Learn Serbian

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Learn Serbian Phrases - dan dvadeseti

Marina imperative in Serbian , Listening comprehension

In the previous posts you could practise the phrases for giving directions. Today, I came across this great video which can help you learn the language of instructions, when talking about exercises. It's useful to revise the body parts first:

and then to enjoy watching and listening to the video below:

Serbian Phrases free e-book

First, you can do these exercises with your eyes closed, only by listening to her
Then, you can watch the video and do the exercise, checking if you understood her well
Finally, you can do this follow-up exercise I made for you

Learn Serbian 365 Days with Songs and Poems- Day 19

Marina poems , Serbian language 365

Although this poem is not written by a Serbian, but a Russian poet, I'm sure you'll enjoy listening to Rade Šerbedžija, our renowned actor, and his uniqe interpretation :)

This poem is perfect for getting to know the verb "to wait" and its

imperative form "čekaj"
the pronouns following it "čekaj + me"
the word order: Čekaj me vs. Samo me čekaj dugo
parts of speech: čekati (infinitive) čekanje (noun)
conjugations

Learn Serbian 365 Days - Detective Story, part 2

Marina detective stories in Serbian , Serbian language 365

Убиство у радној соби
Part 1: Where are they ?

Now that you are aware of who the main characters of the first detective story are, let's move onto the second phase of solving this mysterious case!

Do exercise 1 in order to figure out if you solved the first task correctly
Watch the video below, before doing the exercise 2 in order to understand what had happened on the day Đorđe Belić was murdered and where the main characters were at that moment.
If you have any questions regarding this case, feel free to ask them in the comments section.

Наставиће се...

Intermediate Serbian - Verb Aspect, lesson 3

Marina aspect in Serbian , intermediate Serbian

Before we continue with the video lessons focusing on aspect differences, let's be impratctical and talk only about the grammar today:

As you probably noticed in the previous post for the intermediate level, one can turn an imperfective verb into a perfective one by adding a prefix (buditi - probuditi , razbuditi ). But this is not the only way to change an aspect of a verb. You can also:

add a prefix to the verb and it becomes perfective
add a suffix to the verb and it becomes perfective (dremati - dremNUti)
alter the stem (odmoriti - odmarati, which I explained in the previous post)

But, we have to be cautious with the process of prefixation ! Quite often the meaning of the verb does not bear only the difference in aspect ( whether the action is complete or incomplete: "I wrote" - "I was writing" : Napisao sam = Pisao sam). It more frequently bears a new layer of meaning, like the ones mentioned in "buditi" becoming perfective in "probuditi" or "razbuditi", so we need to use phrasal verbs in English to accurately convey the additional meaning.

Let me give you a few examples of:

clear-cut distinction pefective-imperfective (without any additonal meanings):

pisati - napisati (to be writing - to have written/wrote)
čitati - pročitati (to be reading - to have read/ read )

the prefix adding new meanings :

igrati - odigrati / izigrati / zaigrati (to be playing - to have played / to play up / to play upon* these translations are incomplete and need to be read in the sentences, which will be the aim of our future lessons at this level )
pisati - prepisati (to copy) / zapisati (to jot down) / upisati (to enroll)

Until the next lesson, do practise the aspect in Serbian by doing some fun exercises published in the previous posts:

Song "I'm leaving"
Prefix "do-" in Serbian
Exercise with the verb aspect in Serbian

Serbian Language Day 16 - Pre-intermediate Course, Lesson 3

Marina pre-intermediate Serbian , Serbian language 365

Before moving onto the third lesson for the pre-intermediate level of Serbian, you can always flick through the previous blog posts:

In today's lesson you can revise your knowledge of the Locative case, but this time with the verb "živeti" = to live and "govoriti" = to speak (a language) + adjectives describing languages & nouns for countries:

365 Days of Serbian Language - Beginner Lesson 3

Marina Free lessons of Serbian , Learn Serbian online

If you practised the verb TO BE in the Serbian in my previous lessons, I'm sure this will be an easy task for you:

Mute this video before watching it and try to give / write the correct answers for each button.
You can write down the answers and then watch the video again and listen to Jeremija giving his responses.
Has he made any mistakes and if he has, correct the wrong answers (you can write the replies in the comment)

*This is also a smooth intro to the lesson on numbers in Serbian.

Learn Serbian Language 365 Days by Watching Youtube

Marina comprehension exercises , Listening comprehension

I'm sure you enjoyed my last post about Poletarac ! Bilo je zabavno, zar ne ? Today, I'd like to remind you of four great interviews with foreigners living in Serbia, which I posted last year:

They share their view of many different aspects of life and I'm sure you'll enjoy watching them, as well as doing some extra exercises and video lessons:

Word order in Serbian, Exercise based on the first video
Collocations about city life, based on Video 2 (the first two parts of the video)

Serbian Language 365 - Phrases for Giving Directions

Marina free Serbian lessons , how to learn Serbian

About two years ago I was tinkering with the free version of Camtasia for a month. The result was one part of the Serbian phrase course, covering three topics, both in the Latin alphabet and Cyrillic script. Now when I look back on my early works, I'm quite disappointed and I recon it's high time I made much clearer video lessons with better background music and wide scope of topics. I bet you agree :)

In the meantime, I'm sure you'll find these two videos covering "Giving directions in Serbian" useful.

Serbian Phrases free e-book

Places in the city in the Cyrillic script:

Giving directions in the Latin alphabet:

Learn Serbian for 365 Days - Songs and Poems

Marina Advanced Serbian , Serbian language 365

Last time I explained why I incorporated so many beautiful Serbian songs into my teaching. Besides these popular songs, I'd also like to share the well-known poems, which are the part of Serbian culture and heritage.

Although learning them by heart is not very popular nowadays, I still remember many a verse because we had to learn them by heart at school a few decades ago (yes, I'm that old). Once you mention a few lines of a well-known verse, it will surely enrich the conversation, triggering some deeper layers of meaning and connotation.

That's why I'll create a follow-up exercise, for each poem or song, which you can do while listening to the pronunciation. I'll emphasize in bold the most prominent and recognizable lines, so you can learn them if you wish to :)

Let me start with the beautiful Santa Maria Della Salute by one of the most notable Serbian poets, Laza Kostić:

Serbian Language 365 Day 11 - Detective Story "Ubistvo u radnoj sobi" part 1

Marina Advanced Serbian , correcting mistakes

Убиство у радној соби

Part 1: Who is Who

I'm sure you've been hardly waiting for my detective stories from intermediate to advanced levels of Serbian. They'll all be in the Cyrillic script!

Your task: Read the text carefully and correct the grammar mistakes. The first mistake is already shown. You should say:

"It's not "nađena", but "nađen", because Đorđe Belić is a man! " or
" Ne kaže se "nađena" već "nađen", zato što je Đorđe muškarac, a ne žena!"

Introduction to the case:

Ђорђе Белић, 60, , чувени глумац из Београда, нађена је мртав у својој радној собy, 2. фебруар у 18 часови и 5 минута. (3 mistakes, without the example)
Иако је полиција позвани на лице места због случаја самоубиства. Током увиђаја је утврђено да је у питању убиство и да је усмрћен пиштољима марке Глоцк, Модел 26. (2 mistakes)
Тог тренутака, у његовој кућaмa у Гроздићевој 142, налазило се још четири лица: (2 mistakes)

a. Војислав Симеуновић, стари 48 година, ради у обезбеђењу кућне већ 4 годинa. (3 mistakes)

b. Снежана Ранковић, стар 33 године, ради као куварица већ 3 година. (2 mistakes)

c. Радивој Шошкић, стар 44 годину, запослен као возач убијену Ђорђа Белића - на овом послу скоро 1 годинe (прецизније, 11 месеција и 6 данa) (3 mistakes)

d. Мирјана Белић, старица 21 година, ћерка убијеноме. (3 mistakes)

Наставиће се...

Serbian Language Day 10 - Aspect in Serbian

Marina aspect in Serbian , Free lessons of Serbian

I hope you enjoyed revising the Simple Past in Serbian and wondering why the last lesson was so easy for someone at an intermediate level. The obvious reason is the introduction into this tense, because it'll lead us to the trickiest aspect of the Serbian language:

While in the English language there's an elaborate system of tenses (level of syntax) in order to express whether an action took place, was talking place or has been talking place, in the Serbian language, these distinctions are inferred mainly from the verb, at the lexical level. For example:

odmorio (had a rest) or odmarao (was having a rest)

That's why I prepared quite a lot video lessons about Jeremija and Spomenka, and the follow-up exercises, hoping that it'll help you clarify the aspect in Serbian. Let me start with this difficult one, but if it's too easy, check this one out :)

PROBUDITI = to wake up (perfective)
BUDITI = to wake up (imperfective)
RAZBUDITI = to wake up (perfective)

Kada se obično budiš ? = When do you usually wake up ?

Koliko ti treba vremena da se probudiš ? = How much time does it take for you to wake up ?

Kada si se jutros probudio ? When did you wake up yesterday ?

Jutros sam se probudio u pola šest (5.30) = This morning I woke up at 5.30

In the "she-version", Jeremija made a few mistakes. Here're the correct text:

Serbian Language Day 9 - Pre-intermediate Course, Lesson 2

Marina Free lessons of Serbian , Learn Serbian online

You can always revise the simple structures by following the Serbian for Beginner course tag, as well as Serbian Lesson Pages.

In our previous pre-intermediate lesson we covered:

the names of the capitals
the Locative case (practice and explanation with the practice)

Let's use the similar group of words, this time "places in the city" to express our whereabouts:

"Ćao! Gde si ?" = Hi, where are you ?
"Zdravo! Sada sam u muzeju. A ti ? " = Hello, I'm in the museum. And you ?
"Ja sam na autobuskoj stanicu ! Vidimo se za pet minuta!" = I'm at the square ! See you in five minutes!

Don't forget to the follow-up exercise!

Serbian Language Day 8 - Beginner Serbian, Lesson 2

Marina Free lessons of Serbian , Learn Serbian online

Serbian for beginners, lesson 2:

If you successfully completed the previous lesson, and vežbe = exercises jedan and dva, you are ready for the followin lesson covering the phrase "This is ..." and "This isn't ...". Watch the video exercise and try to guess:

what "OVO" means ?
what is the negative form of "JE" ?

Answers:

Serbian Language Day 7 - Video Series, Films and Podcasts for learning Serbian

Marina Learn Serbian Podcast , Listening comprehension

Youtube is a great source of unique and authentic materials for learning Serbian, which I have been sharing with you under "listening comprehension" tag. One of the best and most comprehensible TV series for learning the Serbian language are surely ancient "Neven", as well as "Poletarac", directed by Timothy Byford and featuring the most prominent actors, actresses and sportsmen from ex-Yugoslavia in the early eighties.

Watch the first part of "Poletarac" and you'll see why it can come in handy when learning Serbian:

1. Part one about swimming (plivanje) and knowing (znanje) from the beginning to minute 3:00

plivati = to swim
znati = to know, can (I can swim = Znam da plivam)
ko zna da pliva = who knows to / can swim ?
osim = except
žaba = frog
imati = to have
da li žaba ima zube ? = does a frog have teeth ?
ne znam = I don't know

2. Part two about telling the time (koliko je sati) and numbers (from 3:00-4:00)

koliko je sati ? = what's the time ?
sada je tačno jedan sat = it's one o'clock sharp
jedan i dva SU tri = one and two are three
ovo je jedna žaba = this is a frog
ovo su dve žabe = these are two frogs
lopta je okrugla = the ball is round
Zemlja je okrugla = the Earth is round

3. Part three about APPLES (from 5:30)

jabuka = an apple
koliko imate jabuka = how many apples do you have ?
imam tri jabuke = I have three apples
ljuštiti = to peal

4. Part four about UP and DOWN (from 6.30)

sad = now
gore = up
dole = down
sad sam dole = now I'm down
sad sam gore = now I'm up
visoko = high
nisko = low

5: Part five with the short answers (from 8:00)

Da li imam zube = Do I have teeth ?
Imam = I do
imati = to have
Da li sam zelen kao žaba ? = Am I green like a frog ?
Nisam = I'm not
skakati = to jump
Da li skačem kao žaba ? = Do I jump like a frog ?

6: Part six - thanking and greetings

hvala = thank you
doviđenja = goodbye
hvala Vam najlepše = many thanks
drago mi je = I'm glad

7. Part seven (from 10:50) about bees and numbers

ovo je ... = this is...
pčela = bee
hive = košnica
fabrika = factory
roj (pčela) = swarm
med = honey
ko bude jeo..., biće ... = the one who eats..., he'll be...

Serbian Language 365 - Day 6 Phrases in Serbian

Marina Free lessons of Serbian , how to learn Serbian

Many of you who have joined my online lessons, accompanying Serbian language courses, already know that I've had so much precious insight into learning Serbian from my mother-in-law who is French. She told me how difficult it was for her to learn the language from books, and she actually started speaking the language and becoming fluent when she threw away all her grammar books and textbooks and started learning phrases and letting her children correct her mistakes. You can imagine why: since Serbian is a highly flective language, one can come across many suffixes which are the same, denoting different cases (like "vidim pitU" (Acc.Sg.Fem.) in contrast with "ja sam u BeogradU" (Locative, Sg. Masc.)), which can only confuse you.

In reality, if you stopped to think what you'd say, you'd never become fluent. The key to learning ANY language is always immersion, either by spending time in the country where the language is spoken, or watching films, singing songs or being surrounded by people speaking only the target language. In case none of the above is possible, you can always learn the set phrases, which will help you become fluent.

Learning grammar is always a "reverse engineering" process - and it should stay that way. That's why I will always publish one "Serbian phrases video lesson" based on a situation covered in my Serbian phrases e-book on Sundays. Lots of my students told me it was highly useful and practical, and I'm sure you'll find it the same!

Pozdravi na srpskom (Greetings in Serbian)

Serbian Language 365 - Day 5 Singing in Serbian

Marina comprehension exercises , Serbian language 365

If you have been following this blog, you've certainly noticed that there are a lot of songs with which you can practise your language. The main reason is that songs will help you with fluency, because while singing you repeat the same structures, collocations and fixed verb+case noun sets, and this boosts your confidence and automatic responses.

Before I continue creating new songs+exercises, such as this one, let me give you a short review of the past songs and grammar points which my students really loved:

Google Tag Head

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Saturday, March 02, 2013

Friday, March 01, 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Monday, February 25, 2013

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Friday, February 22, 2013

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Monday, February 18, 2013

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Saturday, February 16, 2013

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