Pronunciation of Serbian R

   Letter R is the only letter in Serbian alphabet which might be both - a vowel and a consonant. Normally it's a consonant. But when there is no other vowel in a group of consonants, R takes over that role. 


     There are some facts and tricks which might be helpful for improving our pronunciation of Serbian letter R. 


1)      R in Serbian is a vibrant sound (Spanish Oscar, Serbian Oscarrrr). When you pronounce it properly, you should feel the vibration on the surface of your tongue. 


2)      The position of speech organs should be this: the top of the tongue is above the upper teeth, slightly touching it or not touching it at all.


3)      Words for practicing R in clusters PR and TR:   PRVI, PRAVI, PROMET, PRIČA, PREDMET, TRAVA, VATRA, TRAJATI, TRAŽITI. 

      4)    Words for practicing R when R has a role of a vowel: SRBIJA, PRTLJAŽNIK, PRŽITI, CRKVA, KRST, TRG, CRVENO.

      5)      This is a good trick to check if you are doing it properly: put your hand in front of the mouth; say R several times; if you feel your breath on your palm, the pronunciation is good. Try this as many times as needed, until you clearly feel your breath. 


6)      Sing in house RRRRRRRRR, SIRRRRRR, PRRRRRAVI… Maybe you may make up your personal song with words that contain R.

      Enjoy in learning Serbian (that is the most important) !

      

      For more advises, ask for my help kratkeprice@gmail.com

      Serbian Teacher Online

      Lidija Novakovic Lagrini


Future Tense in Serbian Language with Exercises


future tense

We can make future tense in two ways:

1)   With shorter form of auxiliary verb ‘hteti’   (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će) + infinitive (basic form of the verb).

Example: Future tense of the verb PISATI
      
1.  ću pisati                     1.  ćemo pisati
2.  češ pisati                   2.  ćete pisati
3.  će pisati                     3.  će pisati

2)   By adding shorter form of auxiliary verb ‘hteti’ to infinitive’s root.

1.  pisaću                      1.  pisaćemo
2.  pisaćeš                    2.  pisaćete

3.  pisaće                      3.  pisaće

EXERCISES:
a) Underline verbs in future tense:
Ja ću doći kod tebe sutra oko 7 sati. Nadam se da ćeš me sačekati spreman. Ponećemo opremu za pecanje, imaćemo na sebi lovačke čizme i obući ćemo tople jakne. Vreme će biti vedro, ali vetrovito. Duvaće snažan vetar sa severa. Nadam se da ćemo uloviti dosta ribe. 

b) Conjugate following verbs in future tense: gledati, praviti, želeti, uraditi.

c) Fill in the blanks with verbs in future tense:
Mama ______ (kuvati) kolače za slavu.
Ana i ja ________ (gledati) film u bioskopu.
Ti ______ (želeti) da slaviš rođendan.
Vreme ______ (biti) veoma hladno.
Ispiti ______ (biti) teški. 

Learn Serbian with Serbian Teacher Online
Lidija Novakovic Lagrini

Improve Your Spoken Serbian - Speaking Topics for Intermediate Level

You are learning Serbian for a while and you feel confident when it is about grammar rules, writing or understanding. But when you need to communicate in a real life, you are experiencing some difficulties and you are a little bit discouraged by that. 

If that is the case, the solution is - talking and only talking. Practice communication and use your Serbian on daily basis as much as possible. 

For these exercises, you will need to have a language partner - Serbian speaker. Ask somebody to help you, most of the people will gladly accept. Doesn't matter if they are native or non native Serbian speakers or if the conversation goes alive or online. Pick your role, and - start practicing your Serbian!  


Conversation topics:


1) U prodavnici odeće, razgovor kupca i prodavca.

Reči: veličina, boja, pantalone, suknja, sako, košulja, majica, cena, malo, veliko, probati, kupiti, želeti, izvolite, hvala...


2) Na pijaci, razgovor kupca i prodavca.

Reči: kilo, pakovanje, krompir, kupus, šargarepa, paradajz, jabuke, banane, gram, jaja, sir, voće, povrće, skupo, jeftino, izmeriti, zrelo, dajte mi, lubenice, limun, orasi, birati... 


3) Na pecanju, razgovor dede i unuka.

Reči: udica, mamac, štap za pecanje, upecati, riba, reka, šaran, som, girica, mreža, voda, mirno, sedeti, čekati, obala...


4) U školi, razgovor učenika i profesorke.

Reči: čas, lekcija, učiti, srpski jezik, gramatika, izgovor, vežbanja, primer, čitati, pisati, ne znati, razumeti, učionica, kasniti, ponoviti, zaboraviti, knjiga, sveska...


5) U kuhinji, razgovor muža i žene.

Reči: ručak. večera, jesti, doručak, kuvati, ukusno, so, biber, salata, musaka, sarma, meso, tanjir, viljuška, kašika, gibanica, ajvar, sto, dragi...


6) U noćnom klubu, razgovor momka i devojke koji se ne poznaju.

Reči: zdravo, zvati se, popiti, piće, muzika, glasno, di džej, koncert, noćni život, gde, koliko, po zanimanju, slušati, lepa, veče, ponovo...



Serbian Teacher Online
Lidija Novakovic Lagrini

Serbian Present Tense: 3rd Person Plural

Serbian present tense is not very difficult for understanding and remembering. The only part that might make certain difficulty to the Serbian learners is the form for 3rd person plural.





Let’s repeat the endings: Singular: -M, -Š, -O, Plural: -MO, -TE, -U/-E/-JU.

These endings are always the same for every verb of Serbian language in present tense whose basic form (infinitive) end with –TI. The only form with variations is 3rd person plural –U/-E/-JU.

But there is a rule that might help us to choose the right ending with a verb we want to conjugate or to use in a sentence.

In 3rd person of Serbian present tense, endings might be –U, -E or –JU. That depends on a 1st  of the verb we want to conjugate. 

If the verb in its 1st person form ends with –im, form in a 3rd person will end with          –EVerbs: voleti (1st person – volim, 3rd person – vole), videti (1st person – vidim, 3rd person – vide), misliti (1st - person mislim, 3rd person – misle), tražiti (1st person – tražim, 3rd person – traže) etc.

If the verb in its 1st person form ends with –em, form in a 3rd person will end with         –UVerbs: kazati (1st person – kažem, 3rd person – kažu), piti (1st person – pijem, 3rd person – piju), pasti (1st person – padnem, 3rd person – padnu), jesti (1st person – jedem, 3rd person – jedu), etc. These verbs are most often irregular.

The majority of the verbs end with –JU in a 3rd person plural of present tense. These verbs are mostly regular and end with –am in a 1st person of present tense.

If you have more questions about the Present tense in Serbian language, write to Serbian Teacher Online - kratkeprice@gmail.com
Lidija Novakovic Lagrini


Serbian Text with Exercises (Intermediate Level)

The text which follows might help you to expand your Serbian vocabulary and to practice making simple sentences in Serbian language. 


Text: Leto u Srbiji

U julu je u Srbiji uvek veoma toplo. Temperatura je nekad 40 stepeni. Mnogi Srbi idu na more, u Grčku, Tursku ili Crnu Goru.
Beograđani imaju Adu. To je rečno ostrvo. Na njemu su plaža, sportski tereni za badmington, tenis, odbojku, golf; mali Zoološki vrt sa domaćim životinjama, itd. Posetioci mogu videti ovce, mačke, pse, labudove... U restoranu mogu naručiti pljeskavice, riblju čorbu ili pasulj. Nije skupo.

U Srbiji se održavaju mnogi festivali. Na primer Exit u Novom Sadu i festival trube u Guči. Na Exitu sviraju moderni tehno, pop, dens bendovi. Na festivalu u Guči sviraju trubački bendovi. Exit je u julu, a festival u Guči je u avgustu.


Exercises 

1. Translate:

Truba
Pljeskavice
Bend
U julu
Na primer
Festival
Rečno ostrvo
Mačke
Ovce
Labudovi
Plaža
Badmington
Mnogi
More
Riblja čorba
Nije skupo

In
August
40 degrees
Temperature
warm
Sport courts
In Serbia
Always
Very
Monte Negro
Citizens of Belgrade
That
Domestic animals
Golf
Zoo
Dogs
May order
Restaurant
Beans
To take place
In Novi Sad
Modern

2. Use the following words/phrases and make simple sentences:

U Novom Sadu
Festival
U avgustu
Pljeskavice
Naručiti
Ada
Domaće životinje
mačke

When you are done, send your solutions to my email and I will check your answers and send you the feedback. 

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Lidija Novakovic Lagrini