Learn Serbian

Monday, May 29, 2017

Serbian Adjectives in Nominative - Part 3

The aim of the first two blog posts about the Serbian adjectives was to introduce you to the feminine/masculine change in adjectives in Singular:

Today, I'd like to introduce a new adjective "LEP" which means "beautiful". It is universally used for people (men, women, children), animals, plants, objects as well as abstract concepts.

This time you can see that the word in neuter singular is introduced and you can see how the adjective changes along with it.

LEP MOST (a beautiful bridge)
LEPA ZGRADA ( a beautiful building)
LEPO DRVO (a beautiful tree)

You can practice answering the following questions as well:

Kakav je Kip slobode? (What is the Statue of Liberty like?)
Kakva je reka? (What is the river like?)
Kakvo je nebo? (What is the sky like?)

In the background you can see some objects in plural and I invite you to think how the same adjective "lep" ends when describing:

zgradE (buildings)
balonI (baloons)

The answer with the pronunciation waits for you at my Patreon blog.

Fun Serbian - Pronouns

Marina personal pronouns in Serbian , pronouns in Serbian

Before watching the video try to figure out which words are missing in this short exercise:
Tramp brutalno odgurnuo Markovića

Serbian Genitive - Part 3

Marina genitive in Serbian ,

While in the previous simple Serbian cartoons we ppractised the prepositions followed by the Genitive:

today we are revising the same case, with words, both in Masc. and Feminine Singular, such as:

Rim, London, Pariz >>> iz RimA, iz LondonA, od ParizA - Sg. Masc.
Srbija, Engleska >>> iz SrbijE, iz EngleskE - Sg. Fem.

However, this time I am also introducing demonstrative adjectives this and these in Serbian:

This and These in Serbian

for "she" (like in "this girl" - devojčica) >>> Ova devojčica
for "he" (like in "this boy" - dečko) >>>Ovaj dečko
for "it" (like in "this sun" - sunce) >>> Ovo sunce
for they Masc. Pl or Masc. and Fem. Pl. together (like in "these people" - ljudi) >>>Ovi ljudi
for "they" Fem. Pl.(like in "these women" - žene) >>> Ove žene
for "they" Neut. Pl. (like in "these kids" - deca) >>> Ova deca

Serbian Genitive Task

I'm going to write the translations of these captions. Your task is to match them with colours :)

Boje (colours) su: narandžasta (1), crvena (2), tamno plava (3), ljubičasta (4), tamno ljubičasta (5), zelena (6)

a) My village is more beautiful than Paris (the preposition "than" in comparison always requires the Genitive case)
b) This one with an umbrella is from London for sure (the preposition "from" requires the Genitive)
c) If they are from Rome, we are from Paris!
d) If this sun sees me, it must think I am from Paris!
e) This little one (=a girl) is surely from Serbia!
f) These postcards from Italy are funnier than the ones from France!

Giving directions in Serbian - Part 1

Marina asking questions in Serbian , imperative in Serbian

Giving Directions in Serbian

Izvinite = excuse me (although izvinite can mean sorry as well)
da li = the way to start "yes -no" question
ovo = this
put = way
za = to
aerodrom = airport (masc. sg.)
ali = but
na raskrsnici = at the crossroads
skrenite = turn (formal, informal is "skreni")
desno = right

What are you having for breakfast?

Marina Accusative in Serbian , Serbian video lessons

Let me introduce you to one of my pets, a guinea pig called Beba. If it is a boy or a girl, you'll find out in our future lessons with it :)

The idea is for you to practice this short dialogue asking each other what you are having for breakfast:

a: Šta radiš = What are you doing?
b: Doručkujem = I'm having breakfast.
a: Šta doručkuješ? = What are you having for breakfast?
b: Doručkujem (travu) = I'm having grass for breakfast. (trava = grass)

For this, you'll need some knowledge about food & the accusative case. I'm sure this video will help:

Have fun!

Serbian Adjectives 2

Marina Serbian adjectives ,

If you mastered the word hungry: gladAN - gladNA, you are ready to deal with happiness :D

He is happy = On je srećan.
She is happy = Ona je srećna.
They are happy = Oni su srećni.

Now, for a more difficult task! How would you say the following phrases:

I am happy (said by a girl)
I am happy (said by a boy)
We are happy (for a boy and girl)

Hteti - Will or Want?

Marina common phrases , Serbian phrases

One of the frequent questions is how to translate Serbian "hteti" into English?

Hteti - Will or Want?

The simple truth is that the verb "hteti" can be translated into English in both ways, either will or want to, or even wish. The best way is to learn through some examples.

Želeti vs. Hteti

Hoćeš li mi pomoći? Will you help me? (pure future ) - Hoću! Pomoći ću ti (Yes, I'll help you)
Hoćeš li prestati već jednom? Will you stop it once and for all? - Neću! (I won't)
Hoćeš li da mi pomogneš? Do you want to help me? (a bit stronger than "want") - Naravno! Of course! Svakako! Sure!
Da li hoćeš da idemo u Beograd? Do you want us to go to Belgrade?
Želiš li da mi pomogneš? Do you wish/want to help me? (a bit more like "wish" than "want") - Kako da ne! Sure!
Šta želiš da ti kupim u Beogradu? What do you want me to buy you in Belgrade?

Accepting and Declining

The other set of useful phrases which we can learn from is how to best respond to questions starting with "Will you?" or "Do you want to....?"

Prihvatanje/potvrđivanje = Accepting

Naravno
Svakako
Nema problema
Kako da ne
Hoću (if the question starts with Hoćeš li...?)
Želim (if the question starts with Želiš li...?)
Da
Jašta (colloquial + archaic, but fun)

Odbijanje = Declining

Nema šanse (no way)
Nikako (no way)
Neću / Ne želim
Ne, hvala (no, thanks)
Jok (colloquial + archaic, but fun)

I really recommend Marina as an online teacher. She provides comprehensive lessons combining study and fun. You never know what to expect next so you never get bored. She's a professional who knows how to transfer knowledge to others.
Edita, Poland, 2008

She is the best teacher of Serbian as a Foreign Language! She is patient and loves teaching. I recommend Marina as teacher! Ioanna, Greece, 2009

I'm loving this course so far and am enjoying the examples. I like how much you learn in such a short time.
Mandy Southgate, South Africa, 2010

Marina is brilliant. Her classes are filled with a positive feeling atmosphere, which makes me feel comfortable and relaxed. I have thoroughly enjoyed our lessons, and thus have made noticeable and swift inroads with my progress. I look forward to many more lessons in the coming weeks. Vladan, Australia, 2011

The course is great and the teacher as well, the problem is on my side in relation with my availability, but marina has been always nice and professional in meeting my requests. i'd suggest this course to everyone who is interested in learning Serbian. Antonio , Italy, 2011

Marina's lessons are extremely well planned, highly interactive and challenging - I am making great progress with the Serbian lessons.
David, England, 2012

Marina is so flexible and helpful when you want to learn about a specific topic! She customizes the lessons to suit your needs and interests! She always makes me feel as though I am improving and I always feel challenged and excited for her classes - the classes always fly by!
Jayme, USA, 2013

Marina has been a fantastic teacher. She has taken me from knowing absolutely no Serbian and brought me to a level where I am excited to live and thrive in a country where they speak Serbian. I have recommended her and will continue to pass her name along for other students who are interested in learning. I look forward to continuing to keep in touch with her. Katie, USA, 2014

I have been working with Marina twice a week through Udemy since late August and LOVE her and all of her videos and classroom work through Udemy. It is so helpful to be able to log in at any time during the day or night and listen and watch her videos. She breaks each lesson down very well and makes it simple to learn and to interact and practice on my own before our classtime. I will highly recommend Marina to other friends as well as Udemy! Amanda, USA, 2015

Marina is a great teacher. She always supports me in everything I need. All my questions or doubts are immediately responded by her. I recommended this course and Marina!! Mirko Radović, Peru, 2016

I have worked with Marina as a teacher of Serbian for several years and highly recommend her based on her passion for Serbian and for language in general, as well as her total commitment to teaching and to her students. David, UK, 2017

Marina is an incredible teacher of Serbian language; she knows how to motivate a student, she is very resourceful, and uses a great variety of learning approaches. Hours spent with her are never dull. Highly recommended! Jana, Slovenia, 2018

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Monday, May 29, 2017

Serbian Adjectives in Nominative - Part 3

Friday, May 26, 2017

Fun Serbian - Pronouns

Thursday, May 25, 2017