Learn Serbian

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

Serbian Verbs Conjugated - To Live

I have tried to make simple conjugation videos before, but was never satisfied with what they looked and sounded like. Last week, thanks to my dedicated patrons on Patreon and my students of Serbian whom I've been teaching for years, I was able to afford the first professional version of the software which I have always dreamt of. HVALA!!!

How do you like my first pro conjugation video?

Now that I have all the tools, I am sure you'll all enjoy my short video lessons about:

verb conjugations in Serbian, both in the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet.
short video stories, based on the video with conjugations
short dialogues based on the texts and Serbian Phrases
videos explaining Serbian idioms
easy Serbian songs and chants for kids

Još jednom ogromno hvala mojim dragim pratiocima i učenicima koji pomažu održavanje ovog bloga i sve bolji kvalitet video lekcija srpskog jezika. Moje nove lekcije će izgledati super zahvaljujući Mirku, Milici i Milenki, Lari, Matiji, Dejanu i Danijeli, Marion, Pavlu, Dejvidu, Niku i Dženi i Jani!!!

Serbian Passive Voice with Exercises

Marina Passive in Serbian , Passive Participle

Serbian Passive Voice with Exercises

Unfortunately, there haven't been many posts about the Passive Voice on this blog. I want this to change and that's why I would like to add a few more exercises about this topic. Based on the following fun song which has great lyrics about Rakija production, I'll make a few exercises for you.

Let's relax and watch the video by Cache & Djavo called "Kakvu sam rakiju pek'o" :)

Serbian Passive Voice with Exercises

His and Her in Serbian

Marina Serbian adjectives , Serbian for beginners

His and Her in Serbian

While his = njegov and her = njen sounds pretty easy and straightforward, there is a little catch. These are possessive adjectives and therefore they agree with the noun they describe. That's why they will have all kinds of suffixes to mirror the main noun in number, case and gender.

Today will stick just to the basic Nominative case and see how NJEGOV and NJEN mirror the gender of the nouns through the following exercises:

HIS and HER in Serbian with a funny photo

Simply look at the photo and write his shirt (njegovA košuljA) or her shirt (njenA košuljA), based on the position of the question in the photo:

His and Her in Serbian

HIS and HER in Serbian with Quizlet

If you have learnt clothes with one of my previous lessons, this one will be a piece of cake = prosto ko pasulj:

If you would like to get all my video lessons with explanations in English, translations and additional exercises like the ones above, in the meaningful order, consider joining me on Patreon.

Serbian for Children - Lesson 2

Marina free video lessons of Serbian , Serbian for children

Thanks to your kind help the second lesson of Serbian for Children was released yesterday:

In this lesson you can practise saying "Ovo je..." (this is) as well as the vocabulary for family members!

Porodica

mama = mom
tata = dad
sestra = sister
brat = brother
sin = son
ćerka = daughter

***
moj / moja = my

Additional exercises:
1. https://quizlet.com/146121479/micromatch
2. https://en.educaplay.com/en/learningresources/2531536/serbian_for_children_lesson_1a.htm

The first part was published in the post about teaching Serbian with children songs, but I will add it here as well:

Hope you find them useful and come here for more!

If you would like to get all my video lessons with explanations in English, translations and additional exercises like the ones above, in the meaningful order, consider joining me on Patreon. HVALA!

Why Learn Serbian?

Marina how to learn Serbian ,

There are so many reasons to learn Serbian. That's why I'd like you to help me find out what your main motivation is when learning this language. I am also interested what you need most and what you think could help you learn most efficiently.

That's why I have created an anonymous survey and I'd appreciate if you could spare a few minutes to do it. HVALA!

Thanks so much for your time! All the info is used to make my Serbian Activator e-mails and video lessons most relevant to you!

Learning Serbian Efortlessly

Marina Past tense , past tense in serbian

Let's learn the past tense form of "She was" in Serbian the easy way: BILA JE with this beautiful song, step by step:

Now, an exercise:

If you would like to get all my video lessons with explanations in English, translations and additional exercises like the ones above, in the meaningful order, consider joining me on Patreon. HVALA!

Serbian Phrases: Don't Argue with Me

Marina common phrases , instrumental

Would it be funny for you to hear a phrase "Don't argue with mine!", whatever that might mean?

Here comes a short clip with a similar phrase, which is obviously wrong and make people laugh (together with a specific pronunciation of Mr. Šojić's "ć" in "ćao" :)

- Nemaš! Šta moliš? Imaš (li) kod sebe 350 Evra?
- Ma gospodine Šojiću...
- Ma, ćao! Nemaš! Ćao! Ne raspravljaj se sa mene! Ne raspravljaj se!

Don't argue with me!

The correct Serbian phrase: "Don't argue with me" would be as follows:

- Ne raspravljaj se sa mnom! (not "sa mene"=)

The verb "to argue" is always used with "se" form: raspravljati se. A few synonyms would be:

svađati se and prepirati se. (Ne svađaj se sa mnom / Ne prepiri se sa mnom).

Instrumental of Serbian Pronouns

The preposition "with" requires the Instrumental form of the pronoun so you can use the mentioned verbs with the following pronouns as well:

with me = sa mnom
with you = sa tobom
with him/it = sa njim
with her = sa njom
with us = sa nama
with you = sa vama / Vama
with them = sa njima

If you would like to get all my video lessons with explanations in English, translations and additional exercises like the ones above, in the meaningful order, consider joining me on Patreon. HVALA!

How to Practice Serbian Pronouns in Instrumental

Marina instrumental , pronouns in Serbian

How to cope with all different forms of Serbian pronouns, in different cases and with all the different endings? Well, there are many different ways, starting with old-fashioned grammar learning;

to using them in phrases, without thinking about grammar at all. What I find really efficient, is to listen to Serbian songs and learn the pronouns in common phrases, by singing :)

Let me share with you the following song: Za Njom by S.A.R.S.

How to Practice Serbian Pronoun SHE in the Instrumental Case

Now that you have heard this song, sang along, and done the exercise, can you tell me which prepositions were there in front of "NJOM"?

Are You Proficient in Serbian?

Marina Advanced Serbian , proficient Serbian

From time to time I get a request to publish more exercises for Serbian for an advanced and even proficient level. I guess that creating short tasks based on various films and series in Serbian certainly helps. One of such series which I wanted to recommend for more proficient speakers of Serbian is Prvi Servis, sponsored by VreleGume. I love their short format and a really great cast. The topics are everyday problems of ordinary people.

In the first episode, there is a short monologue with lots of mistakes, which can be easily corrected by an advanced student of Serbian.

Would you like to give it a try? You can write your suggestion in the comment below!

Example 1:

1:25 min: Kada sam u vaša zemlja ja ovo, a kod kuće imam Volvo.

*Correction: Kada sam u vašOJ zmljI

Your task:

3:35 min: Majstor kaže da je teško kvarnost velika. Ili je amortizer ili je može biti da je možda ova …. kako kaže on kod vas… balans štanglica, ili je može biti da je stabilizatorski dio. Kaže popraviće, hitno mi je potrebno auto za sutra.
A auto moram imati jer mater meni stiže. Moram je pokupit. Moja mater je iz naša zemlja, srpska. Moja Mater je iz Vojnić.A otac mi je njihov, on je Lunski La iz Lunski Le, Moj otac je Turstend. Tako da mater moja dolazi. Stara je, ne može da hoda. Kaže više mi je samo da umrem, samo da umrem, već mi dosta to, da se sahrani u Vojnići to.
A hitno bi mi moralo se prebaciti ja za grad. Ako ima neko dobro da pozove taksi. Imam krune, plaćam sve, da. Ako može neko da mi nazove taksi, a majstor će se potruditi. Vidim da je dobar čovek.

You can write your suggestion in the comment below!

Serbian Video Lessons with Pronunciation

Marina Activator Video Lessons , free video lessons of Serbian

Today we are practising three simple questions and three simple answers:

Where do you / You live? = Где живиш / живите?= Gde živiš / živite?
What do you / You do? = Шта радиш / радите? (Чиме се бавиш / бавите?) = Šta radiš / radite? (Čime se baviš / bavite?)
What do you do in your free time? = Шта радиш / радите у слободно време? = Šta radiš / radite u slobodno vreme?

The answers are as follows:

Живим у ... = Živim u ... (I live in ...Beogradu / Limi - check out the previous posts about the Locative case)
Радим као ... = Radim kao ...(I work as a ...profesor / lekar - check out the video about occupations)
У слободно време ... = U slobodno vreme ...( In my free time I learn Seriban - učim srpski - check out the previous video about hobbies)

Serbian Video Lessons with Pronunciation

Now that you understand what we are going to talk about, you are ready for the video lesson! Have fun!

If you are a beginner and want to learn Serbian in the easiest way possible, do join my new & revamped Seriban Activator newsletter!

Days of the Week in Serbian at Three Levels

Marina Accusative in Serbian , genitive in Serbian

I'm sure that you find Serbian days of the week easy to pronounce. However, if you still struggle with Thursday (četvrtak), there's a useful introduction in this video to help you pronounce days well.

Since rarely does anyone use days of the week in its Nominative form:

1. Ponedeljak = Monday = Понедељак

2. Utorak = Tuesday = Уторак

3. Sreda = Wednesday = Среда

4. Četvrtak = Thursday = Четвртак

5. Petak = Friday = Петак

6. Subota = Saturday = Субота

7. Nedelja = Sunday = Недеља

Let me share with you a few exercises at three different levels:

A. Days of the Week in Serbian

a. Flashcards
b. Matching game
c. Gravity game
d. Test

B: What are you doing on + DAY ( Accusative case )? = Šta radiš u subotu?

Let's practice together:

a. Flashcards
b. Matching game
c. Gravity game
d. Test

C: Words "svaki / sledeći / naredni / drugi + day "will trigger the Genitive case of both the adjective and the noun in the question:"What are you doing next Monday?" = "Šta radiš sledećeg ponedeljka?"

Let's practice together:

a. Flashcards
b. Matching game
c. Gravity game
d. Test

Practising Phrases in Serbian - I need

Marina Serbian phrases , Serbian verbs

If you were happy with my short video lesson about the very simple form of the phrase "I need something" yesterday, I am sure you are now ready for a few exercises. Let me start with the easier ones and then I'll add some for more advanced students:

For Beginners: Practising only "Treba mi + different international words"

a. Flashcards

b. Matching game

c. Gravity game

d. Test

For Intermediate students: Practising "Treba + mi/ ti / Vam / mu / joj / nam / im + international words"

a. Flashcards

b. Matching game

c. Gravity game

d. Test

For Advanced students: Practising the past tense form "I needed + something", which is more complicated because here the past tense form of the word has to agree with the direct object (something): "TrebalE su mi jabukE // TrebalI su joj prijateljI // TrebalA nam je vodA" (+ word order with 3rd person Sg of the direct object).

a. Flashcards

b. Matching game

c. Gravity game

d. Test

Most Frequent Phrases in Serbian - I Need

Marina common phrases , Serbian grammar

I need = Treba mi

I guess one of the most needed verbs in a language must be the verb to need = trebati :) It is a really handy word in Serbian, because of the two following reasons:

Firstly, this verb doesn't conjugate, because in its simplest meaning "I need (something)" we actually use "Treba mi" where "mi" means "to me". If you want to say "You need", it will be "Treba Vam" (formal version) or "Treba ti" (informal version). Therefore, you'll simply change the pronoun as follows:

TREBA mi hamburger
TREBA ti pica
TREBA mu vino (to him / it = mu)
TREBA joj muzika (to her = joj)
TREBA nam restoran (to us =nam)
TREBA vam /Vam burek (to you - You = vam/Vam)
TREBA im mleko (to them = im)

Secondly, because in Serbian this phrase sounds like the passive in deep structure, the noun always takes a subject case, which is Nominative. (A hamburger is needed to/by me = Treba mi hamburger). Therefore, you don't need to change its form, i.e. no declension :) Lovely! Take a look at the previous examples and the words which follow "Treba ... " phrase. No cases, at all:

hamburger - a hamburger
pica - a pizza
vino - a wine
muzika - music
restoran - a restaurant
burek - burek (a special kind of pie)
mleko - milk

Now, let's practice the pronunciation of this useful phrase together:

1. Šta ti treba? = What do you need?

2. Šta Vam treba? = What do You need? (formal one)

3. Treba mi = I need

4. Ne treba mi = I don't need

Tomorrow, we'll be doing some exercises connected with this video lesson and recording our own XO game :D

Google Tag Head

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

Friday, February 17, 2017

Serbian Passive Voice with Exercises

Serbian Passive Voice with Exercises

Serbian Passive Voice with Exercises

Wednesday, February 08, 2017

His and Her in Serbian

HIS and HER in Serbian with a funny photo

HIS and HER in Serbian with Quizlet

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

Sunday, February 05, 2017

Wednesday, February 01, 2017

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Don't argue with me!

Instrumental of Serbian Pronouns

Sunday, January 22, 2017

How to Practice Serbian Pronoun SHE in the Instrumental Case

Friday, January 20, 2017

Monday, January 16, 2017

Serbian Video Lessons with Pronunciation

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Monday, January 09, 2017

I need = Treba mi

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