Serbian grammar - Exercises for beginners, part 1

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Exercises from Serbian grammar for beginners: Personal pronouns, past tense, auxiliary verbs 'jesam' and 'nisam'. When you start to learn Serbian, in a few first lessons you will learn about auxiliary verb 'jesam' (as well as its negative form 'nisam') and about personal pronouns. About past tense you will learn a little bit later, because this tense consists of two verbs.Do you find Serbian grammar difficult or easy? Can you solve this exercises by your self? If your answer is no, then you may ask for the assistance of Serbian teacher online. If your answer is yes, then you are ready to take the next step.

1. Fill in the blanks with personal pronouns or auxiliary verb 'jesam' :

___ sam profesorka.
Ona ___ u Londonu.
Marko ___ upoznao Anu.
___ smo vredni.
Danas ___ oni u kući.
Moja sestra sada ___ u školi.
Vi ___ učenici.
Sanja, Marko i Maja ___ na fakultetu.
Švajcarska ___ lepa zemlja.
Moj muž ___ dobar.
____ su dobre devojke.
Vreme __ lepo.

2. Fill in the blanks with right form of verb ‘nisam’ (negative form of ‘jesam'):

Ona ____ kod kuće.
Ja ______ u parku.
Danas ti _____ sa mnom.
Naši gosti ______ ovde.
Haljina ______ lepa.
Na času mi ______ slušali.
Oni _____ uradili domaći.
Ja ______ Ana.

3. Podvuci glagole u prošlom vremenu – Underline verbs in past tense:

Ja sam spavala do podne.
Oni su ostali sa nama.
Čekali smo voz.
Marko je mislio na Anu.
Ti si pričao o vestima.
Dečaci su trčali na stadionu.
Devojčica je želela lutku.
Prijatelji su pili vino.
Učitelj je glasno čitao knjigu.
Sestre su govorile holandski jezik.
Ja sam telefonirala dečku.
Uveče u dnevnoj sobi otac je gledao TV.
Šetali smo u centru Amsterdama.
Vreme je bilo lepo.

If you want to get more exercises from Serbian grammar, or you are curious how to learn Serbian online with a help of Serbian teacher, send me an email to kratkeprice@gmail.com.

Ako želite da unapredite svoje znanje srpskog jezika, ili znate nekoga ko želi da počne da uči "od nule" naš lepi jezik, pišite mi na navedenu adresu.

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Your Serbian teacher online,
Lidija Novaković Lagrini

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LEARN LANGUAGE BY SINGING

Listening to the Balkan songs with lyrics is a great way for learning Serbian language. (Also Croatian and Bosnian, if we consider them as separate languages.) This choice of songs belongs to the musical mainstream. Serbian teacher's favorites among these musicians are Darko Rundek and Plavi orkestar.

Enjoy in learning with the music!

Đorđe Balašević
Neki novi klinci
Priča o Vasi Ladačkom

Darko Rundek
Uzalud pitaš

Riblja čorba
Nemoj da ideš mojom ulicom
Kada padne noć
Lutka sa naslovne strane
Pogledaj dom svoj anđele
Pravila, pravila

Piloti
Kao ptica na mom dlanu

Bijelo dugme
Ružica si bila
Lipe cvatu

Bajaga i instruktori
Život je nekad siv, nekad žut
Tišina

Prljavo kazalište
Marina
Moj bijeli labude

Valentino
Oka tvoja dva

Parni valjak
Moja je pjesma lagana

Plavi orkestar
Zelene su bile oči te
Život je more

Music has many positive influences, it effects our senses and our internal body processes.

Melody helps us to memorize the words and to expand the vocabulary, especially if we like the song, and listen to it over and over again.

Let me know if you like these songs and for which other songs you would like to know the lyrics.

For everything else you want to know about this topic, or how to learn Serbian online with a help of a Serbian teacher, send me an email to kratkeprice@gmail.com.

Ako želite da unapredite svoje znanje srpskog jezika, ili znate nekoga ko želi da počne da uči "od nule" naš lepi jezik, pišite mi na navedenu adresu.

Priloženi muzički izbor spada u mejnstrim, ali se nadam da među ovim pesmama možete naći neke drage pesme koje podsećaju na neki drugačiji Balkan od današnjeg. Pesme sa tekstom pogodne su za proširivanje vokabulara ako učite srpski jezik.
A ako ga već znate, onda, recimo, možete iskoristiti ovaj post i organizovati multinacionalne karaoke sa Vašim prijateljima i rođacima :)

your Serbian teacher online,
Lidija Novaković Lagrini

Make an online appointment

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If you want to improve your Serbian vocabulary, listening to the alive language is very important. That's why we are presenting this choice of Serbian radio stations online.

Some of Serbian language learners have the opportunity to hear the language in live conversations on a daily bases. If your working environment is Serbian, or if majority of your family are Serbs (or Croatians or Bosnians), that would be your case.

But, much more often, the conditions are just the opposite. Most of my students live faraway from the Balkans and they rarely have contact with live language, except when they have a lesson with a Serbian teacher.

That's why we have the internet! And radio stations online.

Besides the fact that it sometimes eats our time, internet might be very useful if you want to learn Serbian language.

Most of the radio stations in air emit only music, so, I skipped them in this choice.

I wanted you to listen to the talk-shows, educational and cultural programs. Anything where you might hear modern Serbian language.

Radio Beograd 202

(fun, music, information)

http://www.radio-uzivo.com/stanica/Radio-Beograd-202
Hosts on this radio station are often relaxed and funny, their language is casual and urban. Recommendation: Radio-show 'Oblak u bermudama' with host Darko Kocjan.

Radio Beograd 2. program

(classical music, literature, education, science)

http://www.radio-uzivo.com/stanica/Radio-Beograd-2
This radio station is really special. They have many scientific and cultural radio-shows in a very high intellectual level. Their guests are experts from different areas - classical music, literature, arts, linguistics, etc.
Often one may hear on these radio waves excellent experimental concerts or radio-dramas.

Radio B92

(news, music)

http://www.radio-uzivo.com/stanica/Radio-B92
This radio station belongs here maybe because of my nostalgia, because it had lost a lot from its previous quality and glory.
Before, it was a symbol of courage in difficult times. Now, I am not really sure. You may check it by yourself.

Radio Index

(music, news)
http://www.radio-uzivo.com/stanica/Radio-Index
The similar description as for Beograd 202; this radio station was the students' radio before, and now they have various shows and very good nightly program.

For everything else you want to know about this topic, or how to learn Serbian online with a help of a Serbian teacher, send me an email to kratkeprice@gmail.com.

Ako želite da unapredite svoje znanje srpskog jezika, ili znate nekoga ko želi da počne da uči "od nule" naš lepi jezik, pišite mi na navedenu adresu.

your Serbian teacher online,
Lidija Novaković Lagrini

Make an online appointment

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When you start to learn Serbian, some letters might be difficult for pronunciation, because you don't have them in your own language. I am primarily referring to the following: Č, Ć, DŽ, Đ, LJ, NJ, Š, Z, Ž. Serbian teacher online will give you many exercises to practice and improve your pronunciation of Serbian letters.
But first, read the description below, and try to pronounce every letter separately.

Č ČOVEK, ČAJ (tongue is touching upper palate; hard letter; č as in English words chalk, chain, charge)

Ć ĆUP, ĆUTATI (soft letter; top of the tongue is touching bottom of the lower teeth; middle part of the tounge is mildly touching upper palate and upper teeth; no equivalent in English)

DŽ DŽEP, DŽIP (hard letter; similar tounge position as č, but you are also moving forward lower lip; many equivalents in English - dž as in gin, and in many names Jerry, John, Jack)

Đ ĐAK, ĐUBRE (soft letter; the sound is formed when tounge is leaned on upper and lower teeth; no equivalent in English; similar tongue position as Ć)

LJ LJUBAV, LJULJAŠKA (soft letter, as soft L; no real equivalent in English, but similar to L in milion; tongue is down, touching lower teeth; mouth is half open)

NJ NJIVA, NJEN (soft letter, as soft N; no real equivalent in English, but similar to N in New York or in news; both lips forward, tongue linned on low teeth)

Š ŠUMA, ŠAMAR (the sound like when you want to make a silence - shhhhh; as in English shark, shame, Sean Connery)

Z ZVONO, ZUB (the sound like when bees is buzzing, zzzzzzzz; like in English zest, zen, zone)

Ž ŽENA, ŽIVOT (the sound similar to Z, but stronger; both lips are moving; similar to the sound in English word pleasure)

For everything else you want to know about this topic, or how to learn Serbian online with a help of a Serbian teacher, send me an email to kratkeprice@gmail.com.

Ako želite da unapredite svoje znanje srpskog jezika, ili znate nekoga ko želi da počne da uči "od nule" naš lepi jezik, pišite mi na navedenu adresu.

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The first steps in learning Serbian language are reading exercises.
Serbian teacher recommends that you start with texts in Serbian Latin.
In this blog post you may find poem for children Strašan lav by famous poet and aphorist Duško Radović and short story for children Lutka bez glave by Dragan Lukić.
For advanced readers of Serbian language, we suggest one love poem - Strepnja, from famous Serbian poet Desanka Maksimović and ballad Balada iz predgrađa by Dobriša Cesarić.
Reading texts in Serbian language is not difficult, because of the famous rule - ONE LETTER IS ONE SOUND. The rule applies for Latin Serbian alphabet as well as for Cyrillic alphabet.
In this faze, don't try to understand full meaning of the poems, just enjoy in pronunciation and sound of Serbian language.

STREPNJA

Ne, nemoj mi prići! Hoću izdaleka

Da volim i želim oka tvoja dva.

Jer sreća je lepa samo dok se čeka,

Dok od sebe samo nagoveštaj da.

Ne, nemoj mi prići! Ima više draži

Ova slatka strepnja,čekanje i stra`.

Sve je mnogo lepše donde dok se traži

O čemu se samo tek po slutnji zna.

Ne, nemoj mi prići! Našto to, i čemu?

Iz daleka samo sve k`o zvezda sja;

Iz daleka samo divimo se svemu.

Ne, neka mi ne priđu oka tvoja dva.

Desanka Maksimović

LUTKA BEZ GLAVE

Pred kućom, na ulici, sedi devojčica i drži lutku bez glave. Dok ljudi prolaze, ona razgovara sa lutkom. Jedan čika zastade pa joj reče:

- Kako možeš da razgovaraš sa lutkom koja nije živa?

- Ona je živa - brzo odgovori devojčica.

- Kako je živa kad nema glavu?

- Ima glavu - odvrati devojčica.

- Nema glavu - reče čika ljutito.

- Ima...

- Nema...

- Ali vi, čiko, ne umete da se igrate!

Dragan Lukić

STRAŠAN LAV

Bio jednom jedan lav…

Kakav lav?

Strašan lav,

narogušen i ljut sav!

Strašno, strašno!

Išao je na tri noge,

gledao je na tri oka,

slušao je na tri uva…

Strašno, strašno!

Ne pitajte šta je jeo.

Taj je jeo šta je hteo

– tramvaj ceo

i oblaka jedan deo!

Strašno, strašno!

Zubi oštri, pogled zao,

on za milost nije znao!

Strašno, strašno!

Dok ga Brana

jednog dana

nije gumom izbrisao.

Strašno, strašno!

Duško Radović

BALADA IZ PREDGRAĐA

I lije na uglu petrolejska lampa

svijetlost crvenkastožutu

na debelo blato kraj staroga plota

i dvije, tri cigle na putu.

I uvijek ista sirotinja uđje

i s licem na kojem su obično brige

u njezinu svjetlost iz mraka,

pređe je u par koraka.

A jedne večeri nekoga nema,

I nema ga sutra, ni prekosutra ne,

a morao bi proć;

I lampa gori,

i gori u magli,

i vec je noć.

i vele da bolestan leži,

i maj već mirise -

i nema ga mjesec, i nema ga dva,

i zima je već,

i sniježi.

A prolaze kao i dosad ljudi,

a njega nema, i nema, i nema,

i dvije, tri cigle na putu.

i nema ga više.

I lije na uglu petrolejska lampa

svijetlost crvenkastožutu

na debelo blato kraj staroga plota

Dobriša Cesarić

Good luck in learning Serbian with help of Serbian teacher!

For everything else you want to know about this topic, or how to learn Serbian online with a help of a Serbian teacher, send me an email to kratkeprice@gmail.com.