That very shirt: what stands in for the articles
Serbian has no a and no the, and that is the first thing that relaxes you. Do not relax yet. The difference between "some" and "that very one" is still there, carried by three other means. For example: “Ово је нова хаљина” — This is a new dress. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Serbian has no a and no the, and that is the first thing that relaxes you. Do not relax yet. The difference between "some" and "that very one" is still there, carried by three other means.
First, the shape of the adjective. Kupio sam nov kaput — I bought a new coat, some coat. Obuci novi kaput — put on the new one, the one we know about. One letter, and the meaning turns.
Second, word order. The known goes to the front, the news to the back. Konobar je doneo jelovnik — the menu is the news. Jelovnik je doneo konobar — who brought it is.
Third, pointer words. Ovaj, taj, onaj make a thing definite; jedan and neki leave it vague: Došao je jedan stranac — some stranger or other.
Table
| some… (short form) | that very… (long form) | in English |
|---|---|---|
| nov kaput | novi kaput | a new coat / the new coat |
| dobar čovek | dobri čovek | a good man / the good man |
| mlad konobar | mladi konobar | a young waiter / the young waiter |
| nova kaputa | novog kaputa | in other cases the gap widens |
| jedan stranac | taj stranac | a certain… / that very… |
By example
- Ово је нова хаљинаOvo je nova haljinaThis is a new dress
- Дај ми ону црвену мајицуDaj mi onu crvenu majicuGive me that red T-shirt over there
- Изгубљени пртљаг стигао је сутраданIzgubljeni prtljag stigao je sutradanThe lost luggage arrived the next day
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
That very shirt: how does it work in Serbian?
Serbian has no a and no the, and that is the first thing that relaxes you. Do not relax yet. The difference between "some" and "that very one" is still there, carried by three other means.
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Ово је нова хаљина” (Ovo je nova haljina) — This is a new dress. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.