LingoflyDva puta veći, isti kao, za razliku od: comparing whole situations
You compare not only single words but whole situations: this one against that one, twice the size, ten percent cheaper. For example: “Овај (ovaj) стан (Stan) је (je) два пута (dva puta) већи (veći) и (i) за (za) десет (deset) одсто јефтинији (jeftiniji) од (od) претходног” (prethodnog) — This apartment is twice as big and ten percent cheaper than the previous one. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
You compare not only single words but whole situations: this one against that one, twice the size, ten percent cheaper.
The second half of a comparison comes in two ways. Od with the of-form: bolji od tebe, veći od prošlog. Or nego: bolji nego prošle godine. When two actions are compared, only nego will do: lakše je reći nego uraditi.
Multiples are counted with the word put: dva puta veći, tri puta jeftinije. A difference in units takes za: za pet godina stariji, za deset odsto skuplji.
Whole situations are set against each other by openers, and a comma follows them. U poređenju sa takes the with-form, za razliku od takes the of-form, nasuprot takes the to-form.
Table
| the phrase | what it governs | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| od | the of-form | bolji od tebe | better than you |
| nego | the same case | bolji nego prošle godine | better than last year |
| put | multiples | dva puta veći | twice as big |
| za | a difference in units | za pet godina stariji | older by five years |
| isti kao | equality | isti kao tvoj | exactly like yours |
| sličan | the to-case | sličan ocu | like his father |
| u poređenju sa | the with-form | u poređenju sa juče | compared with yesterday |
| za razliku od | the of-form | za razliku od njega | unlike him |
By example
- U poređenju sa prošlom godinom, rezultati su bolji nego što smo očekivaliCompared with last year, the results are better than we expected
- Za razliku od brata, on voli iste filmove kao i jaUnlike his brother, he likes the same films I do
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
Dva puta veći, isti kao, za razliku od: how does it work in Serbian?
You compare not only single words but whole situations: this one against that one, twice the size, ten percent cheaper.
What does it look like in a Serbian example sentence?
“Овај (ovaj) стан (Stan) је (je) два пута (dva puta) већи (veći) и (i) за (za) десет (deset) одсто јефтинији (jeftiniji) од (od) претходног” (prethodnog) (Ovaj stan je dva puta veći i za deset odsto jeftiniji od prethodnog) — This apartment is twice as big and ten percent cheaper than the previous one. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.