Bio, bila, bilo
How to use this page
Pick a topic, or go from top to bottom. Mistakes here cost nothing, so try again as often as you like. When a task is about you, both bio and bila are right: write the one that fits you.
Bio, bila, bilo or bili? Eight sentences, ninety seconds.
Sam in second place
Speak Russian or Ukrainian?
Two traps: in Russian and Ukrainian the past has no word like sam, so Ja bila na poslu feels natural, but Serbian needs it: Bila sam na poslu. And nedelja is both Sunday and week (u nedelju = on Sunday, prošle nedelje = last week).
Regular verbs
Match each verb with its past form for a man.
Irregular verbs
Match each verb with its past form for a man.
Who's talking?
Time first
Match each time word with its meaning.
No and questions
Sam se
Read: Daria's email
Daria, a programmer from Russia who comes to the language exchange, writes to her friend Mila in Novi Sad. Her Serbian is very good, but in a hurry she makes one typical mistake.
Za: Mila
Tema: Hvala za vikend!
Draga Mila,
hvala još jednom za vikend u Novom Sadu! Bilo je divno. Juče sam bila na razmeni jezika u Uglu. Luka je vodio igru: svako je pričao šta je radio prošle nedelje, a mi smo tražili greške. Tom je opet rekao „Bio je hladno", i svi smo se smejali. I ja sam pogrešila, naravno. Posle toga smo Tom, Luka i ja išli na pljeskavicu. Kod kuće ja bila tek u jedanaest. Bila sam umorna, ali srećna. Javi se!
Pozdrav, Daria
New words: još jednom = once again, vodio igru = ran the game, tražili greške = looked for mistakes, smejali smo se = we laughed, pogrešiti = to make a mistake, tek u jedanaest = not until eleven, Javi se! = Keep in touch!
Read: Tom's first slava
Tom, an English teacher from Ireland who has lived in Belgrade for five years, writes on his blog about the first time he was invited to a slava.
Pre četiri godine sam prvi put bio na slavi, kod kolege iz škole. Nisam znao adresu napamet. Išao sam pogrešnim autobusom i zakasnio sam sat vremena. Svi su već bili za stolom. Kolega je samo rekao: „Nema veze, sedi!" Jeo sam tri sata, i svaki put kad sam rekao „Hvala, sit sam", domaćica je donela još. Nisam razumeo ni pola razgovora, ali bilo je toplo i veselo. Kući sam se vratio u ponoć. Te večeri sam naučio najvažniju srpsku reč: polako!
New words: slava = a family's saint's day, a big celebration at home (more in Module 8), kolega = colleague, napamet = by heart, pogrešnim autobusom = on the wrong bus, zakasniti = to be late, za stolom = at the table, sedi! = sit down! (ti), sit sam = I'm full, domaćica = the hostess, donela je još = she brought more, ni pola = not even half, u ponoć = at midnight, polako = slowly, take it easy.
Ready for the test?
When most of this feels easy, take the Module Test. If one topic is still hard, go back to its lesson: bio and bila in Lesson 2, every other verb in Lesson 3, time words and word order in Lesson 4, no, questions and sam se in Lesson 5.