Serbian 301 — everyday phrases, and the small grammatical decisions hiding inside each one.
English uses one word where Serbian uses two different ones. Srećan sam is a state of mind — I'm happy. Imam sreće is about fortune — I'm lucky, things are going my way. Literally it's "I have of luck", with sreća in the genitive, and it's the phrase you want when the bus arrives just as you do.
The reflexive se pair here — nadati se and žaliti se — carries that little word through every tense, and it never merges into the verb: nadam se, nadao sam se, nadaću se. And žaliti se takes the person you complain to in the dative: žalim se komšiji.
The end of the exercise is the part worth framing. One city, three cases, three meanings:
| Case | Serbian | English |
|---|---|---|
| dativ | idem ka Beogradu | I'm heading towards Belgrade |
| akuzativ | idem u Beograd | I'm going to Belgrade |
| lokativ | ja sam u Beogradu | I am in Belgrade |
And one more direction word: ulicom is instrumental, and it means along the street — the path you travel by, not a destination.
1. I am lucky →
2. you are lucky →
3. I am happy (m.) →
4. you are happy (m.) →
5. I am tired (m.) →
6. size →
1. Pas na podu. the dog is lying on the floor
2. Psi na podu. the dogs are lying on the floor
3. Lonac na stolu. the pot is on the table
4. Lonci na stolu. the pots are on the table
1. I hope →
2. I will hope →
3. I hoped (m.) →
4. I hoped (f.) →
5. we hoped →
1. to complain to someone →
2. I am complaining →
3. I complained (m.) →
4. I complained (f.) →
5. I will complain →
1. excuse →
2. there's no excuse → (nema + genitiv)
3. to serve →
4. Restorani koji piletinu. restaurants which serve chicken
1. crossroads →
2. at the crossroads → (lokativ)
3. Idi . go along the street (instrumental)
4. Idi . go towards the crossroads (dativ)
5. Idem . towards Belgrade (dativ)
6. Idem . to Belgrade (akuzativ)
7. Ja sam . in Belgrade (lokativ)
SR (lat): Upiši celu frazu, sa SE gde treba. Nije osetljivo na velika/mala slova, i može latinicom ili ćirilicom; dijakritici su opcioni.
СР (ћир): Упиши целу фразу, са СЕ где треба. Није осетљиво на велика/мала слова, и може латиницом или ћирилицом; дијакритици су опциони.
EN: Type the whole phrase, including SE where it belongs. Not case-sensitive; Latin or Cyrillic both fine, diacritics optional.
One little word next — PUNO — and everything behind it changes case.
Next: Puno Čega? →