Serbian Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Serbian grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Serbian and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Serbian and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Serbian.

Prepositions - Serbian - Pronunciation
and и [i]
above изнад [iznad]
under испод [ispod]
before пре [prye]
after после [poslye]
in front of испред [ispryed]
behind иза [iza]
far from далеко од [dalyeko od]
near близу [blizoo]
in у [oo]
inside унутар [oonootar]
outside ван [van]
with са [sa]
without без [byez]
about око [oko]
between између [izmyedʑoo]
but али [ali]
for за [za]
from од [od]
to у [oo]

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Serbian + Pronunciation
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] једем без ножа [јyedyem byez noʐa]
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] она живи у близини цркве [ona ʐivi oo blizini tzrkvye]
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] он је виши од ње [on јye vishi od њye]
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] он је дошао са својом малим псом [on јye doshao sa svoјom malim psom]
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] можеш ли доћи са мном? [moʐyesh li doći sa mnom?]

Negation in Serbian

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Serbian + Pronunciation
I understand you [affirmative form] разумем те [razoomyem tye]
I don't understand you [negation + verb] не разумем те [nye razoomyem tye]
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] ово није исправна реч [ovo niјye ispravna ryech]
don't leave me [imperative negation] не остављај ме [nye ostavljaј mye]
no problem [negation + noun] нема проблема [nyema problyema]

Negative Sentences - Serbian + Pronunciation
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] не говорим француски [nye guovorim frantzooski]
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] она није посетила немачку [ona niјye posyetila nyemachkoo]
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] не може да нас види [nye moʐye da nas vidi]
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] зар она не уме да игра шах? [zar ona nye oomye da igura shakh?]
we will not come late [negation + future tense] нећемо доћи касно [nyećyemo doći kasno]

Questions in Serbian

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Serbian - Pronunciation
how? како? [kako?]
what? шта? [shta?]
who? ко? [ko?]
why? зашто? [zashto?]
where? где? [gudye?]

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Serbian + Pronunciation
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] где ви живите? [gudye vi ʐivitye?]
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] говори ли она кинески? [guovori li ona kinyeski?]
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] колико је ово? [koliko јye ovo?]
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] могу ли вам помоћи? [moguoo li vam pomoći?]
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] како се зовеш? [kako sye zovyesh?]

Adverbs in Serbian

It's time to learn the adverbs in Serbian. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Serbian - Pronunciation
now сада [sada]
yesterday јуче [јoochye]
today данас [danas]
tonight вечерас [vyechyeras]
tomorrow сутра [sootra]
soon ускоро [ooskoro]
quickly брзо [brzo]
slowly полако [polako]
together заједно [zaјyedno]
very веома [vyeoma]
almost скоро [skoro]
always увек [oovyek]
usually обично [obichno]
sometimes понекад [ponyekad]
rarely ретко [ryetko]
never никада [nikada]

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Serbian + Pronunciation
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] да ли ме разумете сада? [da li mye razoomyetye sada?]
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] потребна ми је помоћ одмах [potryebna mi јye pomoć odmakh]
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] она је веома интелигентна [ona јye vyeoma intyeliguyentna]
I will always love you [verb + adverb] увек ћу те волети [oovyek ćoo tye volyeti]
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] можемо ли да учимо заједно немачки? [moʐyemo li da oochimo zaјyedno nyemachki?]

Pronouns in Serbian

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Serbian. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Serbian - Pronunciation
I ја [јa]
you ти/ви [ti/vi]
he он [on]
she она [ona]
we ми [mi]
they они [oni]

Object Pronouns - Serbian - Pronunciation
me мени [myeni]
you теби /вама [tyebi /vama]
him њему [њyemoo]
her њој [њoј]
us нама [nama]
them њима [њima]

Possessive Pronouns - Serbian - Pronunciation
my мој [moј]
your тво [tvo]
his његов [њyeguov]
her њен [њyen]
our наш [nash]
their њихов [њikhov]

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Serbian + Pronunciation
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] ја сам твој пријатељ [јa sam tvoј priјatyelj]
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] говорите веома брзо [guovoritye vyeoma brzo]
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] он има три пса [on ima tri psa]
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] она уме да говори немачки [ona oomye da guovori nyemachki]
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] нећемо доћи касно [nyećyemo doći kasno]
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] купили су млеко и хлеб [koopili soo mlyeko i khlyeb]

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Serbian + Pronunciation
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] можете ли ми рећи своје име? [moʐyetye li mi ryeći svoјye imye?]
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] ја ћу вам дати новац [јa ćoo vam dati novatz]
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] она му је написала писмо [ona moo јye napisala pismo]
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] посетили су је јуче [posyetili soo јye јoochye]
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] може ли она да нам помогне? [moʐye li ona da nam pomogunye?]
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] дао им је хране [dao im јye khranye]

Possessive Pronouns - Serbian + Pronunciation
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] моје име је маја [moјye imye јye maјa]
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] твој брат живи овде [tvoј brat ʐivi ovdye]
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] њена мајка кува за нас [њyena maјka koova za nas]
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] његов хоби је читање књига [njyeguov khobi јye chitaњye kњigua]
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] наш сан је да посетимо париз [nash san јye da posyetimo pariz]
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] њихова кућа није далеко [njikhova kooća niјye dalyeko]

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Serbian - Pronunciation
this is my house ово је моја кућа [ovo јye moјa kooća]
that restaurant is far тај ресторан је далеко [taј ryestoran јye dalyeko]
these apples are delicious ове јабуке су укусне [ovye јabookye soo ookoosnye]
those stars are shiny оне звезде се сјаје [onye zvyezdye sye sјaјye]

I hope you learned a lot about the Serbian grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!