Nemoj da dižeš teg pre nego što se zagreješ.

do not

Breakdown of Nemoj da dižeš teg pre nego što se zagreješ.

• pre nego što: before
• teg: an exercise weight
• zagrejati se: to warm up

Questions & Answers about Nemoj da dižeš teg pre nego što se zagreješ.

What does Nemoj da + verb mean here?

Nemoj da + present tense is a very common way to make a negative command in Serbian.

So:

• Nemoj da dižeš... = Don’t lift...
• literally, it is something like Don’t that you lift, but in real Serbian it simply functions as don’t + verb

For plural or formal you, you would use:

• Nemojte da dižete... = Don’t lift...

This is one of the first important patterns learners meet in Serbian.

Why is it dižeš and not an imperative form like diži?

In Serbian, negative commands are very often formed with:

• nemoj
  • da
    • present tense

So instead of saying a negative imperative directly, Serbian usually prefers:

• Nemoj da dižeš = Don’t lift

Compare:

• Diži teg! = Lift the weight!
• Nemoj da dižeš teg! = Don’t lift the weight!

So dižeš is 2nd person singular present, not a separate imperative form.

Why is the verb dižeš in the present tense if the sentence is a command?