čuvar kuća.

Chorus (x2)
Pozdravimo Spasitelja
Njegova je bila želja
Da nas vodi ljubav, vera, nada.
Čovečanstvo neka celo
Isusovo sledi delo
Hristos Vaskrs!
Mir Božiji neka vlada!

Šarena jaja na stolu stoje
U ispletenoj korpi od pruća.
Svako od nas će dobiti svoje
Ostaće jedno naš čuvar kuća.

Pozdravimo Spasitelja
Njegova je bila želja
Da nas vodi ljubav, vera, nada.
Čovečanstvo neka celo
Isusovo sledi delo
Hristos Vaskrs!
Mir Božiji neka vlada!

How to pronounce letters in Serbian

Marina Serbian pronunciation ,

While teaching Serbian to speakers of other languages, I noticed that different students have different pronunciation problems with certain Serbian sounds/phonemes. In order to practise together, let's make most of this lovely online learning tool, where you can simply listen to me and other students pronouncing certain words or phrases.

You will always be able to access the recordings from this site and to add your short replies. Let's practise together:

Intro :
* Introduce yourself like this:

Zdravo, ja sam ______. Ja sam _______. Imam _______godina. Živim u _________u/i.

(Hi, I am .... I am a ... I am ... I live in ...)

Pronunciation:

*Ć - ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će (= will)

*Č - čekaj (wait) čuvaj se (take care) čitaj (read)

*Š - šutni (kick) šališ se? (are you kidding?) šta? (what?)

*C - cev (pipe), car (tzar) cvet (flower)

*S - sve (all), svet (world), sutra (tomorrow)

*Đ - đak (pupil, student), đavo (devil), Đorđe (name)

*DŽ -džaba (for free, worthless), džemper (jumper, cardigan), džin (giant)

*NJ - njiva (field), Anja (Anya), šaliti se (to make/tell jokes)

*LJ - ljuljaška (swing), ljubav (love), biljka (plant)

*H - hrčak (hamster), hleb (bread), hladno (cold)

Asking About Location in Serbian

Marina locative case in Serbian ,

Fourteen years ago on March, 13th 1996, this song was the Song of the Day at the local radio station. I remember listening to it every hour! Take a guess where I was by asking questions, as follows:

1. "Da li ste bili u + city ? "
(when you guess the name of the city, proceed to 2)
2. "Da li ste bili u + place ?"

1/Word Bank: ---> Locative Case

Bečej ----> Bečeju
Senta ----> Senti
Zrenjanin ---> Zrenjaninu
Novi Sad---> Novom Sadu
Šabac ---> Šapcu
Niš ---> Nišu
Kragujevac ---> Kragujevcu
now, you do the same...
Kraljevo --->
Milanovac --->
Paraćin--->
Subotica --->
Zaječar--->
Beograd --->

2/Word Bank for places ---> Locative

škola - školi
crkva - crkvi
centar - centru
važno mesto - važnom mestu
*now, you do the same...
zgrada
vrtić
prodavnica
sajam
knjižara
bolnica

Why Do We Connect? Zašto se povezujemo?

Marina learn serbian ,

Recently LearnSerbian participated in "Why Do We Connect" video project. The idea was to post a response to the simple question "Why Do We Connect?" = Zašto se povezujemo?

Our answer was "To get inspired - to create!" = "Da se inspirišemo. Da stvaramo"! There are many more answers, each revealing one piece of ''why-we-connect puzzle''. I'll do my best to translate them slowly, one by one...

Now a question to you - why do you connect with other people on the www? Zašto se vi povezujete sa drugim ljudima preko interneta?

Serbian With Garfield

Marina Learn Serbian with Garfield ,

JA SAM DUH IZ TEGLE SA KOLAČIMA
JA - I
SAM - am
DUH - ginie / spirit / ghost
IZ - from
TEGLA - jar
SA - with
KOLAČ - cookie

ISPUNIĆU TI TRI ŽELJE

ISPUNITI - fulfil
TI (TEBI) - to you
TRI - three
ŽELJA - wish

NIKAD NEMA KOLAČA KADA SU TI POTREBNI

NIKAD - never
NEMA - there isn't any / negative of 'have'
KADA - when
SU - (they) ARE
TI - you
TREBATI - to need
POTREBNI - needed
********************************************************* pronunciation

STEP 1: CLICK THIS LINK TO PRONOUNCE WORDS SLOWLY
(if you are accessing the audio link for the first time, make sure you click the button 'log in as a guest' when asked for the password and user name)
STEP 2: CLICK THIS LINK TO LISTEN TO THE CARTOON AND READ IT ALONG
(My assistant was happy to act out the dialogue and record it for you - it was me who cut the last vowel 'i' in 'potrebni')
STEP 3: PRACTISE READING YOURSELF

********************************************************* grammar exercises
STEP 1: Singular - Plural Nouns Exercise 2
Write down the plural of the following words:
1. kolač -
2. tegla -
3. duh -
4. želja -
5. potreba -

STEP 2: the Verb TO BE + FROM (IZ) + PLACE with case suffixes
Complete the sentences with the places in brackets:
Ja sam duh iz (tegla)______________.
Ja sam kolač iz (tegla) _______________.
Ja sam duh iz (knjiga) _________________.
Ja sam mačak iz (strip)___________________.
Ja sam Garifld iz (Beograd)__________________.
Ja sam duh iz (London)______________________.

STEP 3: the Personal Pronoun TI - TEBI
Write down the appropriate noun:
Ispuniću ti 1 ___________ željU.
Ispuniću ti 2 ____________ željE.
Ispuniču ti 3 ____________ željE.
Ispuniću ti 4 ____________ željE.
Ispuniću ti 5 ____________ željA.
Ispuniću ti 6 ____________ željA.

STEP 4: the Present Tense Conjugation of the verb TO BE
Ja __________duh iz tegle sa kolačima.
Ti __________duh iz tegle sa kolačima.
On _________duh iz tegle sa kolačima.
Ona ___________duh iz tegle sa kolačima.
Ono ___________duh iz tegle sa kolačima.

STEP 5: the negative forms + NIKAD (never)
general:
Nikad nema kolača. (There aren't any cakes)
Nikad _____ vremena. (time)
Nikad _____ sreće. (luck)
Nikad ______ čokolade. (chocolate)
Nikad ______ para.(money)

personal (for myself)
Nikad nemaM kolača (I never have any cakes)
Nikad _____ vremena. (time)
Nikad _____ sreće. (luck)
Nikad ______ čokolade. (chocolate)
Nikad ______ para.(money)

Montenegro and its language

Ahoythere Montenegro language ,

When is a language a language and when is it a dialect?

In 2007, a year after this small Balkan country broke from its big sister Serbia, Montenegrin - or Crnogorski - became the official language, as defined by the constitution.

To read more:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8520466.stm

Adverbs, Adjectives and Nouns in Serbian - Word Order

Marina Adverbs in Serbian , Word order in Serbian

The Serbian language has fairly free word order because of its numerous suffixes for various categories. Let's see how to rephrase the sentences from the post on Adjectives and Nouns introducing an Adverb 'zaista', which means ''really''.

Formula:
This + BE + (article which doesn't exist in Serbian) really + Adj + Noun
Noun + BE + really + Adj

adjectives: LEP / JAK / VISOK / VELIK / SKUP
a. Ovo je zaista lepa knjiga = Ovo je lepa knjiga zaista = Zaista ovo je lepa knjiga = Zaista lepa je knjiga ovo.*

b. Knjiga je zaista lepa = Knjiga je lepa zaista = Zaista knjiga je lepa = Zaista lepa je knjiga.*
*less common word orders

___________ momak. (young man)
___________ automobil. (car)
___________ nos. (nose)
___________ zgrada. (building)
___________ kuća. (house)
___________ sto. (table)
___________ torba. (bag)
___________ dete. (child)
___________ zrno. (grain)

Vuku Karadžiću

Marina cyrillic , Serbian poems

Vuk je hteo, gde god krene,
Da se ljudi opismene,
Za slobodu da se bore,
I za jezik kojim zbore.

Ostašte nam posle Vuka
Lepa slova i azbuka.
Sad ih piše svaka ruka
Sa radošću i bez muka.

Vuk je bio dobre volje,
Vuk je bio prepun sreće
Kad pobedi ono bolje,
Kad se stekne znanje veće.

Ranko Simović

For your homework:
Listen to this poem and try to copy it in Cyrillic script :)
(if you are asked for username and password, click 'log in as a guest' to be able to listen to MP3)

Serbian Adjectives and Nouns in Genitive Case

Marina Genetive in Serbian ,

After doing the exercise in Nominative, both Singular and Plural, let's move onto
Genetive case: (to find out which case is Genetive ask the following quiestons: ‘Of whom, whose’ (od koga) or ‘of what’ (čega)

Example: Some 'se' verbs require Genetive, like to be scared OF 'plašiti se' or to take hold OF 'dočepati se'
Singular: Plašim se skupog automobila.

adjectives: LEP / JAK / VISOK / VELIK / SKUP

___________ knjigE. (book)
___________ momkA. (young man)
___________ automobilA. (car)
___________ nosA. (nose)
___________ zgradE. (building)
___________ kućE. (house)
___________ stoLA. (table)
___________ torbE. (bag)
___________ deteTA. (child)
___________ zrnA. (grain)

Adjectives + Plural Nouns in Genetive:

adjectives: LEP / JAK / VISOK / VELIK / SKUP
(beautiful/strong/tall/big, large/expensive)

*Try to use all the adjectives that collocate with the nouns as follows:
Example:
Plural: ...od lepih knjiga.

___________ momakA.
___________ automobilA.
___________ nosEVA.
___________ zgrada.
___________ kuća.
___________ stoLOVA.
___________ torbI.
___________ decE.
___________ zrnA.
___________ devojAkA.

The audio answer has been recorded :o)
(in case you are asked for your username, click 'log in as a guest')
***********************
What I don't like to do when teaching Serbian grammar is to actually give the kind of exercise I just posted above - mixing up all the genders, so you cannot infer the rule (which majority of textbooks do). That's why for more elementary students, I'd group words in an exercise like the following one:

Nominative Fem. Sg. KUĆA, DEVOJKA, TORBA, KNJIGA, ZGRADA
+ Adjective: velikA kućA, velikA devojkA, velikA torbA, velikA knjigA, velikA zgradA
(so that your ears come to like this A-A concordance)
Genetive Fem. Sg: od kućE, od devojkE, od torbE, od knjigE, od zgradE
+ Adjective: od velikE kućE, od visokE devojkE, od skupE torbE, od jeftinE knjigE
(so that your ears come to like this E-E concordance)
etc. etc.
I think that so many (meaningless) suffixes like 'a' 'e' 'ih' 'og' 'u' 'om' ... can be learnt only through drill and immersion. What do you think, how many seconds/minutes would it take for you to think about all the categories (and their corresponding suffixes) involved in the following sentence in order to utter it fluently and accurately: 'Koliko lepih devojaka u ovom divnom gradu!' ?

How to use Adjectives in Serbian

Marina Serbian adjectives ,

I have already written about a special relationship between adjectives and nouns in Serbian. Just to remind you, adjectives not only change according to Sg/Pl, but also according to gender and case. Therefore, I'll continue with my exercises for different categories. I hope Ivan will be willing to record the answers for you, when he comes back from school (I'll post the link here).
Adjectives + Singular Nouns in Nominative (from the previous post)
adjectives: LEP / JAK / VISOK / VELIK / SKUP

___________ knjiga. (book)
___________ momak. (young man)
___________ automobil. (car)
___________ nos. (nose)
___________ zgrada. (building)
___________ kuća. (house)
___________ sto. (table)
___________ torba. (bag)
___________ dete. (child)
___________ zrno. (grain)

Adjectives + Plural Nouns in Nominative:
adjectives: LEP / JAK / VISOK / VELIK / SKUP
(beautiful/strong/tall/big, large/expensive)
*Try to use all the adjectives that collocate with the nouns as follows:
For example: lepE / velikE / skupE knjigE:

___________ momCI.
___________ automobilI.
___________ nosEVI.
___________ zgradE.
___________ kućE.
___________ stoLOVI.
___________ torbE.
___________ deCA.
___________ zrnA.
___________ devojke. (young girls)

Audio answer (make sure you are logged in as a guest, if you want to hear the MP3 file)

Свети Сава - школска слава

Marina Serbian holidays ,

Химна Светом Сави

Ускликнимо с љубављу
Светитељу Сави
Српске цркве и школе
Светитељској глави.
Тамо венци, тамо слава,
Где нас српски пастир Сава.

Појте му Срби,
Песму и утројте!

Благодарна Србијо,
Пуна си љубави
Према своме пастиру
Светитељу Сави.
Цело српство слави славу
Свога оца Светог Саву.

Појте му Срби,
Песму и утројте!

С неба шаље благослов
Свети отац Сава.
Са свих страна сви Срби,
С мора и Дунава,
К небу главе подигните
Саву тамо угледајте:

Саву српску славу,
Пред престолом Творца!

Да се српска сва срца
С тобом уједине,
Сунце мира, љубави
Да нам свима сине;
Да живимо сви у слози,
Свети Саво, ти помози,

Почуј глас свог рода,
Српскога народа!

Пет векова Србин је
у ропству чамио,
Светитеља Саве
Име је славио.
Свети Сава Србе воли
И за њих се Богу моли.

Појте му Срби,
Песму и утројте!

Click here for full screen version

Srećan Božić - Hristos se rodi!

Marina Serbian holidays ,

Anđeli pevaju

(Što god tkaš vezuj konce za mene)
Noć prekrasna i noć tija
Nad pećinom zvezda sija
U pećini mati spi
Nad Isusom anđel bdi. (x2)

Anđeli pevaju, pastiri sviraju,
Anđeli pevaju, mudraci javljaju,
Što narodi čekaše,
Što proroci rekoše.
Evo sad se u svet javi
U svet javi i objavi:
Rodio se Hristos Spas
Za spasenje sviju nas!

Aliluja, aliluja,
Gospodi pomiluj!

Radost Duša Ljubav Poštenje Isus Vera Nada Spasenje Mir Pokajanje Gospod Smirenje Ljubav Mladost Spokoj

Aliluja, aliluja,
Gospodi pomiluj!
Rodio se Hristos Spas,
Za spasenje sviju nas!
Aliluja, aliluja,
Gospodi pomiluj!

Mir Božiji, Hristos se rodi! Vaistinu se rodi!

Božić Božić Blagi Dan

Badnje veče = Orthodox Christmas Eve

Marina

What are you doing in Serbian

Marina serbian conjugations , verb conjugations in Serbian

Endings for the 1st, -am, conjugation group of verbs in Serbian in the Present Tense are
-am - aš - a -amo -ate -aju

Endings for the Accusative Fem. Nouns:

Nouns in Singular + question ''šta'' (what) requires the noun in Accusative - find out what the rule is for the Nouns which are Feminine Singular:

ŠTA ČEKAŠ? ČEKam tvoj ODGOVOR. (odgovor - answer)
ŠTA ČITAŠ? ČITam KNJIGU. (knjiga - book)
ŠTA GLEDAŠ? GLEDam PRIREDBU. (priredba - show)
ŠTA IGRAŠ? IGRam ODBOJKU. (odbojka - volleyball)
ŠTA IMAŠ? IMam SVESKU. (sveska - notebook)

Let's practise:

Yes, you are right, the ending for Sg. Fem. Noun in Accusative is - U, while
Sg. Masc and neuter have no endings (at least not in the inanimate category).
Now, let's check what's happening in the Plural with Fem. nouns:

ŠTA OBOŽAVAŠ? OBOŽAVAM KNJIGe. (knjiga - knjige = book - books)
ŠTA PEVAŠ? PEVAM PESMe. (pesma - pesme = song -songs)
ŠTA PRIČAŠ? PRIČAM PRIČe. (priča - priče = story - stories)
ŠTA KUPUJEŠ? KUPUJEM HALJINe. (haljina - haljine = dress - dresses)
ŠTA RUČAŠ? RUČAM PEČURKe. (pečurka - pečurke = mashrooms)
ŠTA ČEKAŠ ? ČEKAM ODGOVORe (odgovori - odgovore = answers)

Yeees, you are rigth again - since Fem. Nouns in Plural take -e, in Accusative Pl, nothing changes ;)

Pl. Masc. gets an -i ending, and it also changes to -e, like in "odgovor" - so for plural, don't think
twice, simply add -E and you'll do it splendidly :)

Neuter nouns in Pl. add -a, but then they don't change in Accusative, which is also very nice. So, we
have the example "odelo" in Sg., "odela" in Pl. and then, "Kupio sam odela" IN Acc. is the same.

Let's practise:

Google Tag Head

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Friday, September 03, 2010

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Video Quiz

Exercise (write numbers)

Or

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Monday, August 30, 2010

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Friday, August 27, 2010

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Monday, August 23, 2010

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Friday, July 16, 2010

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Friday, June 25, 2010

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Monday, June 07, 2010

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Sunday, April 04, 2010

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Friday, February 19, 2010

Friday, February 12, 2010

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Božić Božić Blagi Dan

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Saturday, January 02, 2010

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