Learn Serbian

Learning Serbian with exercises, video lessons and online courses

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Thursday, April 23, 2015

Fun Serbian Language Exercises

Can Serbian Language Exercises be Fun?

Kako da ne! For sure!

Let's watch the following video which should remind you of the famous "Night Watch" painting by Rembrandt:


After enjoying watching it, let's tell a story in the Serbian language. I'll try to help you with the list of the following verbs in Serbian and English:

  • šetati = to walk
  • sedeti = to sit
  • piti kafu = to drink coffee
  • čuti alarm = to hear
  • baciti konopac = to throw  a rope
  • trčati = to run
  • istrčati iz = to run out of
  • strčati niz = to run down
  • bežati (od) = to run away
  • probijati se kroz = to elbow one's way through 
  • preskočiti = to jump over
  • hvatati = to be catching
  • jahati = to ride
  • marširati = to march
  • penjati se = to climb
  • nišaniti = to aim at
  • uhvatiti = to catch
  • stati mirno = to stand still
  • stajati mirno = to be standing still
  • slikati = to take photos
Can you tell your version of The Night Watch story in Serbian while watching the video? If it is too difficult, let's write it first :)


Sunday, April 12, 2015

Happy Easter in Serbian

Hristos voskrese!



Lyrics:

Ljudi likujte, narodi čujte:
Hristos voskrse, radost donese!
Zvezde igrajte, gore pevajte,
Hristos voskrese, radost donese!
Šume šumite, vetri brujite,
Hristos voskrse, radost donese!
Mora gudite, zveri ričite,
Hristos voskrse, radost donese!
Pčele se rojte, a ptice pojte,
Hristos voskrse, radost donese!
Anđeli stojte, pesmu utrojte,
Hristos voskrse, radost donese!
Nebo se snizi, zemlju uzvisi,
Hristos voskrse, radost donese!
Zvona zvonite, svima javite,
Hristos voskrse, radost donese!
Slava ti Bože, sve ti se može,
Hristos voskrse, radost donese!

Sv. vladika Nikolaj Žički

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Easter Day in Serbia

Easter Day in Serbia

On Easter day people in Serbia crack their Easter eggs with one another, in search for the strongest egg :) We start from the early morning! At first, during breakfast we start cracking eggs and each of us keeps the strongest one. Then we meet with our relatives at Sunday lunch where we continue with this never-ending fight. There is usually one egg which beats all the rest and we keep it until the next year. 

In this video you can see what it looks like:



Here comes an exercise where you can practice the Genitive case together with the possessive form and comparatives (bolji / gori = better / worse; jači / slabiji = stronger / weaker; lepši / ružniji = nicer / uglier; manje / veće =smaller/bigger etc.). Watch the video first and then decide whose egg is stronger/better/weaker/worse! Have fun and a Happy Easter!

Sunday, April 05, 2015

Ready for Orthodox Easter?

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

How to Say April Fool in Serbian?

How to Say April Fool in Serbian?

The most common way to celebrate April Fool's day in Serbia is to play a joke on someone and then, if they fall for it, say "Aprililili". Yes, after "April" you will add "i-li-li" :)

I guess that the most ambitious learners will enjoy watching an episode of "Državni posao" dedicated to this day:



I am aware that it is quite difficult to understand, but do try to persevere with it and answer these three general questions:

  1. Da li je Boškić naseo na šalu? (nasesti na šalu = to fall for the joke / to be taken in)
  2. Da li je Čvarkov stigao da prevari Torbicu ? (prevariti = to play a joke/trick/prank on someone)
  3. Kako je Torbica uspeo da se našali sa Čvarkovim*?
*Jedno pitanje iz gramatike, samo za moje učenike: zašto je "sa Čvarkovim" tačno, a ne "sa Čvarkovom"?


Sunday, March 29, 2015

Practice Serbian Cyrillic Script

Since there's a growing number of people joining my Quizlet exercises to practice Serbian, I decided to record a series of videos to help you with pronunciation. Besides, you'll see how learning with Quizlet can be fun and engaging :)

How to Practice Serbian Cyrillic Script 




Practice Serbian Cyrillic Script


Practicing Pronunciation of Serbian Cyrillic Script


If you like this lesson, check out 99 more which can be found on an online video course  Serbian 101!

Monday, March 02, 2015

Exercises for Serbian as a Foreign Language

Exercises for Serbian as a Foreign Language 

Because of the lack of digital teaching materials for practicing Serbian as a foreign language, I decided to turn  my simple dialogues and stories into video exercises. Unfortunately, when speaking of the Serbian language, there's scarcity of paper based materials as well, but that's another story!


Exercises for Serbian as a Foreign Language 


Anyways*, if you have studied the previous lesson thoroughly, I am sure you will be able to do the following task without difficulty, whether* practicing speaking or grammar!


 *again, you can find the translation in the Serbian version of this post

Serbian Verbs - Short Story 1

Serbian Verbs in Short Stories

Recently I have considered* a list of the most frequently used Serbian verbs and I decided to write short stories and dialogues based on them. In* the first ten often used verbs, the following four are in this story:
  • biti
  • imati
  • jesti
  • videti
I also added the verb "voleti" in this group, which is actually at 31st position according to its frequency, but I hope you won't mind!
Can you translate this dialogue into your mother tongue? I will translate it into English and this will help you to check your own translation. If you happen to have time, do send it (via comment maybe?), because it will help other students all over the world in the future!

*Sorry for the clumsy translation, I was trying to stick to the Serbian original text which can be found here.

Dialogues in English and Serbian

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Sretenjski Ustav Exercise and Video

Sretenjski Ustav Exercise with Video

Here comes the perfect opportunity to share with you a special episode of "Mala istorija Srbije" dedicated to Sretenjski ustav.


I also want to share with you a few suggestions as to how to have an interesting lesson based on this video:

1. Opišite šta se dešava u ovoj epizodi, ali bez slušanja
2. Sada ponovo odslušajte celu epizodu i odgovorite na sledeća pitanja:


  • a. po čemu je poznat Sretenjski ustav?
  • b. kada je donet?
  • c. kako ga je ruski ambasador nazvao?

  • Monday, February 09, 2015

    St Valentine's Day with Exercises 2

    Songs for St Valentine's Day in Serbian

    For all of you eagerly waiting for another love song, this time sung to a woman, here comes one suggestion: I Still Love You by Sergej  Ćetković. The answer key, or the lyrics, can be found here, but I am sure you'll have fun trying to do my exercise as well:

    Sunday, February 08, 2015

    St Valentine's Day with Exercises 1

    If you are in love and getting ready to surprise your loved one on 14th February, or Sveti Trifun in Serbian, and if you are in search of a good love song, in the following few days I'll share with you a few suggestions.

    Ako ste zaljubljeni i pripremate se da iznenadite voljenu osobu povodom 14. februara, svetog Trifuna u Srbiji, i u potrazi ste za dobrom ljubavnom pesmom, evo ovih nekoliko dana ću vam dati nekoliko predloga:

    Pesma za njega = A song for him
    *Ne brinite, sutra stiže pesma za nju = No worries, tomorrow I'll post a song for her!



    Vežba za tebe :)



    Friday, January 30, 2015

    Ideas for Advanced Serbian Lessons - City

    Advanced Serbian Lessons - Describing a City

    For all of you who are eager to learn more advanced Serbian, I found another great video which can be turned into a few different speaking and listening comprehension exercises:

     

    Advanced Serbian Speaking

    Exercise one: watching the video without listening to it. You can take a guess what each building or buildings might be, using the following structures:
    • Ova zgrada bi mogla da bude (this building could be...) ... pijaca / vrtić / škola / stambena zgrada / crkva / sportski centar / tržni centar / bazen / pozorište ... or plural form:
    • OvE zgradE bi moglE da budU...
    • Ovo je idealno mesto za (this is a perfect spot for...) ... pijacu / vrtić / školu / stambenu zgradu / crkvu / sportski centar / tržni centar / bazen / pozorište
    • Da sam arhitekta / dizajner / političar, ja bih na ovom mestu izgradio ...(if I were an architect, I'd build...)  ... pijacu / vrtić / školu / stambenu zgradu / crkvu / sportski centar / tržni centar / bazen / pozorište
    Exercise two: watching the video and listening to the detailed explanation. Check if you were right about each building(s), using the following phrases:

    • Oni su rekli da će ovde biti izgrađen tržni centar, a ja sam rekao da će biti škola (They said that there will be a shopping centre built, but I said that would be a school.)

    Advanced Serbian Vocabulary and Grammar

    Exercise three: doing an exercise based on the text below, which I am currently working on (making gaps mainly where the nouns in genitive are):

    Advanced Serbian
    Šabac, grad na Savi
    Šabac, grad koji je delio države i carstva, na obali velike reke sa srednjovekovnom tvrđavom, kao obeležjem i simbolom. Živeo je kroz istoriju san o izlasku na Savu. Vizija o gradu na reci konačno je estetski, funkcionalno i ekonomski utemeljena planom detaljne regulacije: "Šabac, grad na Savi".

    Plan obuhvata površinu omeđenu ulicama: produžetak Kralja Aleksandra i Kralja Milana, od pruge do obale reke Save. Područje obuhvata plana podeljeno je na blokove različitih namena.Blokovi 11, 13 i 14 rezervisani su za izgradnju poslovnih objekata, dozvoljene spratnosti P+2. Tržni centar, izložbeno-prodajni salon ekskluzivnih oblika i materijala, samo su neki od planiranih sadržaja. Svoje mesto imaju i objekti kulture iste srpatnosti.

    Infrastrukturni objekti biće smešteni u bloku 12. Najatraktivniji segment obuhvata plana je stambeni deo za  oko 4000 ljudi. Naselje će činiti objekti kolektivnog stanovanja  dozvoljene spratnosti P+3 i gradske vile spratnosti P+2, koje mogu imati maksimalno po 10 stanova, minimalne površine do 45 metara kvadratnih.

    Pored stambenog bloka planirana je izgradnja memorijalnog centra, osnovne škole i dečijeg obdaništa. Na mestu nekadašnje kasarne, uzvodno od tvrđave, predviđena je parkovska površina koja se završava pristaništem i marinom za čamce i turističke brodove, uz prateće sadržaje: hotel, carinarnicu, portirnicu, hangare za čamce, ugostiteljske i administrativno-upravne objekte. Marina će biti sagrađena na mestu predratnog pristaništa, piše agencija, nekada omiljenog mesta Šapčana tokom leta.

    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