LingoflyTrčeći, vežbajući: one action inside another
Movement almost always happens alongside another action: ran and watched, stretched and talked. Serbian ties the two together with a verb form in -ći. For example: “Трчећи поред (pored) реке (reke), слушам (slušam) подкаст (podkast) о (o) спорту” — Running along the river, I listen to a sports podcast. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Movement almost always happens alongside another action: ran and watched, stretched and talked. Serbian ties the two together with a verb form in -ći.
It is made from the they-form plus -ći: trče → trčeći, vežbaju → vežbajući, nose → noseći, idu → idući. One form for every person and both numbers, and it never changes.
For the past there is a form in -vši: uraditi → uradivši, doći → došavši. It is bookish; in speech people say kad sam uradio. The negative goes in front: ne rekavši ništa.
The condition is strict, and English shares it: both actions belong to the same person. Trčeći, slušam muziku — I run and I listen. "Approaching the house, the rain started" is wrong in both languages.
Table
| the verb | they-form | the -ći form | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| trčati | trče | trčeći | running |
| vežbati | vežbaju | vežbajući | training |
| nositi | nose | noseći | carrying |
| ići | idu | idući | going |
| gledati | gledaju | gledajući | looking |
| doći | — | došavši | having come |
| uraditi | — | uradivši | having done |
| reći | — | rekavši | having said |
By example
- Vežbajući svaki dan, brzo je vratio izdržljivostTraining every day, he quickly got his stamina back
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
Trčeći vs rekavši?
For the past there is a form in -vši: uraditi → uradivši, doći → došavši. It is bookish; in speech people say kad sam uradio. The negative goes in front: ne rekavši ništa.
-ći or -vši: which Serbian participle?
Movement almost always happens alongside another action: ran and watched, stretched and talked. Serbian ties the two together with a verb form in -ći.
How to say running and having said in Serbian?
Movement almost always happens alongside another action: ran and watched, stretched and talked. Serbian ties the two together with a verb form in -ći.
When Serbian uses -vši and not -ći?
Movement almost always happens alongside another action: ran and watched, stretched and talked. Serbian ties the two together with a verb form in -ći.
How to say he left without saying anything in Serbian?
Movement almost always happens alongside another action: ran and watched, stretched and talked. Serbian ties the two together with a verb form in -ći.
What does it look like in a Serbian example sentence?
“Трчећи поред (pored) реке (reke), слушам (slušam) подкаст (podkast) о (o) спорту” (Trčeći pored reke, slušam podkast o sportu) — Running along the river, I listen to a sports podcast. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.