Ми is the least used of the common Serbian pronouns, because in most sentences it is not needed. The verb ending -мо already says we: идемо, знамо, дошли смо, бићемо. Adding ми in front of these is not wrong, but it is not neutral either — it contrasts, insists, or singles out. Идемо is we're going. Ми идемо is we're going — as opposed to somebody else.
The pronoun's real work happens in the oblique cases, where it cannot be dropped: нас (us), нама (to us, with us). These come in two shapes, a full form and a short clitic — нама је хладно against хладно нам је — and the clitic has to sit in second position in its clause, which governs a good deal of Serbian word order.
There is one construction English has no way of copying. Ми с братом does not mean we, together with my brother; it means my brother and I. The plural pronoun absorbs the person it names, so that two people are counted by a plural and a singular rather than by two singulars. This is the associative plural, and it is entirely ordinary in speech.
Key Takeaways
- The -мо ending carries we; ми is added for contrast or emphasis - Declension: ми, нас, нама, нас, нама, нама — genitive and accusative alike, dative, locative and instrumental alike - Clitics: нас (accusative), нам (dative); no clitic exists for the locative or instrumental - After a preposition, always the full form: с нама, о нама, код нас, без нас - Past participles agree in gender: дошли смо (men or mixed), дошле смо (women) - Ми с братом = my brother and I, not we and my brother - Код нас — where we come from — is one of the most used phrases in the language
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21.1a Ми we смо are студенти students 21.1b Mi (mee) we smo (smo) are studenti (stoo-DEN-tee) students
21.2a Идемо we-go кући home 21.2b Idemo (EE-de-mo) we-go kući (KOO-chee) home
21.3a Нас us-GEN двоје two живимо we-live у in Београду Belgrade-LOC 21.3b Nas (nahs) us-GEN dvoje (DVO-ye) two živimo (ZHEE-vee-mo) we-live u (oo) in Beogradu (be-O-gra-doo) Belgrade-LOC
21.4a Дај give-IMP нам us-DAT мало little времена time-GEN 21.4b Daj (dai) give-IMP nam (nahm) us-DAT malo (MA-lo) little vremena (VRE-me-na) time-GEN
21.5a Он he нас us-ACC не not познаје knows 21.5b On (on) he nas (nahs) us-ACC ne (neh) not poznaje (POZ-na-ye) knows
21.6a О about нама us-LOC нико nobody ништа nothing не not зна knows 21.6b O (o) about nama (NA-ma) us-LOC niko (NEE-ko) nobody ništa (NEESH-ta) nothing ne (neh) not zna (znah) knows
21.7a Ми we смо are се REFL упознали met-PL прошле last-GEN године year-GEN 21.7b Mi (mee) we smo (smo) are se (seh) REFL upoznali (oo-POZ-na-lee) met-PL prošle (PROSH-le) last-GEN godine (GO-dee-ne) year-GEN
21.8a Са with нама us-INST је is путовао travelled-MASC и also брат brother 21.8b Sa (sah) with nama (NA-ma) us-INST je (yeh) is putovao (poo-TO-va-o) travelled-MASC i (ee) also brat (braht) brother
21.9a Ми we жене women то that видимо we-see другачије differently 21.9b Mi (mee) we žene (ZHE-ne) women to (toh) that vidimo (VEE-dee-mo) we-see drugačije (droo-GA-chee-ye) differently
21.10a Нама us-DAT је is свеједно all-the-same 21.10b Nama (NA-ma) us-DAT je (yeh) is svejedno (sve-YED-no) all-the-same
21.11a Хајде come-on да that идемо we-go 21.11b Hajde (HAI-de) come-on da (dah) that idemo (EE-de-mo) we-go
21.12a Ми we смо are били been-MASC.PL тамо there а but оне they-FEM нису are-not 21.12b Mi (mee) we smo (smo) are bili (BEE-lee) been-MASC.PL tamo (TA-mo) there a (ah) but one (O-ne) they-FEM nisu (NEE-soo) are-not
21.13a Ово this је is наша our-FEM кућа house 21.13b Ovo (O-vo) this je (yeh) is naša (NA-sha) our-FEM kuća (KOO-cha) house
21.14a Ми we с with братом brother-INST идемо we-go на to утакмицу match-ACC 21.14b Mi (mee) we s (s) with bratom (BRA-tom) brother-INST idemo (EE-de-mo) we-go na (nah) to utakmicu (oo-TAK-mee-tsoo) match-ACC
21.15a Ко who ако if не not ми we 21.15b Ko (ko) who ako (A-ko) if ne (neh) not mi (mee) we
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21.1 Ми смо студенти. "We are students."
21.2 Идемо кући. "We're going home."
21.3 Нас двоје живимо у Београду. "The two of us live in Belgrade."
21.4 Дај нам мало времена. "Give us a little time."
21.5 Он нас не познаје. "He doesn't know us."
21.6 О нама нико ништа не зна. "Nobody knows anything about us."
21.7 Ми смо се упознали прошле године. "We met last year."
21.8 Са нама је путовао и брат. "My brother travelled with us too."
21.9 Ми жене то видимо другачије. "We women see that differently."
21.10 Нама је свеједно. "It's all the same to us."
21.11 Хајде да идемо. "Let's go."
21.12 Ми смо били тамо, а оне нису. "We were there, but they weren't."
21.13 Ово је наша кућа. "This is our house."
21.14 Ми с братом идемо на утакмицу. "My brother and I are going to the match."
21.15 Ко ако не ми? "Who, if not us?"
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21.1 Ми смо студенти.
21.2 Идемо кући.
21.3 Нас двоје живимо у Београду.
21.4 Дај нам мало времена.
21.5 Он нас не познаје.
21.6 О нама нико ништа не зна.
21.7 Ми смо се упознали прошле године.
21.8 Са нама је путовао и брат.
21.9 Ми жене то видимо другачије.
21.10 Нама је свеједно.
21.11 Хајде да идемо.
21.12 Ми смо били тамо, а оне нису.
21.13 Ово је наша кућа.
21.14 Ми с братом идемо на утакмицу.
21.15 Ко ако не ми?
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These are the rules for ми.
1. The pronoun is usually absent. Every Serbian finite verb marks first person plural with -мо, in every tense and mood:
present: идемо, знамо, радимо perfect: дошли смо, знали смо future: ићи ћемо / идећемо conditional: ишли бисмо aorist: дођосмо imperative: идемо! (used as a first-person plural command)
The pronoun ми appears when the subject is contrastive (ми смо били тамо, а оне нису), when it carries emphasis, or when it stands alone without a verb (Ко ако не ми?). A learner who supplies ми in every sentence sounds as though every statement were an argument.
2. Declension. Six cases, four distinct forms:
nominative: ми genitive: нас dative: нама (clitic нам) accusative: нас (clitic нас) locative: нама instrumental: нама
Genitive and accusative are alike; dative, locative and instrumental are alike. There is no clitic for the locative or instrumental, so after о, с, у, према the full нама is obligatory.
3. Clitic against full form. The short forms нам and нас are unstressed and must stand in the clause's second position; the long forms нама and нас are stressed and stand where emphasis requires, especially at the beginning of a clause or after a preposition.
Хладно нам је. — We're cold. (neutral) Нама је хладно. — We're cold. (contrastive, and clause-initial) Он нас не познаје. (clitic, unstressed) Нас не познаје, али њих зна. (full form, fronted for contrast)
Note that accusative нас is written the same in both roles; only stress and position distinguish them.
4. Clitic order. When several clitics gather in second position they line up in a fixed sequence: ли, then the auxiliary (сам, си, смо…, but је goes last), then dative, then accusative, then се.
Дали су нам их. — They gave them to us. Ниси нам се јавио. — You didn't get in touch with us. Је ли нам то потребно? — Do we need that?
5. Participle agreement. The perfect and all compound tenses use a participle that agrees in gender and number with the subject, so we is not one form but three:
masculine or mixed group: дошли смо, били смо, радили смо all-female group: дошле смо, биле смо, радиле смо neuter plural (rare, e.g. деца): дошла су
A group of ninety-nine women and one man takes the masculine дошли. This is the standard rule and it has been much discussed in recent Serbian usage debates, but it remains the norm.
6. The associative plural. Ми с братом means my brother and I; ми с Марком means Marko and I. The plural pronoun already includes the named person, so ја и брат — which is also correct — is the analytic alternative rather than the equivalent. The same works in the third person: они с Милицом can mean he and Milica.
7. Apposition. Ми may be followed directly by a noun naming the group: ми Срби, ми жене, ми студенти, ми овде. The noun stands in the nominative, and the construction is used for generalisations about a category the speaker belongs to.
8. Нас plus a number. Нас двоје, нас троје, нас петоро — the two of us, the three of us. The pronoun is genitive, the numeral is the collective form used for mixed-gender groups (двоје) as against двојица for men only and две for women. The verb agrees with the persons, not the numeral: нас двоје живимо, first person plural.
9. Наш. The possessive is наш, наша, наше, declining as an adjective, and it is distinct from the pronoun: наша кућа (our house) against код нас (at our place). English ours is the same word standing alone: ово је наше.
Common Mistakes
Supplying ми in every sentence. Say идемо кући, not ми идемо кући, unless the contrast is intended.
Using a clitic after a preposition: с нам, о нас. Say с нама, о нама.
Putting the clitic first in the clause: *нам је хладно as a sentence opening. Say хладно нам је or нама је хладно.
Ignoring participle gender: a group of women says биле смо, not *били смо.
Reading ми с братом as we and my brother: it is my brother and I, two people in all.
Confusing нам (to us) with нас (us): дај нам but види нас.
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Код нас is the phrase to learn first. Literally at ours, it means in our country, where we come from, in our family, in our office — the scale is supplied by context. Код нас се то не ради тако can be a statement about Serbia or about one household, and the ambiguity is not felt as one. It is the ordinary opening for any comparison with abroad, and a visitor will hear it several times a day.
Наши — the bare plural of the possessive, used as a noun — means our people: one's family, one's compatriots abroad, one's team. Јавили су се наши из Беча (our people in Vienna have been in touch); играју наши вечерас (our side is playing tonight). The diaspora is collectively наши у иностранству, and the word carries warmth that our does not.
Наш човек is a man who is one of us — reliable, connected, on the inside. Depending on tone it is either an endorsement or a description of how things actually get done.
First person plural is also the ordinary Serbian way of softening an instruction. A doctor says сад ћемо да измеримо притисак (now we'll measure the blood pressure) when only the patient is being measured; a teacher says отварамо свеске. English does this too, but Serbian does it more, and the effect is companionable rather than condescending.
Хајде — a Turkism, from haydi — is the all-purpose exhortation: хајде да идемо (let's go), хајдемо (the fused imperative), хајде, хајде (come on, get on with it), and, at the end of a phone call, simply хајде, ћао. It is one of the commonest words in spoken Serbian and belongs to no formal register at all.
Finally, the rhetorical ми. Nineteenth-century Serbian literature — Njegoš, Zmaj, the whole national revival — is built on a first person plural that speaks for a people across time, addressing the dead and the unborn as members of the same we. The passage below is the clearest instance in the language: a poet asks his audience whether they have ever been to the graveyard, and answers for all of them at once.
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The opening of Светли гробови ("Luminous Graves"), Јован Јовановић Змај, 1879 — recited at an evening organised by pupils of the Belgrade grammar school for the family of the poet Đura Jakšić, who had just died. Zmaj addresses the audience directly and then answers his own question on their behalf, in the first person plural that runs through the whole poem.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Бејасте were-you-PL ли Q браћо brothers-VOC моја my млада young F.1b Bejaste (BE-yas-te) were-you-PL li (lee) Q braćo (BRA-cho) brothers-VOC moja (MO-ya) my mlada (MLA-da) young
F.2a Да whether л' Q бејасте were-you-PL ви you-PL на at гробљу graveyard-LOC када ever F.2b Da (dah) whether l' (l) Q bejaste (BE-yas-te) were-you-PL vi (vee) you-PL na (nah) at groblju (GROB-lyoo) graveyard-LOC kada (KA-da) ever
F.3a Ај ah на at гробљу graveyard-LOC на at голему vast-LOC F.3b Aj (ai) ah na (nah) at groblju (GROB-lyoo) graveyard-LOC na (nah) at golemu (GO-le-moo) vast-LOC
F.4a Та why увек always смо we-are ми we на at њему it-LOC F.4b Ta (tah) why uvek (OO-vek) always smo (smo) we-are mi (mee) we na (nah) at njemu (NYE-moo) it-LOC
F-B: Natural Text with Translation
Бејасте ли, браћо моја млада, Да л' бејасте ви на гробљу када, Ај, на гробљу, на голему? — Та увек смо ми на њему.
"Were you ever, my young brothers, were you ever at the graveyard, ah, at the graveyard, the vast one? — Why, we are always on it."
F-C: Original Only
Бејасте ли, браћо моја млада, Да л' бејасте ви на гробљу када, Ај, на гробљу, на голему? — Та увек смо ми на њему.
F-D: Grammar and Vocabulary Notes
Смо ми (F.4) — the pronoun placed after the clitic, which is possible because увек already occupies first position and the clitic must follow it. The order увек смо ми rather than ми смо увек throws the weight onto ми, and that emphasis is the point of the line: not we have been there, but we, all of us, are there permanently.
Бејасте is the imperfect of бити, second person plural — a tense now almost extinct in speech, surviving in literature, church language and parts of the south and east. Modern Serbian would say јесте ли били or simply били сте ли. Zmaj uses it for its archaic gravity, and it pairs with the ви of the question against the ми of the answer.
Ли and да л' are both interrogative particles, used here in the same sentence for the sake of the metre. Ли follows the first stressed word; да ли stands at the head of the clause. The elided л' is a poetic contraction.
Браћо is the vocative of браћа, a collective noun: feminine singular in form, plural in meaning, and it governs a singular verb (браћа је дошла) while referring to several men. Its adjectives are feminine singular, hence моја млада rather than моји млади.
На голему — the locative of голем (vast, huge), a word now literary in Serbian though everyday in Macedonian and Bulgarian. Note the long adjectival ending; the modern short form would be на голему likewise, but modern prose would prefer огроман.
Та at the head of the last line is not the demonstrative тај but a discourse particle, roughly why, but surely — an exclamation of self-evidence. It survives in та добро, та немој.
На њему — the locative of the third-person pronoun, referring back to гробље, which is neuter. Њему serves both masculine and neuter alike, as the paradigm in Lesson 10 showed; only the feminine has a separate њој.
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Part A — Intralinear Construed Text
21.16a Драги dear наши ours-PL стигли arrived-PL смо we-are синоћ last-night у to Будву Budva-ACC 21.16b Dragi (DRA-gee) dear naši (NA-shee) ours-PL stigli (STEEG-lee) arrived-PL smo (smo) we-are sinoć (SEE-noch) last-night u (oo) to Budvu (BOOD-voo) Budva-ACC
21.17a Пут journey нам us-DAT је is трајао lasted-MASC дуже longer него than што what смо we-are мислили thought-PL 21.17b Put (poot) journey nam (nahm) us-DAT je (yeh) is trajao (TRA-ya-o) lasted-MASC duže (DOO-zhe) longer nego (NE-go) than što (shtoh) what smo (smo) we-are mislili (MEES-lee-lee) thought-PL
21.18a Нас us-GEN четворо four смо we-are се REFL сместили settled-PL у in малом small-LOC стану flat-LOC близу near мора sea-GEN 21.18b Nas (nahs) us-GEN četvoro (CHE-tvo-ro) four smo (smo) we-are se (seh) REFL smestili (SMES-tee-lee) settled-PL u (oo) in malom (MA-lom) small-LOC stanu (STA-noo) flat-LOC blizu (BLEE-zoo) near mora (MO-ra) sea-GEN
21.19a Стан flat нема has-not климу air-conditioning-ACC али but нама us-DAT то that не not смета bothers 21.19b Stan (stahn) flat nema (NE-ma) has-not klimu (KLEE-moo) air-conditioning-ACC ali (A-lee) but nama (NA-ma) us-DAT to (toh) that ne (neh) not smeta (SME-ta) bothers
21.20a Ујутру in-the-morning идемо we-go на to плажу beach-ACC док while још still нема there-is-not гужве crowd-GEN 21.20b Ujutru (OO-yoo-troo) in-the-morning idemo (EE-de-mo) we-go na (nah) to plažu (PLA-zhoo) beach-ACC dok (dok) while još (yosh) still nema (NE-ma) there-is-not gužve (GOOZH-ve) crowd-GEN
21.21a После after подне noon спавамо we-sleep јер because нам us-DAT је is врућина heat неподношљива unbearable-FEM 21.21b Posle (POS-le) after podne (POD-ne) noon spavamo (SPA-va-mo) we-sleep jer (yer) because nam (nahm) us-DAT je (yeh) is vrućina (vroo-CHEE-na) heat nepodnošljiva (ne-pod-NOSH-lyee-va) unbearable-FEM
21.22a Синоћ last-night смо we-are вечерали dined-PL рибу fish-ACC коју which-ACC је is газда landlord сам himself упецао caught-MASC 21.22b Sinoć (SEE-noch) last-night smo (smo) we-are večerali (ve-CHE-ra-lee) dined-PL ribu (REE-boo) fish-ACC koju (KO-yoo) which-ACC je (yeh) is gazda (GAZ-da) landlord sam (sahm) himself upecao (oo-PE-tsa-o) caught-MASC
21.23a Причали talked-PL смо we-are с with њим him-INST до until поноћи midnight-GEN иако although га him-ACC нисмо we-are-not све everything разумели understood-PL 21.23b Pričali (PREE-cha-lee) talked-PL smo (smo) we-are s (s) with njim (nyeem) him-INST do (doh) until ponoći (PO-no-chee) midnight-GEN iako (EE-a-ko) although ga (gah) him-ACC nismo (NEES-mo) we-are-not sve (sveh) everything razumeli (ra-zoo-ME-lee) understood-PL
21.24a Овде here нас us-ACC сви everyone питају ask одакле from-where смо we-are 21.24b Ovde (OV-de) here nas (nahs) us-ACC svi (svee) everyone pitaju (PEE-ta-yoo) ask odakle (o-DA-kle) from-where smo (smo) we-are
21.25a Кад when кажемо we-say да that смо we-are из from Београда Belgrade-GEN одмах at-once нам us-DAT нуде they-offer ракију rakija-ACC 21.25b Kad (kahd) when kažemo (KA-zhe-mo) we-say da (dah) that smo (smo) we-are iz (eez) from Beograda (be-O-gra-da) Belgrade-GEN odmah (OD-mah) at-once nam (nahm) us-DAT nude (NOO-de) they-offer rakiju (RA-kee-yoo) rakija-ACC
21.26a Деца children су are се REFL спријатељила befriended-NEUT.PL с with комшијском neighbour's-INST децом children-INST па so их them-ACC не not видимо we-see цео whole дан day 21.26b Deca (DE-tsa) children su (soo) are se (seh) REFL sprijateljila (spree-ya-TE-lyee-la) befriended-NEUT.PL s (s) with komšijskom (kom-SHEE-yskom) neighbour's-INST decom (DE-tsom) children-INST pa (pah) so ih (eeh) them-ACC ne (neh) not vidimo (VEE-dee-mo) we-see ceo (TSE-o) whole dan (dahn) day
21.27a Сутра tomorrow идемо we-go бродом boat-INST до to Светог Saint-GEN Стефана Stefan-GEN 21.27b Sutra (SOO-tra) tomorrow idemo (EE-de-mo) we-go brodom (BRO-dom) boat-INST do (doh) to Svetog (SVE-tog) Saint-GEN Stefana (STE-fa-na) Stefan-GEN
21.28a Ако if нам us-DAT време weather послужи serves остаћемо we-will-stay још another недељу week-ACC дана days-GEN 21.28b Ako (A-ko) if nam (nahm) us-DAT vreme (VRE-me) weather posluži (po-SLOO-zhee) serves ostaćemo (os-TA-che-mo) we-will-stay još (yosh) another nedelju (NE-de-lyoo) week-ACC dana (DA-na) days-GEN
21.29a Недостајете you-are-missing нам us-DAT али but не not толико so-much да that се REFL враћамо we-return раније earlier 21.29b Nedostajete (ne-dos-TA-ye-te) you-are-missing nam (nahm) us-DAT ali (A-lee) but ne (neh) not toliko (TO-lee-ko) so-much da (dah) that se (seh) REFL vraćamo (VRA-cha-mo) we-return ranije (RA-nee-ye) earlier
21.30a Грлимо we-embrace вас you-ACC ваши yours-PL са from мора sea-GEN 21.30b Grlimo (GR-lee-mo) we-embrace vas (vahs) you-ACC vaši (VA-shee) yours-PL sa (sah) from mora (MO-ra) sea-GEN
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Part B — Natural Sentences
21.16 Драги наши, стигли смо синоћ у Будву. "Dear all, we arrived in Budva last night."
21.17 Пут нам је трајао дуже него што смо мислили. "The journey took us longer than we expected."
21.18 Нас четворо смо се сместили у малом стану близу мора. "The four of us have settled into a small flat near the sea."
21.19 Стан нема климу, али нама то не смета. "The flat has no air conditioning, but that doesn't bother us."
21.20 Ујутру идемо на плажу док још нема гужве. "In the mornings we go to the beach while it's still not crowded."
21.21 После подне спавамо, јер нам је врућина неподношљива. "In the afternoons we sleep, because the heat is unbearable for us."
21.22 Синоћ смо вечерали рибу коју је газда сам упецао. "Last night we had fish for dinner that the landlord had caught himself."
21.23 Причали смо с њим до поноћи, иако га нисмо све разумели. "We talked with him until midnight, though we didn't understand everything he said."
21.24 Овде нас сви питају одакле смо. "Here everyone asks us where we're from."
21.25 Кад кажемо да смо из Београда, одмах нам нуде ракију. "When we say we're from Belgrade, they immediately offer us rakija."
21.26 Деца су се спријатељила с комшијском децом, па их не видимо цео дан. "The children have made friends with the neighbours' children, so we don't see them all day."
21.27 Сутра идемо бродом до Светог Стефана. "Tomorrow we're going by boat to Sveti Stefan."
21.28 Ако нам време послужи, остаћемо још недељу дана. "If the weather serves us, we'll stay another week."
21.29 Недостајете нам, али не толико да се враћамо раније. "We miss you — but not enough to come back early."
21.30 Грлимо вас, ваши са мора. "We embrace you — yours, from the sea."
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Part C — Target Language Only
21.16 Драги наши, стигли смо синоћ у Будву.
21.17 Пут нам је трајао дуже него што смо мислили.
21.18 Нас четворо смо се сместили у малом стану близу мора.
21.19 Стан нема климу, али нама то не смета.
21.20 Ујутру идемо на плажу док још нема гужве.
21.21 После подне спавамо, јер нам је врућина неподношљива.
21.22 Синоћ смо вечерали рибу коју је газда сам упецао.
21.23 Причали смо с њим до поноћи, иако га нисмо све разумели.
21.24 Овде нас сви питају одакле смо.
21.25 Кад кажемо да смо из Београда, одмах нам нуде ракију.
21.26 Деца су се спријатељила с комшијском децом, па их не видимо цео дан.
21.27 Сутра идемо бродом до Светог Стефана.
21.28 Ако нам време послужи, остаћемо још недељу дана.
21.29 Недостајете нам, али не толико да се враћамо раније.
21.30 Грлимо вас, ваши са мора.
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Part D — Grammar Notes for the Letter
A holiday letter is written almost entirely in the first person plural, and it shows how rarely ми itself is needed: the pronoun appears nowhere in these fifteen lines, while -мо and the clitics нам and нас do all the work.
Драги наши (21.16) — the possessive standing alone as a noun, exactly as Section E describes. It is the ordinary Serbian salutation to family, and it closes in the same shape: ваши са мора (21.30), yours, from the sea.
Пут нам је трајао (21.17) — the dative of interest, describing the person affected rather than possessing. English says our journey; Serbian prefers a dative clitic and leaves the noun bare. The clitic cluster нам је sits in second position, dative before the auxiliary — an exception to the order in Section D §4, where је alone among the auxiliaries goes last.
Нас четворо смо се сместили (21.18) — the numeral construction of Section D §8. Четворо is the collective, used because the group is mixed; the verb is nevertheless first person plural, сместили смо се, with the clitic cluster смо се split off and following the subject phrase.
Нама то не смета (21.19) — full form, clause-initial and contrastive: the flat lacks something, but to us it makes no difference. Compare 21.21, нам је врућина неподношљива, where no contrast is intended and the clitic suffices.
Нема гужве (21.20) and нема климу (21.19) — two different нема. The first is existential, with the genitive, from Lesson 20; the second is the ordinary negated имати with an accusative object. The same form, two constructions.
Коју је газда сам упецао (21.22) — a relative clause with која in the accusative, and сам here is not the verb I am but the emphatic adjective himself. Serbian distinguishes them only by position and stress.
Нисмо га све разумели (21.23) — first person plural of the negated auxiliary, plus two clitics in order: accusative га, then the quantifier. Разумети некога takes the accusative where English says understand what someone says.
Нас сви питају (21.24) — accusative нас fronted for emphasis at the head of the clause, where the clitic could not stand. The third person plural питају with сви is the impersonal everyone asks, Serbian's usual substitute for an English passive.
Ако нам време послужи (21.28) — a conditional with ако and the perfective present, which after ако carries future reference; послужити with a dative is idiomatic for luck or weather being favourable.
Недостајете нам (21.29) — the verb reverses the English arrangement. What is missed is the subject, and the one who misses it stands in the dative: literally you are lacking to us. The same pattern appears in свиђа ми се (I like it) and треба нам (we need). It is worth learning as a class rather than one verb at a time.
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ми (mi): mee. One syllable, a long pure ee. It is identical in sound to the dative clitic ми (to me) of Lesson 8 — ми идемо (we are going) against чини ми се (it seems to me) — and only position distinguishes them. The subject pronoun is stressed; the clitic never is.
нас / нам (nas / nam): nahs, nahm. A single consonant apart, and both extremely frequent, so the contrast repays drilling: види нас (he sees us) against дај нам (give us).
нама (nama): NA-ma. Two open a vowels, stress on the first. After a preposition it is fully stressed and cannot be shortened: с нама, о нама, према нама.
смо (smo): smo. A clitic, never stressed, and it leans backwards onto the word before it: били смо is BEE-lee-smo, one rhythmic unit. English speakers tend to give it a beat of its own, which makes the sentence limp.
-мо ending: the first person plural ending never takes the stress. Идемо is EE-de-mo, радимо is RA-dee-mo, разумемо is ra-zoo-ME-mo — the accent stays where the stem puts it.
наш / наша / наше (naš / naša / naše): nahsh, NA-sha, NA-she. Ш as in ship. The masculine has no vowel after it, which English speakers often supply.
хајде (hajde): HAI-de. The х is a light friction, softer than English h in hat, and in fast speech it disappears entirely: ајде, which is how it is usually written when dialogue is transcribed.
гужве (gužve): GOOZH-ve. Ж as the s in measure, followed directly by в with no vowel between — a cluster English does not have.
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