English to does three unrelated jobs: it marks a destination (I go to school), a recipient (give it to my sister), and an infinitive (I want to learn). Serbian handles each with a different mechanism, and keeping them apart is the work of this lesson.
Destination uses у or на with the accusative. The same prepositions with the locative mean static position. This accusative-versus-locative contrast is the single most important thing in the lesson: идем у школу (I go to school) against ја сам у школи (I am at school).
Recipient uses the dative with no preposition at all: дајем књигу сестри.
Purpose or the English infinitive uses either the infinitive (хоћу учити) or, more commonly in Serbia, да plus the present tense (хоћу да учим) — a Balkan feature Serbian shares with Greek, Bulgarian and Romanian.
Three further destination markers complete the picture: до + genitive (as far as), код + genitive (to someone's place), за + accusative (bound for, of transport).
Key Takeaways
- у / на + accusative = motion towards; у / на + locative = position at - Choice of у or на is lexical: у школу but на пијацу, у Србију but на Косово - Dative alone = recipient: сестри, пријатељу, мени - до + genitive = as far as; код + genitive = to a person's place; за + accusative = bound for - к / ка + dative = towards (formal, less common than у/на) - да + present replaces the infinitive: хоћу да идем - кући = homewards (an old dative), код куће = at home
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
6.1a Идем I-go у to школу school-ACC 6.1b Idem (EE-dem) I-go u (oo) to školu (SHKO-loo) school-ACC
6.2a Идемо we-go на to пијацу market-ACC 6.2b Idemo (EE-de-mo) we-go na (nah) to pijacu (PEE-ya-tsoo) market-ACC
6.3a Дошли came-PL смо we-are до as-far-as реке river-GEN 6.3b Došli (DOSH-lee) came-PL smo (smo) we-are do (doh) as-far-as reke (RE-ke) river-GEN
6.4a Пришао approached-MASC је is ка towards вратима door-DAT.PL 6.4b Prišao (PREE-shao) approached-MASC je (yeh) is ka (kah) towards vratima (VRA-tee-ma) door-DAT.PL
6.5a Дај give-IMP књигу book-ACC сестри sister-DAT 6.5b Daj (die) give-IMP knjigu (KNYEE-goo) book-ACC sestri (SES-tree) sister-DAT
6.6a Пишем I-write писмо letter-ACC пријатељу friend-DAT 6.6b Pišem (PEE-shem) I-write pismo (PEES-mo) letter-ACC prijatelju (pri-YA-te-lyoo) friend-DAT
6.7a Враћам I-return се REFL кући home-DAT 6.7b Vraćam (VRA-cham) I-return se (seh) REFL kući (KOO-chee) home-DAT
6.8a Сутра tomorrow путујемо we-travel у to Београд Belgrade-ACC 6.8b Sutra (SOO-tra) tomorrow putujemo (poo-TOO-ye-mo) we-travel u (oo) to Beograd (BE-o-grad) Belgrade-ACC
6.9a Хоћу I-want да to учим I-study српски Serbian 6.9b Hoću (HO-choo) I-want da (dah) to učim (OO-cheem) I-study srpski (SRP-skee) Serbian
6.10a Тешко hard је is рећи say-INF 6.10b Teško (TESH-ko) hard je (yeh) is reći (RE-chee) say-INF
6.11a Идем I-go код to лекара doctor-GEN 6.11b Idem (EE-dem) I-go kod (kod) to lekara (LE-ka-ra) doctor-GEN
6.12a Воз train иде goes за for Ниш Niš-ACC 6.12b Voz (voz) train ide (EE-de) goes za (zah) for Niš (neesh) Niš-ACC
6.13a Реци say-IMP то that мени to-me-EMPH 6.13b Reci (RE-tsee) say-IMP to (toh) that meni (ME-nee) to-me-EMPH
6.14a Спремам I-prepare се REFL за for испит exam-ACC 6.14b Spremam (SPRE-mam) I-prepare se (seh) REFL za (zah) for ispit (EES-peet) exam-ACC
6.15a Од from Београда Belgrade-GEN до to Ниша Niš-GEN има there-is двеста two-hundred километара kilometres-GEN.PL 6.15b Od (od) from Beograda (be-O-gra-da) Belgrade-GEN do (doh) to Niša (NEE-sha) Niš-GEN ima (EE-ma) there-is dvesta (DVES-ta) two-hundred kilometara (kee-lo-ME-ta-ra) kilometres-GEN.PL
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
6.1 Идем у школу. "I'm going to school."
6.2 Идемо на пијацу. "We're going to the market."
6.3 Дошли смо до реке. "We came as far as the river."
6.4 Пришао је ка вратима. "He approached the door."
6.5 Дај књигу сестри. "Give the book to your sister."
6.6 Пишем писмо пријатељу. "I'm writing a letter to a friend."
6.7 Враћам се кући. "I'm going back home."
6.8 Сутра путујемо у Београд. "Tomorrow we travel to Belgrade."
6.9 Хоћу да учим српски. "I want to learn Serbian."
6.10 Тешко је рећи. "It's hard to say."
6.11 Идем код лекара. "I'm going to the doctor's."
6.12 Воз иде за Ниш. "The train goes to Niš."
6.13 Реци то мени. "Say that to me."
6.14 Спремам се за испит. "I'm preparing for an exam."
6.15 Од Београда до Ниша има двеста километара. "From Belgrade to Niš it's two hundred kilometres."
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
6.1 Идем у школу.
6.2 Идемо на пијацу.
6.3 Дошли смо до реке.
6.4 Пришао је ка вратима.
6.5 Дај књигу сестри.
6.6 Пишем писмо пријатељу.
6.7 Враћам се кући.
6.8 Сутра путујемо у Београд.
6.9 Хоћу да учим српски.
6.10 Тешко је рећи.
6.11 Идем код лекара.
6.12 Воз иде за Ниш.
6.13 Реци то мени.
6.14 Спремам се за испит.
6.15 Од Београда до Ниша има двеста километара.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
These are the rules for expressing "to."
1. Motion versus position. у and на take the accusative for motion towards, the locative for rest at:
идем у школу (acc) — I go to school / ја сам у школи (loc) — I am at school идем на пијацу (acc) — I go to the market / био сам на пијаци (loc) — I was at the market
The preposition is the same; the case does the work. This pairing extends to пред, за, под, над, међу, which take the accusative for motion and the instrumental for position: идем пред кућу but стојим пред кућом.
2. у or на? The choice is fixed by the noun, not by logic, and must be learnt with the vocabulary. у goes with enclosed spaces and most countries and cities: у кућу, у школу, у Србију, у Београд. на goes with open spaces, surfaces, events, and a defined list of regions and islands: на пијацу, на факултет, на концерт, на планину, на Косово, на Хвар. Some of these carry political weight, which is why на Косово is worth noticing.
3. The dative of the recipient. No preposition. Endings: masculine and neuter -у (брату, детету), feminine -и (сестри, мајци). The dative marks whoever receives, benefits, or is addressed: дајем сестри, пишем пријатељу, реци мени.
Dative pronouns have clitic and stressed forms: ми / мени, ти / теби, му / њему, јој / њој, нам / нама, вам / вама, им / њима. The clitic is the default; the stressed form is for emphasis or after a preposition. Реци то мени contrasts with реци ми то.
4. до + genitive. "As far as, up to." до реке, до краја, од Београда до Ниша. It marks the limit of motion, not the goal of a journey.
5. код + genitive. Motion or position at a person: идем код лекара (to the doctor's), био сам код баке (at grandmother's). This is the ordinary way to say you are visiting someone.
6. за + accusative. Destination of a scheduled conveyance — воз за Ниш, карта за Београд — and purpose: спремам се за испит.
7. к / ка + dative. "Towards." Formal and comparatively rare in modern speech, where у/на or до usually serve. ка is used before words beginning with к or г: ка граду.
8. да + present for the infinitive. Хоћу да идем is more common in Serbia than хоћу ићи; both are correct, and the infinitive survives strongly in the western variants and after modals. Note that the tense is present regardless of the main verb's tense: хтео сам да идем ("I wanted to go").
9. кући. An old dative surviving as an adverb, "homewards": идем кући. Do not confuse it with код куће ("at home") or у кући ("inside the house").
Common Mistakes
Using the locative for motion: *идем у школи. Say идем у школу.
Choosing у or на by reasoning rather than memory. There is no rule that predicts на факултет against у школу.
Adding a preposition to the dative: *дајем књигу за сестру. Say дајем књигу сестри.
Using до for a destination: идем до Београда means "I'm going as far as Belgrade," implying a stop rather than an arrival. For the journey itself say идем у Београд.
Saying *идем у лекара. A person's place takes код: идем код лекара.
Confusing кући and куће: идем кући (I'm going home), нема куће (there's no house).
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
Идем код is a small phrase with a large social meaning. Serbian visiting culture is unannounced and frequent, and свратићу код тебе ("I'll drop by yours") is an ordinary thing to say. The guest is fed regardless of the hour; refusing food outright is difficult, and само сам свратио на кафу ("I only came in for a coffee") is the standard, usually futile, defence.
На Косово rather than у Косово reflects the older treatment of Kosovo as a field or plain — Косово поље — rather than an enclosed territory, and the preposition has since acquired political freight it did not originally carry. Learners will hear both; the на form is standard in Serbian and is what the folk epics use.
The да construction that replaces the infinitive is a Balkan areal feature: Greek, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Albanian and Romanian all lost or reduced their infinitives under the same influence, and Serbian sits on the boundary. The further east and south you travel, the more да you hear; in Zagreb and along the Adriatic the infinitive holds firm. A Serb who says морам да идем and a Croat who says moram ići are speaking the same sentence.
Distances in Serbia are given from Belgrade outward, and the од … до construction of 6.15 is how every road sign, timetable and casual estimate is phrased. Bus travel remains the backbone of intercity movement, and аутобуска станица is often the busiest building in a town.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
From Косовка девојка ("The Kosovo Maiden"), a folk poem of the Kosovo cycle recorded by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić. The maiden goes out over the battlefield at dawn carrying bread and wine for the wounded. The opening lines turn on the prepositions of direction and extent.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Уранила rose-early-FEM Косовка Kosovo девојка maiden F.1b Uranila (oo-RA-nee-la) rose-early-FEM Kosovka (KO-sov-ka) Kosovo devojka (DE-voy-ka) maiden
F.2a уранила rose-early-FEM рано early у on недељу Sunday-ACC F.2b uranila (oo-RA-nee-la) rose-early-FEM rano (RA-no) early u (oo) on nedelju (NE-de-lyoo) Sunday-ACC
F.3a у on недељу Sunday-ACC прије before јарка bright-GEN сунца sun-GEN F.3b u (oo) on nedelju (NE-de-lyoo) Sunday-ACC prije (PREE-ye) before jarka (YAR-ka) bright-GEN sunca (SOON-tsa) sun-GEN
F.4a засукала rolled-up-FEM бијеле white-ACC.PL рукаве sleeves-ACC.PL F.4b zasukala (za-SOO-ka-la) rolled-up-FEM bijele (BEE-ye-le) white-ACC.PL rukave (ROO-ka-ve) sleeves-ACC.PL
F.5a засукала rolled-up-FEM до up-to белих white-GEN.PL лаката elbows-GEN.PL F.5b zasukala (za-SOO-ka-la) rolled-up-FEM do (doh) up-to belih (BE-leeh) white-GEN.PL lakata (LA-ka-ta) elbows-GEN.PL
F.6a на on плећима shoulders-LOC.PL носи carries хлеба bread-GEN бела white-GEN F.6b na (nah) on plećima (PLE-chee-ma) shoulders-LOC.PL nosi (NO-see) carries hleba (HLE-ba) bread-GEN bela (BE-la) white-GEN
F.7a у in рукама hands-LOC.PL два two кондира vessels-GEN златна golden F.7b u (oo) in rukama (ROO-ka-ma) hands-LOC.PL dva (dvah) two kondira (KON-dee-ra) vessels-GEN zlatna (ZLAT-na) golden
F-B: Natural Text with Translation
Уранила Косовка девојка, уранила рано у недељу, у недељу прије јарка сунца; засукала бијеле рукаве, засукала до белих лаката; на плећима носи хлеба бела, у рукама два кондира златна.
"The Kosovo maiden rose early, rose early on a Sunday, on a Sunday before the bright sun; she rolled up her white sleeves, rolled them up to her white elbows; on her shoulders she carries white bread, in her hands two golden vessels."
F-C: Original Only
Уранила Косовка девојка, уранила рано у недељу, у недељу прије јарка сунца; засукала бијеле рукаве, засукала до белих лаката; на плећима носи хлеба бела, у рукама два кондира златна.
F-D: Grammar and Vocabulary Notes
до белих лаката is the до of extent from this lesson: not a destination but a limit — the sleeves go as far as the elbows. The same preposition, the same genitive, the same logic as до реке in 6.3.
у недељу takes the accusative, but not for motion: this is the accusative of time, marking the point at which something happens. у недељу (on Sunday), у понедељак (on Monday), у осам сати (at eight o'clock). Contrast на плећима and у рукама, both locative, marking position.
The passage therefore contains three uses of у — temporal accusative, locative of place — and one до of extent, which is precisely the range this lesson maps.
хлеба бела is a partitive genitive of the Lesson 5 type: she carries some white bread, not a loaf as a countable object. Folk poetry also postpones the adjective for the metre; prose would say бела хлеба.
два кондира — after два the counted noun takes the old dual, identical to the genitive singular, as in три сина in Lesson 4. Кондир is an archaic word for a drinking vessel, of Greek origin, surviving now only in folk poetry.
уранила … засукала — participles without the auxiliary је, the folk-narrative style noted in Lesson 4. Repeating the participle at the head of successive lines is the epic device of anaphora, and it is what gives the decasyllable its incantatory pull.
плећима is the locative plural of плећа, another plurale tantum like кола and врата in Lesson 3.
The text mixes Ijekavian прије and бијеле with Ekavian белих and бела — a normal inconsistency in the printed folk corpus, where Vuk's western informants were transcribed by an editor working towards a standard.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
Part A — Intralinear Construed Text
6.16a Добро good јутро morning једну one-ACC карту ticket-ACC за for Ниш Niš-ACC 6.16b Dobro (DO-bro) good jutro (YOO-tro) morning jednu (YED-noo) one-ACC kartu (KAR-too) ticket-ACC za (zah) for Niš (neesh) Niš-ACC
6.17a У at колико how-many сати hours полази departs аутобус bus 6.17b U (oo) at koliko (KO-lee-ko) how-many sati (SA-tee) hours polazi (PO-la-zee) departs autobus (a-oo-TO-boos) bus
6.18a Полази departs у at девет nine са from трећег third-GEN перона platform-GEN 6.18b Polazi (PO-la-zee) departs u (oo) at devet (DE-vet) nine sa (sah) from trećeg (TRE-cheg) third-GEN perona (PE-ro-na) platform-GEN
6.19a Колико how-long се REFL путује is-travelled до to Ниша Niš-GEN 6.19b Koliko (KO-lee-ko) how-long se (seh) REFL putuje (poo-TOO-ye) is-travelled do (doh) to Niša (NEE-sha) Niš-GEN
6.20a Око about три three сата hours-GEN ако if нема there-is-not гужве traffic-GEN 6.20b Oko (O-ko) about tri (tree) three sata (SA-ta) hours-GEN ako (A-ko) if nema (NE-ma) there-is-not gužve (GOOZH-ve) traffic-GEN
6.21a Да Q ли Q стаје stops у in Јагодини Jagodina-LOC 6.21b Da (dah) Q li (lee) Q staje (STA-ye) stops u (oo) in Jagodini (ya-GO-dee-nee) Jagodina-LOC
6.22a Стаје stops и also у in Јагодини Jagodina-LOC и and у in Ћуприји Ćuprija-LOC 6.22b Staje (STA-ye) stops i (ee) also u (oo) in Jagodini (ya-GO-dee-nee) Jagodina-LOC i (ee) and u (oo) in Ćupriji (CHOO-pree-yee) Ćuprija-LOC
6.23a Идем I-go код to сестре sister-GEN она she живи lives тамо there 6.23b Idem (EE-dem) I-go kod (kod) to sestre (SES-tre) sister-GEN — ona (O-na) she živi (ZHEE-vee) lives tamo (TA-mo) there
6.24a Онда then вам to-you треба is-needed карта ticket у in једном one-LOC правцу direction-LOC 6.24b Onda (ON-da) then vam (vahm) to-you treba (TRE-ba) is-needed karta (KAR-ta) ticket u (oo) in jednom (YED-nom) one-LOC pravcu (PRAV-tsoo) direction-LOC
6.25a Не no вратићу I-will-return се REFL кући home у on недељу Sunday-ACC 6.25b Ne (neh) no vratiću (VRA-tee-choo) I-will-return se (seh) REFL kući (KOO-chee) home u (oo) on nedelju (NE-de-lyoo) Sunday-ACC
6.26a Повратна return карта ticket је is јефтинија cheaper 6.26b Povratna (PO-vrat-na) return karta (KAR-ta) ticket je (yeh) is jeftinija (yef-TEE-nee-ya) cheaper
6.27a Дајте give-IMP.PL ми to-me онда then повратну return-ACC 6.27b Dajte (DIE-te) give-IMP.PL mi (mee) to-me onda (ON-da) then povratnu (PO-vrat-noo) return-ACC
6.28a Хоћете you-want ли Q место seat до by прозора window-GEN 6.28b Hoćete (HO-che-te) you-want li (lee) Q mesto (MES-to) seat do (doh) by prozora (PRO-zo-ra) window-GEN
6.29a Да yes молим I-beg волим I-love да to гледам I-watch напоље outside 6.29b Da (dah) yes molim (MO-leem) I-beg — volim (VO-leem) I-love da (dah) to gledam (GLE-dam) I-watch napolje (na-PO-lye) outside
6.30a Изволите here-you-are срећан happy пут journey 6.30b Izvolite (eez-VO-lee-te) here-you-are srećan (SRE-chan) happy put (poot) journey
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
Part B — Natural Sentences
6.16 Добро јутро. Једну карту за Ниш. "Good morning. One ticket to Niš."
6.17 У колико сати полази аутобус? "What time does the bus leave?"
6.18 Полази у девет, са трећег перона. "It leaves at nine, from platform three."
6.19 Колико се путује до Ниша? "How long does it take to Niš?"
6.20 Око три сата, ако нема гужве. "About three hours, if there's no traffic."
6.21 Да ли стаје у Јагодини? "Does it stop in Jagodina?"
6.22 Стаје и у Јагодини и у Ћуприји. "It stops both in Jagodina and in Ćuprija."
6.23 Идем код сестре, она живи тамо. "I'm going to my sister's, she lives there."
6.24 Онда вам треба карта у једном правцу. "Then you need a one-way ticket."
6.25 Не, вратићу се кући у недељу. "No, I'll come back home on Sunday."
6.26 Повратна карта је јефтинија. "A return ticket is cheaper."
6.27 Дајте ми онда повратну. "Give me the return, then."
6.28 Хоћете ли место до прозора? "Would you like a window seat?"
6.29 Да, молим. Волим да гледам напоље. "Yes, please. I like to look outside."
6.30 Изволите. Срећан пут! "Here you are. Have a good journey."
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
Part C — Target Language Only
6.16 Добро јутро. Једну карту за Ниш.
6.17 У колико сати полази аутобус?
6.18 Полази у девет, са трећег перона.
6.19 Колико се путује до Ниша?
6.20 Око три сата, ако нема гужве.
6.21 Да ли стаје у Јагодини?
6.22 Стаје и у Јагодини и у Ћуприји.
6.23 Идем код сестре, она живи тамо.
6.24 Онда вам треба карта у једном правцу.
6.25 Не, вратићу се кући у недељу.
6.26 Повратна карта је јефтинија.
6.27 Дајте ми онда повратну.
6.28 Хоћете ли место до прозора?
6.29 Да, молим. Волим да гледам напоље.
6.30 Изволите. Срећан пут!
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
Part D — Grammar Notes for the Dialogue
карту за Ниш (6.16) — за with the accusative for a conveyance's destination. A ticket до Ниша would also be understood, but за is what is printed and said.
У колико сати (6.17), у девет (6.18), у недељу (6.25) — the temporal accusative met in the citation. Serbian says у for clock times and days of the week; for months and years it uses the locative or genitive: у јануару, прошле године.
са трећег перона (6.18) — са plus the genitive means "off, down from," the opposite of на plus the accusative. Motion onto the platform would be на перон.
Колико се путује (6.19) — impersonal reflexive with no subject: "how long is it travelled." Serbian uses this where English needs "does it take."
ако нема гужве (6.20) — the genitive after negated existential нема, from Lesson 1, inside a conditional clause.
у Јагодини, у Ћуприји (6.21–6.22) — locative, because the bus stops in rather than travels to. The contrast with за Ниш in the same dialogue is the lesson's central distinction in live use.
Идем код сестре (6.23) — код plus genitive for going to a person. Идем у сестру would be nonsense.
вам треба карта (6.24) — the impersonal треба construction: the thing needed is the grammatical subject, the person needing it stands in the dative. Literally "to you is needed a ticket."
вратићу се кући (6.25) — future written as one word with the clitic attached, plus the adverbial dative кући. Note the reflexive се follows the fused verb.
место до прозора (6.28) — here до means "next to, by," its third sense after "as far as" and "until." Context alone distinguishes them.
Волим да гледам (6.29) — да plus present for the English infinitive, the construction of 6.9 in natural conversational use.
Изволите (6.30) — an untranslatable politeness formula accompanying anything handed over, offered, or invited: "here you are," "please do," "after you."
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
идем (idem): EE-dem. From ићи, an irregular verb: идем, идеш, иде, идемо, идете, иду, but past ишао, ишла.
кући (kući): KOO-chee. Two syllables, soft ћ. Distinguish from куће (KOO-che, genitive) and кухиња (KOO-hee-nya, kitchen).
вратићу се (vratiću se): VRA-tee-choo seh. Four syllables plus the clitic. The fused future keeps the stress of the infinitive stem.
Ћуприја (Ćuprija): CHOO-pree-ya. A town on the Morava; the name is the Turkish word for bridge, köprü, and the same root gives Andrić's ћуприја in Na Drini ćuprija.
аутобус (autobus): a-oo-TO-boos. Four syllables — Serbian has no diphthongs, so ау is two distinct vowels, never the English ow.
гужва (gužva): GOOZH-va. Crowd, crush, traffic jam. One of the most useful words in urban Serbian.
плећима (plećima): PLE-chee-ma. Three syllables; ћ soft, then the instrumental-locative plural ending -има.
Question intonation: yes-no questions with да ли or ли carry a rising contour on the verb, not on the final word. Да ли СТАје у Јагодини? — the pitch peaks early and falls away, the opposite of the English pattern.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
---