LingoflyRekoh and govoraše: the past you read, not speak
In the spoken language of Belgrade there is one past: rekao sam, došli smo. But books, folk songs and the credits of old films will hand you rekoh, dođe, govoraše. For example: “Одох ја (ja), видимо се (vidimo se) сутра” (sutra) — Well, I am off — see you tomorrow. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
In the spoken language of Belgrade there is one past: rekao sam, došli smo. But books, folk songs and the credits of old films will hand you rekoh, dođe, govoraše.
The first of those comes off a done-deal verb and is known by its tails -h, -smo, -ste, -še. So: rekoh, rekosmo, rekoše, dođoh, dođoše.
The second comes off a process verb and is known by -ah, -aše, -ahu: govorah, govoraše, govorahu. Living speech kept one word of it, beše: Kako ti beše ime?
The aim here is to recognize the form in a text, not to put it into your own speech. Seeing those tails and knowing this is the past is enough. In southern Serbia and Montenegro Odoh! is ordinary.
Table
| who | the short past (reći) | the drawn-out past (govoriti) | the everyday past |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | rekoh | govorah | rekao sam |
| ti | reče | govoraše | rekao si |
| on, ona | reče | govoraše | rekao je |
| mi | rekosmo | govorasmo | rekli smo |
| vi | rekoste | govoraste | rekli ste |
| oni | rekoše | govorahu | rekli su |
By example
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
Rekoh and govoraše: how does it work in Serbian?
In the spoken language of Belgrade there is one past: rekao sam, došli smo. But books, folk songs and the credits of old films will hand you rekoh, dođe, govoraše.
What does it look like in a Serbian example sentence?
“Одох ја (ja), видимо се (vidimo se) сутра” (sutra) (Odoh ja, vidimo se sutra) — Well, I am off — see you tomorrow. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.