Your task
Friday, November 6 · A phone shop, then home
Your task
You need a Serbian SIM card. In a phone shop near your building, a young salesman gives you your new number. In the evening, Jelena and her brother come over to set up your internet. Your goal: read and write down phone numbers, give your own, and talk about age.
By the end you can
Count to 100, write down a phone number someone gives you, give your own number, and say how old you are.
Guess first: how do Serbs usually give a phone number?
In groups: nula šezdeset jedan, then the rest in two or three chunks. When it's too fast, ask for it digit by digit. That's what you'll practice today.
The scene
Read both parts. Try them on your own first, and open the translations if you need them. Don't worry about the numbers yet: you'll learn them in the next steps and come back to these texts in Practice.
Friday, 11:00 a.m. The phone shop.
- Prodavac:Dobar dan! Izvolite.
- Prodavac:SIM kartica? Može. Evo, ovo je Vaš novi broj.
- Prodavac:Nula šezdeset pet, devetsto četrnaest, nula šest trideset osam.
- Prodavac:Izvinite, brzo pričam. Polako: nula, šest, pet. Devet, jedan, četiri. Nula, šest, tri, osam.
- Prodavac:Kartica je sto dinara. Hvala Vama i prijatno!
Friday, 8:00 p.m. Jelena and Luka come over to set up your internet.
- Jelena:Ćao! Evo nas. Luka će ti srediti internet.
- Luka:Daj telefon. Nova kartica, novi broj. Gotovo, internet radi!
- Jelena:Super! E, zapiši moj broj. Nula, šest, četiri. Tri, jedan, osam. Dva, dva, pet, sedam.
- Luka:A koliko imaš godina?
- Jelena:Luka! To se ne pita odmah!
- Luka:Šta? Ja imam dvadeset jednu godinu. Nije tajna!
Words & phrases
Phrases for numbers, phones and age. The numbers themselves are in the next step.
broj telefona
phone number
Koji ti je broj?
What's your number? (ti)
Koji je Vaš broj?
What's your number? (Vi)
Zapiši.
Write it down. (ti)
Koliko košta?
How much is it?
Koliko imaš godina?
How old are you? (ti)
Koliko imate godina?
How old are you? (Vi)
Imam trideset godina.
I'm thirty.
How it works
0 to 10. These eleven words build every number you need for a phone.
| Number | In words |
|---|---|
| 0 | nula |
| 1 | jedan |
| 2 | dva |
| 3 | tri |
| 4 | četiri |
| 5 | pet |
| 6 | šest |
| 7 | sedam |
| 8 | osam |
| 9 | devet |
| 10 | deset |
11 to 19: add -naest
number + naest
The teens add -naest, "on ten", to the number: jedanaest is "one on ten". Watch three small changes: jedanaest (one n, not two), četrnaest (not četirinaest) and šesnaest (no t). Why does this matter? The ending is how you tell a teen from a ten: -naest is a teen, -deset is a ten.
- 1.
jedanaest
11
- 2.
dvanaest
12
- 3.
trinaest
13
- 4.
četrnaest
14
- 5.
petnaest
15
- 6.
šesnaest
16
- 7.
devetnaest
19
| Number | In words |
|---|---|
| 11 | jedanaest |
| 12 | dvanaest |
| 13 | trinaest |
| 14 | četrnaest |
| 15 | petnaest |
| 16 | šesnaest |
| 17 | sedamnaest |
| 18 | osamnaest |
| 19 | devetnaest |
| 20 | dvadeset |
dvanaest or dvadeset?
This is the pair everybody mixes up. Both start with dva, so look at the middle: dva-na-est or dva-de-set. Na means a teen (dvanaest = 12), de means a ten (dvadeset = 20).
20 is dvadeset
Imam dvanaest godina. (meaning: I'm 20)
Imam dvadeset godina. (I'm 20)
dvanaest is 12. For 20, the word ends in -deset: dvadeset.
The tens, and the numbers in between
ten + one: dvadeset pet
Above 20, write the ten and then the one, as two words. You'll also see dvadeset i pet, with i (and); both are right. Three tens change a little, like the teens: četrdeset (not četirideset), pedeset (no t), šezdeset (z, not st). Why no hyphen? Serbian simply writes two words, where English writes twenty-five.
- 1.
dvadeset pet
25
- 2.
trideset osam
38
- 3.
četrdeset jedan
41
- 4.
pedeset dva
52
- 5.
šezdeset tri
63
- 6.
devedeset devet
99
- 7.
sto
100
| Number | In words |
|---|---|
| 30 | trideset |
| 40 | četrdeset |
| 50 | pedeset |
| 60 | šezdeset |
| 70 | sedamdeset |
| 80 | osamdeset |
| 90 | devedeset |
| 100 | sto |
pedeset, not petdeset
petdeset
pedeset
Three tens change a little: pedeset (no t), šezdeset (z, not st), četrdeset (not četirideset).
Phone numbers
Serbs often give the start of a number as a group, nula šezdeset jedan for 061, and the rest in chunks. You can always give yours digit by digit. Why ask for digits? When you write a number down, one digit at a time is the safest. Mobile numbers start with 06.
- 1.
Koji ti je broj?
What's your number? (ti)
- 2.
Koji je Vaš broj?
What's your number? (Vi)
- 3.
Nula šezdeset jedan.
061, as a group
- 4.
Petsto sedam.
507, as a group (hundreds come later: ask for digits)
- 5.
Moj broj je nula, šest, jedan, dva, tri, četiri, pet, šest, sedam, osam.
My number is 061 234 5678.
- 6.
Možete li da ponovite broj?
Can you repeat the number?
Age. Serbian says Imam trideset godina, literally "I have thirty years". The word for years changes with the number, so learn these ready-made.
- In words
- trideset jednu godinu
- When
- ends in 1 (but not 11): godinu, and jedan becomes jednu
- In words
- dve godine
- When
- ends in 2, 3 or 4 (but not 12, 13, 14): godine, and dva becomes dve
- In words
- dvadeset dve godine
- When
- ends in 2, 3 or 4: godine
- In words
- dvanaest godina
- When
- 11 to 19: godina
- In words
- pet godina
- When
- everything else: godina
- In words
- trideset godina
- When
- everything else: godina
godina, godine or godinu
…1: godinu · …2, 3, 4: godine · other, 11-19: godina
Look at the last digit of the age. Ends in 1: godinu. Ends in 2, 3 or 4: godine. Everything else, and all the teens from 11 to 19: godina. Why so many forms? English has year and years; Serbian has three forms, and the number picks one. You'll learn the rule behind it later; for now, the last digit is enough.
- 1.
Imam trideset godina.
I'm thirty.
- 2.
Ona ima dve godine.
She's two.
- 3.
On ima trideset jednu godinu.
He's thirty-one.
- 4.
Imam dvadeset dve godine.
I'm twenty-two.
- 5.
Imam dvanaest godina.
I'm twelve.
- 6.
Moj sin ima pet godina.
My son is five.
- 7.
Koliko imate godina?
How old are you? (Vi)
trideset jednu godinu
Imam trideset jedna godina.
Imam trideset jednu godinu.
Ages ending in 1 take godinu, and jedan becomes jednu in front of it.
Practice
Back to the scene. Read both parts of the scene again, in The scene step, and answer. The numbers are written in words; write them in digits.
Read each number word and type it in digits. Ten numbers, ninety seconds.
Read: Jelena's tip
On Saturday, Jelena tells you about a neighbor's guitar lessons. New words: preko puta = across the street, drži časove gitare = gives guitar lessons, za decu = for children, od ... do = from ... to.
- Jelena:Znaš Milicu iz zgrade preko puta? Drži časove gitare.
- Jelena:Za decu od sedam do četrnaest godina. Ako nekome treba, njen broj je nula, šest, četiri, pet, pet, jedan, dva, nula, nula, osam.
Culture note
Culture note
Serbian mobile numbers start with 06 and have nine or ten digits. Belgrade landlines start with 011, and from abroad you drop the first 0 and dial +381. When the phone rings, Serbs answer with Halo? or Molim? About age: with young people, Koliko imaš godina? is a normal question. With older people, especially women, it's better not to ask.
Your turn
Your writing goes to your instructor, who reads every one and writes back.
Ages around you
Write 4 sentences, with all numbers in words. First your phone number, digit by digit: Moj broj je nula, šest, ... (a made-up number is fine). Then your age: Imam ... godina, godine or godinu (made up is fine too). Then two people in your life and their ages. You can use moja mama (my mom), moj tata (my dad), moja sestra (my sister), moj brat (my brother), moj prijatelj or moja prijateljica (my friend). At least 20 words. Your instructor will read it. Open the example only after you try.
Write it in your own words. Without an account, you can save your answer in this tab. Closing the tab deletes it.
Main writing task · at least 20 words. Submitting it is part of finishing this activity.
Example answer
Moj broj je nula, šest, dva, pet, nula, sedam, jedan, tri, devet, osam. Imam trideset dve godine. Moja mama ima pedeset osam godina. Moj prijatelj Marko ima trideset jednu godinu.
Compare the information and how it's phrased. Your answer doesn't need to use the same words.
Check yourself
Four questions. Get three right to pass, and try again as many times as you like. The lesson is complete when you pass the quiz and send your writing task.
Quiz
Check yourself: numbers, phones and age
4 questions · pass mark 75%
- 1.
A friend says she lives in stan četrnaest. Which apartment is it?
- 2.
Jelena's mom tells you her age, 52: Imam pedeset dve ___. Which word fits?
- 3.
How do you write 47 in words?
- 4.
At the shop, the salesman asks: Koji je Vaš broj telefona? What does he want?
Answer every question before you submit.
What you can do now
What you can do now
You can count from 0 to 100, write down a phone number someone gives you, and give your own number digit by digit. You can ask Koliko imaš godina? or Koliko imate godina?, say how old you are, and choose godina, godine or godinu. If dvanaest and dvadeset still look alike, go back to the tables and read the middle of each word. Next: a mission. The neighbor upstairs wants to know who you are.
More practice
One coffee, two coffees
The words for 1 and 2 change a little with the word that comes after them. You don't need the rule yet. Just notice it when you see it.
- 1.
jedan dinar
one dinar
- 2.
jedna kafa
one coffee
- 3.
jedno pivo
one beer
- 4.
dva dinara
two dinars
- 5.
dve kafe
two coffees
Match each number with its word.