What does Verb "Nositi" Mean in Serbian ?

The verb "nositi" in Serbian has many different translations into English :

• nositi odeću = to wear clothes
• nositi  torbu   = to carry a bag
• nositi dete   = to bear a child
• nositi se sa problemima = to cope with problems

So, while in English there's a multitude of different words representing only one word in Serbian, there's this very productive prefixation system in our language which will make things complicated. But don't worry ! If you start learning the approximate meanings of Serbian suffixes and prefixes, you'll pretty soon be able to infer the meaning from the context, if you know what the basic stem word means. Let me give you an example with the stem " nositi ", as explained above :

• pre- = over/ across 

1. prenositi = to carry over, 
2. preneti dete = to bear a child longer than it is due, 
3. preneti dete preko bare = to carry a child over a puddle

• iz- = out of /thoroughly 

1. izneti torbu = to carry out a bag, 
2. iznositi odeću = to wear some clothes for years, 
3. iznošena odeća = worn out clothes

• u- = into 

1. uneti torbu u kuću = to bring a bag into a house

• s- = downward movement /  it also adds perfective aspect (sth. is finished) 

1. snositi posledice = to bear the consequences
2. snositi troškove školovanja = to bear the cost of tuition fees (for example)

• pod - = to 

1. podnositi buku = to bear the noise (Kako možeš da podneseš ovu užasnu buku = How can you bear this awful noise ?)
2. podneti ostavku = to submit a resignation
3. podneti poraz = to accept a defeat
4. podnositi ( vreme / pritisak...) = to withstand (weather conditions / pressure)

• od- = signifies the movement from/ out of or in the opposite direction

1. odneti = to take sth.to (we took the clothes to them = odneli smo im odeću)

In the next post I'll list a few idioms with the verb "nositi". Watch this space!

If you like this type of blog posts, make sure you don't miss the previous ones covering the verbs:

• videti
• slagati se

For those of you who are still coping with the basics, here's a simple video with which you can drill present and past simple, saying sentences such as:

• On nosi ... / ona nosi ... / ono nosi ...

or in the past

• On je nosio ... / ona je nosila / ono je nosilo ... or
• Nosio je... / nosila je ... / nosilo je ... (which is more common and neutral word order)

Here comes the video :