Welcome to the course!
This grammar explanation will be quite thorough, which is essential for understanding the Serbian language, especially if you do not speak any Slavic language, as you might not easily grasp the logic behind certain grammatical structures otherwise.
However, if you are already familiar with a Slavic language and understand how to use the verb "to be," determine noun gender, and other fundamental concepts explained here, feel free to skip ahead.
Conjugation of 'бити' (To Be)
The verb "to be" (бити) is essential for talking about existence or identity. Its present tense forms are used to say "I am," "you are," "he is," etc., or to indicate where something is located. The present tense forms are:
- Ја сам (I am)
- Ти си (You are, singular informal)
- Он/Она/Оно је (He/She/It is)
- Ми смо (We are)
- Ви сте (You are, plural or singular formal)
- Они/Оне су (They are)
- Examples: Ја сам студент (I am a student). Моја сестра је добра (My sister is good). Ми смо добри пријатељи (We are good friends). Они су овде (They are here).
How to Determine the Gender of a Word
Serbian nouns belong to one of three genders: Masculine, Feminine, or Neuter. Knowing the gender is crucial because it affects the endings of adjectives and other words used with the noun. Generally, the gender is evident from the noun's ending in its basic form (nominative singular):
- Masculine: Most nouns ending in a consonant are masculine (e.g., дом - house, сто - table, учитељ - teacher).
- Feminine: Most nouns ending in -а are feminine (e.g., жена - woman, књига - book, земља - earth/land).
- Neuter: Most nouns ending in -о or -е are neuter (e.g., село - village, море - sea).
- Keep in mind: There are some exceptions to these rules, but they apply to the majority of words.
The Nominative Case: The Subject and Naming
The Nominative case is the basic form of a noun or adjective, primarily used for the subject of a sentence (who or what performs the action) or simply to name things. This is the form you will find words in dictionaries.
Nouns: Singular forms follow the gender rules described above. Plural forms vary based on gender.
- Masculine Examples: Sg: дом. Pl: домови.
- Feminine Examples: Sg: жена. Pl: жене.
- Neuter Examples: Sg: село. Pl: села.
Adjectives: Agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Adjectives have different endings for hard and soft stems.
- Hard Stem Examples: Singular: добар (m), добра (f), добро (n). Plural: добри (all genders).
- Soft Stem Examples: Singular: тихи (m), тиха (f), тихо (n). Plural: тихи (all genders).
Examples: Добар дом је стар (A good house is old). Тихи ветар дува (A quiet wind is blowing). Лепе жене говоре (Beautiful women are speaking).
Demonstrative Pronouns (Nominative) and Why Use Them
Demonstrative pronouns help us specify particular nouns, similar to using "this" or "that" in English. In the Nominative case, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to. Using them helps to clarify exactly which item you mean from a group.
- Singular: овај (m), ова (f), ово (n) - (this, close to the speaker) / тај (m), та (f), то (n) - (that, close to the listener) / онај (m), она (f), оно (n) - (that, far from both)
- Plural: ови (all genders) - (these) / ти (all genders) - (those) / они (all genders) - (those, far)
- Examples: Овај дом је велик (This house is big). Та књига је моја (That book is mine). Ово је наше село (This is our village). Ови људи су весели (These people are cheerful).