Trećina, desetak, dvostruko: fractions, approximation, multiples
The second wave taught you to count; the eighth — to count people. This unit asks for something else: to say "a third", "about ten people", "twice as much". English does all of it with little closed sets; Serbian does it with exactly three suffixes. For example: “Трећина посла је готова, остатак радимо сутра” — A third of the work is done; we do the rest tomorrow. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on…
How it works
The second wave taught you to count; the eighth — to count people. This unit asks for something else: to say "a third", "about ten people", "twice as much". English does all of it with little closed sets; Serbian does it with exactly three suffixes.
Fractions: the suffix -ina on an ordinal. Treći → trećina — a third, četvrti → četvrtina — a quarter, peti → petina, deseti → desetina. Half lives outside the row with its own word: polovina, or the short pola. After a fraction comes the of-form: trećina posla — a third of the work, četvrtina hleba — a quarter of the bread.
Approximation: the suffix -ak. Deset → desetak — about ten, petnaest → petnaestak, sto → stotinak — about a hundred, dvadeset → dvadesetak. English rearranges the words ("some twenty people"); Serbian glues on a suffix and leaves the word order alone: petnaestak minuta.
Multiples: -struk and -struko. Dvostruk — double, dvostruko — twice as much, trostruk, trostruko — three times over, višestruk — multiple, višestruko — manifold, several times over. Past three, Serbs prefer pet puta više — five times more.
And the grand calque on which everyone stumbles. A change of size is introduced by the preposition za, not "by": cena je porasla za deset posto — the price rose BY ten percent, smanjili smo troškove za četvrtinu, novi motor je za red veličine tiši — an order of magnitude quieter. Saying it the English way outs you in the very first sentence.
Comparison: nego or od. Veći nego prošle godine — after nego stands the plain form. Veći od prošlogodišnjeg — after od stands the of-form. Both are right; do not mix them: "veći nego od" is not said.
Table
| what we say | how it is built | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| a fraction | ordinal + -ina | trećina, četvrtina | a third, a quarter |
| half | its own word | polovina, pola | half |
| approximation | number + -ak | desetak, petnaestak | about ten, some fifteen |
| about a hundred | sto + -inak | stotinak | a hundred or so |
| multiples | number + -struko | dvostruko, trostruko | twice, three times over |
| several times over | više + -struko | višestruko manje | several times less |
| a change of size | za + object form | za deset posto | by ten percent |
| comparison | nego + plain form | veći nego lane | bigger than last year |
By example
- Трећина посла је готова, остатак радимо сутраTrećina posla je gotova, ostatak radimo sutraA third of the work is done; we do the rest tomorrow
- На састанку је било десетак људи, не вишеNa sastanku je bilo desetak ljudi, ne višeThere were about ten people at the meeting, no more
- Цена је порасла за трећину и сада је двоструко већа него ланеCena je porasla za trećinu i sada je dvostruko veća nego laneThe price rose by a third and is now twice what it was last year
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
Trećina, desetak, dvostruko: how does it work in Serbian?
The second wave taught you to count; the eighth — to count people. This unit asks for something else: to say "a third", "about ten people", "twice as much". English does all of it with little closed sets; Serbian does it with exactly three suffixes.
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Трећина посла је готова, остатак радимо сутра” (Trećina posla je gotova, ostatak radimo sutra) — A third of the work is done; we do the rest tomorrow. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.