LingoflyNadzorna kamera, baza podataka: how the noun group is assembled
Many Serbian ideas are not one word but a pair: nadzorna kamera, baza podataka, lek protiv bolova. Such a pair is put together by rules of its own. For example: “Вештачка интелигенција (veštačka inteligencija) обрађује базу података (podataka) за (za) неколико (nekoliko) секунди” (sekundi) — Artificial intelligence processes the database in a few seconds. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Many Serbian ideas are not one word but a pair: nadzorna kamera, baza podataka, lek protiv bolova. Such a pair is put together by rules of its own.
An adjective stands in front and bends together with the noun. Veštačka inteligencija, veštačke inteligencije, sa veštačkom inteligencijom. Both words move, not one of them.
A second noun stands behind and takes the of-form. Baza podataka — a database, upala pluća — pneumonia, cena prevoza — the fare. English does the same work with "of".
Purpose comes in on za. Kamera za nadzor, lek za glavobolju, pumpa za vodu. An adjective can carry that too, but za never sounds clumsy.
Table
| the group | how it is built | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| adjective + noun | both words agree | veštačka inteligencija | artificial intelligence |
| the same, in a case | both words bend | sa veštačkom inteligencijom | with artificial intelligence |
| noun + of-form | the second noun after | baza podataka | database |
| noun + of-form | the second noun after | upala pluća | pneumonia |
| noun + za + object form | purpose | kamera za nadzor | surveillance camera |
| noun + za + object form | purpose | pumpa za vodu | water pump |
| several definitions | this, my, new | ovaj moj novi uređaj | this new gadget of mine |
| number + unit | the abbreviation does not bend | pet km, pet kilometara | five km, five kilometers |
By example
- Veštačka inteligencija obrađuje bazu podataka za nekoliko sekundiArtificial intelligence processes the database in a few seconds
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
Nadzorna kamera, baza podataka: how does it work in Serbian?
Many Serbian ideas are not one word but a pair: nadzorna kamera, baza podataka, lek protiv bolova. Such a pair is put together by rules of its own.
What does it look like in a Serbian example sentence?
“Вештачка интелигенција (veštačka inteligencija) обрађује базу података (podataka) за (za) неколико (nekoliko) секунди” (sekundi) (Veštačka inteligencija obrađuje bazu podataka za nekoliko sekundi) — Artificial intelligence processes the database in a few seconds. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.