Your task
Friday, February 5, 10 p.m. · In front of Lipa Street 12
Your task
It's late on Friday, you're finally home, and your key is still inside, on the kitchen table. Jelena doesn't answer, so you call Mr. Petrović, your landlord. Your goal: explain what happened, politely to Mr. Petrović and casually to Jelena, and say what you couldn't do.
By the end you can
Explain what went wrong (Zaboravio sam ključ. Nisam mogla da uđem.), ask what happened, use sam se in the right order, and tell the same story on ti and on Vi.
Guess first: how do you say I couldn't in Serbian?
Nisam mogao (a man) or Nisam mogla (a woman): nisam, then the past form of moći. You already know nisam bio, and every verb works the same way.
The scene
Three moments on Friday night. Read them on your own first, and open the translations only if you need them. Your own lines aren't in the text, only what the others say.
10:05 p.m. You've written to Jelena: no answer. You call Mr. Petrović.
- Gospodin Petrović:Molim? ... A, Vi ste! Dobro veče.
- Gospodin Petrović:Ne, ne, nije kasno, nisam spavao. Gledam vesti. Šta se desilo?
- Gospodin Petrović:Ključ je ostao u stanu? A vrata su zaključana?
- Gospodin Petrović:A Jelena ne odgovara? Nema veze, nema veze.
- Gospodin Petrović:Imam rezervni ključ. Izlazim za dva minuta. Sačekajte me ispred ulaza.
10:10 p.m. Mr. Petrović comes out in his bathrobe and slippers.
- Gospodin Petrović:Evo, rezervni ključ!
- Gospodin Petrović:Ma, ne izvinjavajte se. Desi se, desi se. Meni se desilo tri puta ove godine!
- Gospodin Petrović:Prošle nedelje sam zaboravio ključ u apoteci. Vesna je imala grip, pa sam išao po lekove svaki dan.
- Gospodin Petrović:Apotekarka je trčala za mnom sve do ugla!
- Gospodin Petrović:A u januaru sam ostavio ključ u vratima, spolja, ceo dan. Niko nije video. Sreća!
- Gospodin Petrović:Dobro, laku noć! I ključ odmah u džep, a?
11:20 p.m. A message from Jelena.
- Jelena:Jao, tek sad sam videla tvoju poruku! Bila sam u bioskopu, a telefon je bio isključen.
- Jelena:Šta se desilo? Jesi li u stanu? Je l' sve u redu?
- Jelena:Gospodin Petrović? U papučama? Haha, to je on! Sutra ja častim, u Uglu.
Words & phrases
What to say when something goes wrong, and how to say sorry for calling.
When something goes wrong
Šta se desilo?
What happened?
Desi se.
It happens.
zaboraviti: zaboravio sam / zaboravila sam
to forget: I forgot (a man / a woman)
izgubiti
to lose
zaključati
to lock
ostaviti
to leave (something somewhere)
probuditi se
to wake up
vratiti se
to come back
Ključ je ostao u stanu.
The key is still in the apartment. (literally: it stayed)
Nisam mogao da uđem. / Nisam mogla da uđem.
I couldn't get in. (a man / a woman)
Saying sorry
Izvinite što smetam.
Sorry to bother you. (Vi)
Izvinite što zovem ovako kasno.
Sorry for calling so late. (Vi)
How it works
No and questions, with every verb
Nisam mogao. · Jesi li video? · Gde si ostavila ključ?
You already know nisam bio. Every verb works the same way: nisam, nisi, nije, nismo, niste, nisu + the -o or -la form, and no sam after it. To ask, use Jesi li...? or Da li si...?, or start with a question word: Šta si zaboravio? Gde si ostavila ključ? The short answer is Jesam or Nisam. With friends you'll also see Jesi video? without li: that's fine on ti, but with Vi and in careful writing, use Jesi li or Jeste li. Why? Nisam is ne + sam in one word, so it already carries sam.
- 1.
Nisam mogao da uđem.
I couldn't get in. (a man)
- 2.
Luka nije položio ispit.
Luka didn't pass the exam.
- 3.
Jesi li video moju poruku?
Did you see my message? (to a man)
- 4.
Da li si ušla u stan?
Did you get into the apartment? (to a woman)
- 5.
Gde si ostavila ključ?
Where did you leave your key? (to a woman)
Sam se: always in this order
probudio sam se · vratila sam se · Šta se desilo?
Some verbs come with se: probuditi se (to wake up), vratiti se (to come back), desiti se (to happen). In the past, se stays, and sam goes before se: Probudio sam se, Vratila sam se. With no and in questions it's the same: Nisam se probudila. Jesi li se vratio? If you start with ja, se still comes second: Ja se nisam probudila, not Ja nisam se probudila. One surprise: with on, ona or ono, je disappears next to se: Jelena se vratila, Šta se desilo? Why? When a sentence has both sam and se, sam comes first: Vratio sam se, never Vratio se sam.
- 1.
Probudio sam se kasno.
I woke up late. (a man)
- 2.
Vratila sam se u deset.
I came back at ten. (a woman)
- 3.
Ja se nisam probudio na vreme.
I didn't wake up on time. (a man)
- 4.
Jesi li se vratio?
Did you come back? (to a man)
- 5.
Jelena se vratila iz Niša.
Jelena came back from Niš.
- 6.
Šta se desilo?
What happened?
Ne + sam is one word
Ne sam mogao da uđem.
Nisam mogao da uđem.
Ne and sam join into nisam, and nothing else is added: Nisam mogao.
Sam goes before se
Vratio se sam kući.
Vratio sam se kući.
When you have both, sam comes first and se right after it.
No je next to se
Šta se je desilo?
Šta se desilo?
With on, ona or ono, je drops out next to se: Šta se desilo? Luka se vratio.
Practice
New: tell Jelena, tell Mr. Petrović
Same problem, two people. Jelena gets a message on ti. Mr. Petrović gets a phone call on Vi. The past tense doesn't change; the polite words around it do.
- To Jelena (message, ti)
- Ćao!
- To Mr. Petrović (phone, Vi)
- Dobro veče!
- To Jelena (message, ti)
- Izvini što pišem kasno.
- To Mr. Petrović (phone, Vi)
- Izvinite što zovem ovako kasno.
- To Jelena (message, ti)
- Zaboravio / Zaboravila sam ključ.
- To Mr. Petrović (phone, Vi)
- Zaboravio / Zaboravila sam ključ.
- To Jelena (message, ti)
- Da li si kod kuće?
- To Mr. Petrović (phone, Vi)
- Da li imate rezervni ključ?
- To Jelena (message, ti)
- Hvala ti!
- To Mr. Petrović (phone, Vi)
- Hvala Vam!
Read: a notice in the hallway
On Saturday morning, you notice a new sheet of paper on the board by the mailboxes.
OBAVEŠTENJE ZA STANARE
Poštovani stanari,
prošle nedelje su ulazna vrata dva puta ostala otvorena cele noći. U sredu ujutru je neko ostavio bicikl ispred lifta, pa gospođa Nikolić nije mogla da izađe iz lifta. Molim vas: posle 22 h uvek zaključajte ulazna vrata. Bicikli idu u podrum, ne u hodnik.
Lift nije radio dva dana. Majstor je došao u petak i sada lift radi normalno.
Rezervne ključeve od stanova imaju vlasnici stanova, ne upravnik. Ako ste zaboravili ključ, zovite vlasnika stana.
Hvala na razumevanju!
Upravnik zgrade, Simić
New words: obaveštenje = notice, stanari = residents, ulazna vrata = the front door, ostala otvorena = stayed open, bicikl = bike, izaći = to get out, zaključajte = lock (Vi), podrum = basement, hodnik = hallway, vlasnici stanova = apartment owners, upravnik zgrade = building manager, hvala na razumevanju = thank you for understanding.
Culture note
Culture note
In Belgrade buildings it's very common to leave a spare key with someone you trust, like a neighbor or a relative, and nobody minds being asked for it. When you call at a bad time, start with Izvinite što smetam (sorry to bother you) or Izvinite što zovem ovako kasno. After ten in the evening, people don't call without a real reason, and many buildings ask for quiet at night. And if someone tells you Desi se, it means: don't worry, it happens to everyone.
Your turn
Your writing goes to your instructor, who reads every one and writes back.
Something went wrong
Write a message to Jelena about something that went wrong for you, real or made up: what happened, when, what you couldn't do, who helped, and how it ended. Use at least one nisam... and one verb with se (probudio sam se, vratila sam se). Write 40-60 words. 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 40 words. Submitting it is part of finishing this activity.
Example answer
Ćao, Jelena! Juče se desilo nešto glupo. Probudio sam se / Probudila sam se kasno, jer telefon nije zvonio. Brzo sam se spremio / spremila i otišao / otišla na posao, ali sam zaboravio / zaboravila ključ od kancelarije. Nisam mogao / mogla da uđem! Kolega je došao tek posle pola sata. Šef je samo rekao: Desi se. A kod tebe? Sve u redu?
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: what happened
4 questions · pass mark 75%
- 1.
Which sentence is right?
- 2.
Jelena tells you about her morning. Which is right?
- 3.
Your friend looks upset. How do you ask what happened?
- 4.
It's 10:30 p.m. You call Mr. Petrović. What do you say first?
Answer every question before you submit.
What you can do now
What you can do now
You can explain what went wrong (Zaboravio sam ključ. Nisam mogla da uđem.), ask Šta se desilo? and Jesi li video...?, use sam se in the right order, and tell the same story on ti to a friend and on Vi to your landlord. Next: the Mission, where you're stuck in the lift.
More practice
Three more questions: two about the texts in this lesson, and one about calling late.
Match each sentence with its meaning.
Put the phone call in order.
Grab a card and drag it to the right spot.