Previše skup, dovoljno velik: adjectives with an entourage
An adjective rarely stands alone. Around it gathers a group: a degree word in front, a completion behind — and the group has an order that feels optional to an English eye and is not. For example: “Стан је превише скуп за наш буџет” — The apartment is too expensive for our budget. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
An adjective rarely stands alone. Around it gathers a group: a degree word in front, a completion behind — and the group has an order that feels optional to an English eye and is not.
In front goes the degree word: previše skup — too expensive, dovoljno velik — big enough, prilično namešten — quite well furnished, pomalo bučan — a bit noisy. Putting the word after the adjective is impossible: "skup previše" sounds like word salad, the way "expensive too much" would. The prefix pre- does the same job shorter and sharper: preskup — on the pricey side, prevelik, prenizak. Stan je preskup and Stan je previše skup mean the same; the first sounds livelier.
Behind comes the completion, and it drags a case or preposition that must be memorized with the adjective: pun nečega (full of), sličan nečemu (similar to), zadovoljan nečim (satisfied with), spreman za nešto (ready for), ljut na nekoga (angry at), ponosan na nešto (proud of). The English preposition map is a false friend here: "satisfied with" matches, "proud of" becomes na, "angry at" is na too — every adjective has to be checked separately.
Whole groups are compared too, by nego or od: Ovaj stan je skuplji nego prošli, Ovaj stan je skuplji od prošlog. The difference is the case: after od — the of-form; after nego — the same case as the first item. Equality is the pair isto tako… kao: isto tako skup kao i prvi — just as expensive as the first; inequality from below — manje… nego: manje udoban nego što sam mislio — less comfortable than I thought.
And the order inside the noun phrase itself, since we are here: pointer first, then possessive, then quality, then the noun — ovaj moj novi stan. Serbian order matches English here — a rare case where nothing needs re-shuffling.
Table
| what we do | how | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| boost | a word in front | previše skup | too expensive |
| boost, shorter | the prefix pre- | preskup | on the pricey side |
| soften | pomalo, prilično | pomalo bučan | a bit noisy |
| complete | pun + of-form | pun kutija | full of boxes |
| complete | zadovoljan + with-form | zadovoljan stanom | happy with the apartment |
| complete | spreman za | spreman za selidbu | ready for the move |
| compare | nego + same case | skuplji nego prošli | more expensive than the last |
| compare | od + of-form | skuplji od prošlog | more expensive than the last |
By example
- Стан је превише скуп за наш буџетStan je previše skup za naš budžetThe apartment is too expensive for our budget
- Нисмо задовољни намештајем у собиNismo zadovoljni nameštajem u sobiWe are not happy with the furniture in the room
- Овај кауч је удобнији него онај из радњеOvaj kauč je udobniji nego onaj iz radnjeThis couch is more comfortable than the one from the shop
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
Previše skup, dovoljno velik: how does it work in Serbian?
An adjective rarely stands alone. Around it gathers a group: a degree word in front, a completion behind — and the group has an order that feels optional to an English eye and is not.
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Стан је превише скуп за наш буџет” (Stan je previše skup za naš budžet) — The apartment is too expensive for our budget. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.