In English one can say “I would do, you would do, he would do” and so on, in Serbian one can say so too – this is conditional mood. In this lesson, we will learn how to use conditional mood in the Serbian language.
In order to form this mood, we need to memorize the conjugation of BITI – to be in this special form:
| Ja bih | I would |
| Ti bi | You would |
| On, ona, ono bi | He, she, it would |
| Mi bismo | We would |
| Vi biste | You would |
| Oni, one, ona bi | They would |
And now look how to use it:
Pronoun + BITI in conditional form + verb in the past tense
Ja bih radio – I would do
Ona bi putovala – she would travel
Vi biste kupili ovo? – Would you buy it?
Ko bi me pokazao kao da ovo koristitim? – Who would show me how to use it?
Šta bih radio bez tebe? – What would I do without you?
Bilo bi bolje ako ćemo zaspati ranije – It would be better if we go to sleep earlier
Ne bih te rekao ništa – I would not tell tell you anything
Šta bi hteo da dobiješ na rođendan? – What do you want to get for birthday?
Voleli bismo da zaradimo mnogo – We would love to earn a lot
How to say “To need” in Serbian – the verb TREBATI
TREBATI – to need, and this verb is used in a special way. In order to say “to need” in Serbian
When we use TREBATI as a modal verb, we do it like this, everything is easy here, just personal pronoun + treba da:
| Ja treba da | I need to |
| Ti treba da | You need to |
| On, ona, ono treba da | He, she, it needs to |
| Mi treba da | We need to |
| Vi treba da | You need to |
| Oni, one, ona treba da | They need to |
And when we use TREBATI in sense of needing something, we need to figure out how its conjugation works. Actually, TREBATI is a reflexive verb without the reflexive particle –se.
| Ja trebam | I am needed |
| Ti trebaš | You are needed |
| On, ona, ono treba | He, she, it is needed |
| Mi trebamo | We are needed |
| Vi trebate | You are needed |
| Oni, one, ona trebaju | They are needed |
So, when we say “I need”, we have to use trebati in appropriate form + short variant of personal pronoun in dative case. Look how to use it in practice:
Treba mi jedna stvar – I need one thing (stvar – thing)
Trebaju mi mnoge stvari – I need many things
Ti mi trebaš – I need you (literally: you are needed to me)
Danas vi mi trebate – I need you today (literally: today you are needed to me)
Šta ti treba? – What do you need? (literally: what is needed to you?)
Nama ne treba ništa* – We don’t need anything (literally: nothing is needed to us)
*- Notice that the Serbian language uses double negation. It means that while in English one says “I don’t do anything”, in Serbian the same phrase has a form like “I don’t do nothing” and it means the same.
How to like in Serbian – the verb SVIĐATI SE
Sviđati se – to like, but the literal translation is “to be pleased by”, or “to be liked”. Let’s consider its conjugation and how to use it properly:
| Ja sviđam se | I am liked |
| Ti sviđas se | You are liked |
| On, ona sviđa se | He, she is liked |
| Mi sviđamo se | We are liked |
| Vi sviđate se | You are liked |
| Oni, one, ona sviđaju se | They are liked |
And here is a standard formula for using this verb:
Sviđati se + pronoun in dative case
Sviđa mi se – I like
Sviđa ti se – You like
Da li se vam sviđa? – Do you like it?
Joj se sviđa – She likes
Sviđa mu se – He likes
Da li se im sviđa? – Do they like?
Sviđa mi se tvoja slika – I like your picture
Da li im se sviđa naša ideja? – Do they like our idea?
Exercises
Use TREBATI or SVIĐATI SE
- _________________ da to znam – I need to know it
- Ona ________________ – He needs her
- Da li oni ________________? – Will you(vi) need them?
- Čija pomoć ________________? – Whose help do you (ti) need?
- _____________________ _________________ posebna hrana – My cat (moja mačka) needs a special food
- Da li _______________________________ dodatne usluge – Do you (vi) need additional services?
- Šta _______________________ ovde? – What do they need here?
- ______________________ spavati mnogo – I like to sleep a lot
- _______ _____________________ probuditi se kasno? – Who likes to wake up late?
- Šta ______________________ raditi najviše? – What do you(ti) like to do the most?
- __________ ___________________ šetati u centru Beograda – They like to walk in the center of Belgrade
- Ovim ljudima ___ ne ______________ ništa – These people don’t like anything
- Zašto toliko mnogima strancima ____________________ Srpski jezik? – Why do so many foreigners like the Serbian language
- Ima muzika koji ________________ svima – There is a music that everybody likes
- __________ __________________ plesati uz klubnu muziku? – Who likes to dance to club music?
Answers
1: treba mi; 2: mu treba; 3: vam trebaju; 4: ti treba; 5: mojoj mačke treba; 6: vam trebaju; 7: im treba; 8: sviđa mi se; 9: kome se sviđa; 10: ti treba; 11: im se sviđa; 12: se sviđa; 13: se, sviđa; 14: se sviđa; 15: kome se sviđa.