Vrlo, dosta, previše: how much, and how sure
Degree words are the commonest words in speech and the least visible in a textbook. The Serbian ladder runs malo → dosta (quite a lot) → veoma, vrlo (very) → previše (too much). For example: “Ова песма ми се много свиђа” — I like this song very much. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Degree words are the commonest words in speech and the least visible in a textbook. The Serbian ladder runs malo → dosta (quite a lot) → veoma, vrlo (very) → previše (too much).
Utakmica je bila dosta dobra — a decent match. veoma dobra — a very good one. previše ljuto — too spicy, and you can hear the complaint in it.
Two traps. Dosta means "quite a lot", not "enough for the purpose", and on its own Dosta! is a bark. Mnogo covers "much" and "very" at once: mnogo ti hvala, sviđa mi se mnogo.
Words of judgement do another job: they report confidence, not amount. Valjda će doći comes from someone hoping, sigurno će doći from someone who knows. Both usually stand first.
Table
| the word | how much / how sure | example | the trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| malo | a little | malo soli | works like English "a little" |
| dosta | quite, plenty | dosta dobro | not "enough" but "plenty" |
| mnogo | much — and "very" | mnogo ti hvala | covers English "very" too |
| veoma, vrlo | very | veoma zanimljivo | vrlo sounds more bookish |
| previše | too | previše ljuto | always carries a complaint |
| naravno | of course | naravno da mogu | an opinion, not a degree |
| valjda | presumably, hopefully | valjda će doći | hope, not calculation |
By example
- Ова песма ми се много свиђаOva pesma mi se mnogo sviđaI like this song very much
- Превише је гужве у саобраћајуPreviše je gužve u saobraćajuThere is far too much traffic
- Ваљда ће поправка бити готова сутраValjda će popravka biti gotova sutraThe repair will presumably be done tomorrow
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
Vrlo, dosta, previše: how does it work in Serbian?
Degree words are the commonest words in speech and the least visible in a textbook. The Serbian ladder runs malo → dosta (quite a lot) → veoma, vrlo (very) → previše (too much).
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Ова песма ми се много свиђа” (Ova pesma mi se mnogo sviđa) — I like this song very much. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.