Serbian 301 — gledati or pogledati? The verb is the same. The question is whether it finished.
Serbian doesn't have a past continuous. It doesn't need one — the choice is built into the verb itself, before you ever conjugate it. Every action comes in a pair, and you pick the half that matches what you mean.
| Nesvršeni — imperfective | Svršeni — perfective | |
|---|---|---|
| what it shows | the action running, repeating, lasting | the action done, once, with a result |
| answers | what were you doing? | what happened then? |
| example | gledali smo seriju | pogledao ga je s osmehom |
Most of these pairs are built with a prefix, usually po-: gledati → pogledati, slušati → poslušati, trčati → potrčati, zvati → pozvati, tražiti → potražiti. Two in this set are irregular and have to be learned: menjati → promeniti and nositi → poneti.
The sentence usually tells you which one it wants. Watch for these:
Nesvršeni: nekoliko puta, 2 sata, tokom cele trke, dok… — anything that measures or repeats. · Svršeni: istog momenta, kada…, and any sentence where one thing happens and then the next thing happens.
One more layer, just so you recognise it: gurati (to be pushing) has both gurnuti — one single shove, which is what happens in sentences 2 and 9 — and pogurati, to give something a helpful push. Serbian is generous like that.
The bracket gives you the pair. You choose the half — and the right ending for the person and gender.
1. Ptica je boju nekoliko puta. (menjati — promeniti)
2. Kad ga je Tramp gurnuo laktom, premijer ga je s osmehom. (gledati — pogledati)
3. Istog momenta su odlučili da stanu i o čemu se radi. (slušati — poslušati)
4. Zajedno smo seriju i jeli kokice. (gledati — pogledati)
5. Ana ga je gledala i pažljivo . (slušati — poslušati)
6. Deca su se dok su njihovi roditelji gledali u mobilni. (gurati — pogurati)
7. Iako je brzo tokom cele trke, nije stigla prva. (trčati — potrčati)
8. Zovem se Jovan. Juče sam knjigu 2 sata! (tražiti — potražiti)
9. Kad ga je Bole gurnuo, Sima je druga. (zvati — pozvati)
10. Pavle je sivo odelo, a njegov sin crveno. (nositi — poneti)
11. Kada sam videla autobus, sam za njim. (trčati — potrčati)
12. Koliko novca si juče ? (menjati — promeniti)
Six take po-. Two don't.
1. gledati →
2. slušati →
3. trčati →
4. gurati →
5. zvati →
6. tražiti →
7. menjati → (nepravilno)
8. nositi → (nepravilno)
SR (lat): Prvo odluči vid, pa tek onda oblik — pazi na rod i lice. Može latinicom ili ćirilicom; dijakritici su opcioni.
СР (ћир): Прво одлучи вид, па тек онда облик — пази на род и лице. Може латиницом или ћирилицом; дијакритици су опциони.
EN: Decide the aspect first, then the form — watch the gender and person. Latin or Cyrillic, diacritics optional.
Igra, pa upotreba
Ista gramatika, drugo raspoloženje — Aspect Run: Perfective vs. Imperfective.
Now put it all into a story — a family, a summer, and four different ways to reach the coast.
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