Serbian conditional mood and the verbs “Trebati”, “Sviđati se”

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

Da li biste kupili ovo? – Would you buy it?

Ko bi mi pokazao kako da ovo koristim? – Who would show me how to use it?

Šta bih radio bez tebe? – What would I do without you?

Bilo bi bolje da zaspimo ranije – It would be better if we fell asleep earlier

Ne bih ti rekao ništa – I would not tell you anything

Šta bi hteo da dobiješ za rođendan? – What would you like to get for your 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.

When we use TREBATI as a modal verb, 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 the 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 se sviđam I am liked
Ti se sviđaš You are liked
On, ona se sviđa He, she is liked
Mi se sviđamo We are liked
Vi se sviđate You are liked
Oni, one, ona se sviđaju 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 vam se sviđa? – Do you like it?

Sviđa joj se – She likes

Sviđa mu se – He likes

Da li im se sviđa? – Do they like it?

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

  1. _________________ da to znam – I need to know it
  2. Ona ________________ – He needs her
  3. Da li ______ oni ________________? – Do you (vi) need them?
  4. Čija pomoć ________________? – Whose help do you (ti) need?
  5. _____________________ _________________ posebna hrana – My cat (moja mačka) needs a special food
  6. Da li _______________________________ dodatne usluge – Do you (vi) need additional services?
  7. Šta _______________________ ovde? – What do they need here?
  8. ______________________ spavati mnogo – I like to sleep a lot
  9. _______ _____________________ probuditi se kasno? – Who likes to wake up late?
  10. Šta ______________________ raditi najviše? – What do you(ti) like to do the most?
  11. __________ ___________________ šetati u centru Beograda – They like to walk in the center of Belgrade
  12. Ovim ljudima ___ ne ______________ ništa – These people don’t like anything
  13. Zašto ___ toliko mnogim strancima ____________________ srpski jezik? – Why do so many foreigners like the Serbian language?
  14. Postoji muzika koja ________________ svima – There is music that everybody likes
  15. __________ __________________ plesati uz klupsku muziku? – Who likes to dance to club music?

Answers

1: treba; 2: mu treba; 3: vam, trebaju; 4: ti treba; 5: mojoj mački treba; 6: vam trebaju; 7: im treba; 8: sviđa mi se; 9: kome se sviđa; 10: ti se sviđa; 11: im se sviđa; 12: se sviđa; 13: se, sviđa; 14: se sviđa; 15: kome se sviđa.