In order to use the passive voice in the Serbian language, we need to know Reflexive verbs. Passive voice is used in sentences where the doer of the action is not stated. This is an analog to the English construction “one …”, i.e. we can say “one says that …” “one can do it” “one must do it” and “one plays computer games”. Passive voice in the Serbian language is formed with the reflexive particle “se”. Here is the formula:
Verb conjugated as with the pronouns “On/Ona” + se
Govori se – one says
Može (se) – one can
Mora se – one must
Radi se – one does
And so on, it is this easy.
There is/There are in the Serbian language
Memorize these Serbian words-analogs of English “there is/there are”. These are forms of the verb IMATI – to have.
In present tense:
Ima – there is/are
Nema – there isn’t/aren’t
In past tense:
Bilo je – there was/were
Nije bilo – there wasn’t/weren’t
In future tense:
Biće – there will be
Neće biti – there will not be
Also, there is a construction formed from the verb POSTOJATI – to exist.
In present tense:
Postoji – there is/are
Ne postoji – there isn’t/aren’t
In past tense:
Postojalo je – there was/were
Nije postojalo – there wasn’t/weren’t
In future tense:
Postojaće – there will be
Neće postojati – there won’t be
Conditional mood:
Bilo bi – there would be
Ne bi bilo – there would not be
Postojalo bi – there would be
Ne bi postojalo – there would not be
This construction is used when we say “there is/are” meaning that something exists.
Examples
U šumi ima mnogo pečuraka – There are a lot of mushrooms in the forest (šuma – forest, pečurka – mushroom)
Kaže se da ima malo turista u našem gradu – One says that there are few tourists in our city
Da li znaš da postoji lako rešenje ovog problema? – Do you know that there is an easy solution to this problem? (rešenje – solution)
Da li ima srpske hrane u ovom restoranu? – Is there Serbian food in this restaurant?
Može vam se reći – One can tell you
Šta se dešava tamo? – What is happening there?
Ova zgrada nije postojala ovde pre godinu dana – This building did not exist here a year ago (zgrada – building, godina/godina dana – year)
Mislim da će biti mnogo hrane na banketu – I think that there will be a lot of food at the banquet (hrana – food, banket – banquet)
Bilo bi mnogo razloga – There would be many reasons (razlog – reason)
Exercises
Use passive voice or “there is/are”
- Šta ________________ u tom govoru? (GOVORITI – to speak) – What was said in that speech?
- _____ da __________ koristi ovaj fotoaparat svaki dan (MOĆI – can) – One can use this camera every day
- ______________ da smo izgubili mnogo vremena ovde, ali stvarno nismo (ČINITI SE – to seem) – It seemed that we had lost a lot of time here, but actually we didn’t
- Kako ______________ na ruskom? (KAZATI – to say) – How is it said in Russian?
- Kako to _______________ u Africi? (RADITI – to do) – How does one do it in Africa?
- ______________ mnogo turista u centru našeg grada – There are many tourists in the center of our city
- Da li _______________ neka univerzalna pilula? – Is there any universal pill?
- ____________ mnogo mogućnosti za mlade ljude – There are a lot of opportunities for young people
- Da li ovde _______________ neka prodavnica blizu? – Is there any store nearby?
- Sada ______________ mnogo onlajn kurseva – There are many online courses now
- ________________ potrošiti mnogo para tamo – One can spend a lot of money there
- _______________ metro u Budimpešti – There is a metro in Budapest
- _____________ novo drveće u parku – There will be new trees in the park
Answers
1: se govori; 2: može, se; 3: činilo se; 4: se kaže; 5: se radi; 6: ima; 7: postoji; 8: postoji; 9: ima; 10: ima; 11: može se; 12: ima; 13: biće