English work, do, make, study, and learn overlap differently from Serbian радити, урадити, правити, студирати, учити, and научити. A natural description of work or education therefore depends on the activity and its endpoint, not on substituting one dictionary equivalent. The accompanying place, employer, profession, subject, and exam also bring different case frames.
Saying what you do for work
The neutral question Чиме се бавиш/бавите? asks about occupation or field. Instrumental interrogative чиме belongs to бавити се + instrumental.
Чиме се бавите? — Бавим се графичким дизајном и радим за малу издавачку кућу.
What do you do? — I work in graphic design and work for a small publishing house. (polite question)
The simpler Шта радиш? can mean “What are you doing right now?” or “What do you do for work?” Context decides. A direct profession answer uses the copula without an article:
Ја сам наставница, а супруг ми је машински инжењер.
I'm a teacher, and my husband is a mechanical engineer. (female speaker)
Serbian has no article corresponding to English a. Једна наставница would mean “one/a certain teacher,” not the neutral profession predicate.
Gendered profession forms are productive and widely used, though an individual's and an institution's preferred form should be respected: наставник/наставница, инжењер/инжењерка, директор/директорка.
Place, employer, and role use different frames
Радити combines with several complements:
| Meaning | Frame | Example |
|---|---|---|
| physical workplace | у/на + locative | у болници, на факултету |
| employer/organization | за + accusative | за домаћу компанију |
| employer as a person/small practice | код + genitive | код приватног стоматолога |
| professional role | као + nominative role in this subject-oriented frame | као програмер |
| project/topic | на + locative | на новом пројекту |
Радим у лабораторији као техничар и тренутно радим на пројекту о квалитету воде.
I work in a laboratory as a technician, and I'm currently working on a water-quality project. (male speaker)
Моја сестра ради код адвоката који се бави породичним правом.
My sister works for a lawyer who specializes in family law.
After као, the profession is normally техничар, not instrumental техничарем. Location pairs with direction and source: идем на посао — на послу сам — враћам се с посла.
Радити does not cover every English do or make
Радити is natural for employment, ongoing work, some tasks, and machines functioning. Урадити presents a bounded completed task. Other collocations require another verb.
Данас радим на анализи података, а цео задатак ћу урадити до сутра.
Today I'm working on the data analysis, and I'll complete the whole task by tomorrow.
Штампач не ради, па извештај не можемо да одштампамо.
The printer isn't working, so we can't print the report.
But Serbian доноси одлуку “makes a decision,” прави план “makes a plan,” and поставља питање “asks/poses a question.” Memorize the collocation rather than extending радити to every English phrase.
Degree study versus studying now
Студирати + accusative names an ongoing university degree program or its field of study, not the immediate activity of reviewing a lesson.
Студирам економију на Универзитету у Новом Саду.
I study economics at the University of Novi Sad.
The subject економију is accusative. An institution such as a faculty uses на + locative, while a city uses у + locative.
Учити describes the actual activity of studying or learning, including school subjects, languages, material, and exam preparation.
Ове недеље учим статистику за испит, па сваки дан остајем у библиотеци до осам.
This week I'm studying statistics for an exam, so I stay in the library until eight every day.
Она студира историју, али тренутно учи немачки због размене у Берлину.
She studies history, but she is currently learning German because of an exchange in Berlin.
English uses study in both examples. Serbian separates the degree field студира историју from the learning activity учи немачки. The dedicated студирати reference covers further senses such as academic проучавати.
Learning process and achieved result
Imperfective учити presents study or instruction in progress; perfective научити presents successful acquisition.
Учим ове формуле већ два дана, али их још нисам научила напамет.
I've been studying these formulas for two days, but I still haven't learned them by heart. (female speaker)
The first clause does not guarantee mastery. The second denies the achieved result. Similarly, предавати is the ordinary verb for teaching a school or university subject:
Професорка предаје синтаксу, а студенти за следећи час уче зависне реченице.
The professor teaches syntax, and the students are studying subordinate clauses for the next class.
Учити некога нечему/нешто can mean teach someone, but it has its own participant frame. Do not treat студирати as the teacher's action.
Exams, classes, and educational milestones
Common combinations preserve aspect:
| Process or attempt | Bounded result |
|---|---|
| учити за испит | научити градиво |
| полагати испит | положити испит |
| писати семинарски рад | написати семинарски рад |
| студирати | завршити студије / дипломирати |
Следеће недеље полажем последњи испит, а ако га положим, дипломираћу у јуну.
Next week I'm taking my final exam, and if I pass it, I'll graduate in June.
English take an exam is not узети испит. Serbian uses imperfective полагати for the event/attempt and perfective положити for passing.
School and university location are conventional: у школи, but на факултету, на курсу, на предавању.
Ујутру имам наставу у школи, а увече идем на курс програмирања.
In the morning I have classes at school, and in the evening I go to a programming course.
Schedules and working conditions
Радим пуно радно време, од понедељка до петка, али средом радим од куће.
I work full-time, Monday through Friday, but on Wednesdays I work from home.
Useful established phrases include пуно/непуно радно време, рад у сменама, ноћна смена, пауза за ручак, and годишњи одмор. Their internal cases remain productive: у ноћној смени, после паузе за ручак, на годишњем одмору.
When asking someone new about work, Чиме се бавите? is neutral. Questions about salary, contract security, or grades may be too personal unless the context invites them.
Situational dialogue
— Чиме се бавиш? — Студирам фармацију, а викендом радим у једној апотеци. — На којој си години? — На четвртој. Тренутно учим за тежак испит из фармакологије. — Да ли планираш да после студија радиш у апотеци? — Вероватно, али ме занима и истраживачки рад.
— What do you do? — I study pharmacy, and on weekends I work in a pharmacy. — What year are you in? — My fourth. I'm currently studying for a difficult pharmacology exam. — Do you plan to work in a pharmacy after graduating? — Probably, but I'm also interested in research work. (informal)
На четвртој omits understood години but retains feminine locative agreement. Испит из фармакологије uses из + genitive to name the examined subject.
Practice
Task 1: Separate work information
Describe one person's profession, workplace, employer, and current project. Use бити, радити у/на, радити за/код, and радити на with the correct cases.
Task 2: Build a study timeline
State a degree field with студирати, today's exam preparation with учити, the exam attempt with полагати, success with положити, and graduation with дипломирати.
Common Mistakes
❌ Радим као инжењером у грађевинској фирми.
Incorrect case after као—the professional role is normally nominative.
✅ Радим као инжењер у грађевинској фирми.
I work as an engineer at a construction company. (male speaker)
❌ Студирам за испит из хемије цело поподне.
Incorrect verb for exam preparation—студирати names an ongoing university program or degree field; use учити.
✅ Учим за испит из хемије цело поподне.
I'm studying for the chemistry exam all afternoon.
❌ Студирам на економију у Београду.
Incorrect government—the field is a direct accusative object without на.
✅ Студирам економију у Београду.
I study economics in Belgrade.
❌ Сутра узимам испит и надам се да ћу га проћи.
Unnatural English calques—Serbian uses полагати испит and положити it successfully.
✅ Сутра полажем испит и надам се да ћу га положити.
I'm taking an exam tomorrow and hope I'll pass it.
Key Takeaways
- Profession, workplace, employer, role, and project use different grammatical frames.
- Радити covers employment and ongoing work, but not every English do/make collocation.
- Студирати + accusative names a university field; учити names actual studying or learning.
- Учити does not guarantee mastery; perfective научити presents the acquired result.
- Exams use полагати/положити, and educational places follow conventional у/на patterns.
Now practice Serbian
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Start learning Serbian →Related Topics
- raditi (to work/do)A1 — Model i-class verb 'to work/do'.
- studirati / učiti (to study)B1 — Studying at university vs learning.
- učiti / naučiti (to learn / study)A2 — Studying vs mastering.
- raditi / praviti / napraviti (to make/do)B1 — Making and doing.
- u and na: In/On, To/IntoA2 — The two most important prepositions and their case-driven meanings.
- Introducing Yourself and OthersA1 — Names, where you're from, nice to meet you.