STUDY GUIDE

Learn Serbian. Have fun.

LESSON 102

GRAMMAR
VOCABULARY
PRACTICE
ANSWER KEY

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GRAMMAR
REFLEXIVE VERBS IN SERBIAN

In this lesson we are going to learn about reflexive verbs.

Reflexive verbs are a group of SE Verbs in Serbain which refer to an action taken
upon one’s own body, or actions which reflect back on oneself. They are
acompanied by the reflexive particle se (sebe - onself) and that is how they got
their name – reflexive verbs.
Examples:
Ja se umivam - I am washing my face
Ti se česljaš - You are combing your hair
On se brije - He shaves.
Mi se spremamo za posao We are getting ready for work
Vi se oblačite - You (polite or plural) are getting dressed

The verbs we’ve used in these examples are in infinitive as follows:

umivati se - to wash one’s face
češljati se - to comb one’s hair
brijati se - to shave one’s face
spremati se - to get yourself ready
oblačiti se - to get yourself dressesd
As you can notice, all of these verbs are accompanied by the reflexive particle se,
and they indicate an action that the subject is perfoming on him or helself. And
this is why these verbs are called true reflexive verbs. The particle se is the direct
object in the sentence. It stands for sebe which means oneself or myself or
yourself.

Study Guide 2
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It’s important to know that there are many different kinds of SE Verbs in Serbian
language, and they are not all reflexive verbs. True reflexive verbs will 100% of
the time have the particle se as a short form of sebe. Anytime you can use sebe
instead of se in a sentence without changing the meaning of that sentence, you
are dealing with the true reflexive verb.
Examples:
Ja se umivam - I am washing my face
Ja sebe umivam - I am washing my(own) face
Ti se češljaš - You are combing your hair
Ti sebe češljaš - You are combing your(own) hair
On se brije - He shaves
On sebe brije - He shaves (himself)
Mi se spremamo za posao - We are getting ready for work
Mi sebe spremamo za posao - We are getting ourselves ready for work
Vi se oblačite - You (polite or plural) are getting dressed
Vi sebe oblačite - You are getting yourselves dressed

The grammatical subject in these sentences is the direct object (which is the 4th
case in Serbian withour prepositions). The reflexive particle se in 4th case in its
full form without prepositions is sebe.
Here is the list of a few other common reflexive verbs in Serbian:
Tuširati se – to shower
Kupati se – to bathe
Napiti se – to get (yourself) drunk
Najesti se – to get (yourself) fed
Popeti se – to climb (yourself) up
Ispraviti se – to straighten (yourself) out

Study Guide 3
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Some common reflexive verbs in Serbian:

Serbian English

umivati se to wash (your) face

češljati se to comb (your) hair
brijati se to shave
spremati se to get (yourself) ready
oblačiti se to get (yourself) dressed
tuširati se to shower
kupati se to bathe
napiti se to get (yourself) drunk
najesti se to get (yourself) fed
popeti se to climb (yourself) up
ispraviti se to straighten (yourself) out

VOCABULARY

Serbian English
povratni glagoli reflexive verbs
umivati se to wash (your) face
češljati se to comb (your) hair
brijati se to shave (yourself)
spremati se to get (yourself) ready
oblačiti se to get (yourself) dressed
tuširati se to shower
kupati se to bathe

Study Guide 4
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napiti se to get (yourself) drunk
najesti se to get (yourself) fed
popeti se to climb (yourself) up
ispraviti se to straighten (yourself) out

PRACTICE
EXCERCISE #1
Match these Serbian reflexive verbs with their English pair:

# Serbian # English

1. napiti se a) to comb (your) hair 1d) (example)

2. češljati se b) to get (yourself) ready

3. umivati se c) to wash (your) face
4. tuširati se d) to get (yourself) drunk
5. spremati se e) to shower

EXERCISE #2
The following verbs translate into English:

# Serbian English
1. popeti se to climb (yourself) up (example)
2. najesti se
3. kupati se
4. ispraviti se
5. brijati se

Study Guide 5
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EXCERCISE #3
Please translate into English:

# English Serbian

1. to comb (your) hair češljati se (example)

2. to get (yourself) dressed
3. to shower
4. to get (yourself) fed
5. to bathe

ANSWER KEY
EXCERCISE #1

(The answer is underlined and in bold)

Match these Serbian reflexive verbs with their English pair:

# Serbian # English

1. napiti se a) to comb your hair 1d) (example)

2. češljati se b) to get (yourself) ready 2a)

3. umivati se c) to wash (your) face 3c)

4. tuširati se d) to get (yourself) drunk 4e)
5. spremati se e) to shower 5b)

Study Guide 6
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EXCERCISE #2

(The answer is underlined and in bold)

Please translate into English:

# Serbian English
1. popeti se to climb (yourself) up (example)

2. najesti se to get (yourself) fed

3. kupati se to bathe
4. ispraviti se to straighten (yourself) out
5. brijati se to shave

EXCERCISE #3

(The answer is underlined and in bold)

Please translate into English:

# English Serbian

1. to comb (your) hair češljati se (example)

2. to get (yourself) dressed oblačiti se

3. to shower tuširati se
4. to get (yourself) fed najesti se

5. to bathe kupati se

Ćao, drugari! Vidimo se!

Study Guide 7
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