Trećina, desetak, dvostruko: fractions, approximation, multiples
Saying "a third", "about ten people" and "twice as much" takes three different suffixes. For example: “Трећина посла је готова, остатак радимо сутра” — A third of the work is done; we do the rest tomorrow. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Saying "a third", "about ten people" and "twice as much" takes three different suffixes.
Fractions come from -ina. Treći → trećina, četvrti → četvrtina, deseti → desetina. Half keeps a word of its own: polovina, or the short pola. After a fraction comes the of-form: trećina posla.
Approximation comes from -ak. Deset → desetak — about ten, petnaest → petnaestak, sto → stotinak. English shuffles words around for this; Serbian glues on a suffix and leaves the order alone.
Multiples come from -struko. Dvostruko — twice over, trostruko — three times over, višestruko — several times over. And a change of size comes in on za: cena je porasla za deset posto — the price rose by ten percent.
Table
| what we say | how it is built | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| a fraction | ordinal + -ina | trećina, četvrtina | a third, a quarter |
| half | its own word | polovina, pola | half |
| approximation | number + -ak | desetak, petnaestak | about ten, some fifteen |
| about a hundred | sto + -inak | stotinak | a hundred or so |
| multiples | number + -struko | dvostruko, trostruko | twice, three times over |
| several times over | više + -struko | višestruko manje | several times less |
| a change of size | za + object form | za deset posto | by ten percent |
| comparison | nego + plain form | veći nego lane | bigger than last year |
By example
- Трећина посла је готова, остатак радимо сутраTrećina posla je gotova, ostatak radimo sutraA third of the work is done; we do the rest tomorrow
- На састанку је било десетак људи, не вишеNa sastanku je bilo desetak ljudi, ne višeThere were about ten people at the meeting, no more
- Цена је порасла за трећину и сада је двоструко већа него ланеCena je porasla za trećinu i sada je dvostruko veća nego laneThe price rose by a third and is now twice what it was last year
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Trećina, desetak, dvostruko: how does it work in Serbian?
Saying "a third", "about ten people" and "twice as much" takes three different suffixes.
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Трећина посла је готова, остатак радимо сутра” (Trećina posla je gotova, ostatak radimo sutra) — A third of the work is done; we do the rest tomorrow. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.