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Learn Hardcore Serbian: Ne želim da prekoračim rok. - I do not want to exceed the deadline.

Hardcore Serbian
/Choosing a mobile-phone plan
/Ne želim da prekoračim rok.

Ne želim da prekoračim rok.

Word

Ne želim da prekoračim rok.

Meaning

I do not want to exceed the deadline.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Serbian

Lesson

Choosing a mobile-phone plan

Breakdown of Ne želim da prekoračim rok.

Questions & Answers about Ne želim da prekoračim rok.

Why is ne written separately from želim?

In Serbian, the negative particle ne is usually written as a separate word before a conjugated verb. So:

želim = I want
ne želim = I do not want

This is normal Serbian spelling. A learner might expect one word, but with most verbs Serbian keeps ne separate.

What tense and person is želim?

Želim is the 1st person singular present tense of želeti / željeti (to want).

So it means:

želim = I want
ne želim = I do not want

Even though it is present tense in form, it works naturally in this sentence to express a current wish or intention, just like English I don't want to...

Why does Serbian use da prekoračim instead of an infinitive?

Very often in modern Serbian, after verbs like želeti (to want), Serbian uses da + present tense instead of an infinitive.

So:

Ne želim da prekoračim rok. literally looks like
I do not want that I exceed the deadline

but in real English it simply means

I don't want to exceed the deadline.

prekoračiti

to exceed a limit

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This da + present structure is extremely common and one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Serbian.

What form is prekoračim?

Prekoračim is the 1st person singular present tense form of prekoračiti.

That is why it matches the subject I:

ja prekoračim = I exceed
da prekoračim = to exceed / that I exceed in this kind of construction

Because it comes after da, Serbian uses the present-tense form, not an English-style infinitive.

Why is prekoračiti used here, and what does it mean exactly?

Prekoračiti means to exceed, to go beyond, or to overstep a limit.

With rok, it means to go past the deadline or to miss the deadline by going beyond it.

So prekoračiti rok is a natural Serbian expression for:

to exceed the deadline
to overrun the deadline
to miss the deadline by going past it

Is prekoračiti perfective or imperfective, and does that matter here?

Yes, it matters. Prekoračiti is a perfective verb. It presents the action as a complete event: crossing the deadline once.

That fits well here, because the sentence is about avoiding a completed result:

I don't want to end up going past the deadline.

If you were talking about an ongoing process or a repeated habit, Serbian might use a different aspect. But here the perfective verb is the natural choice because a deadline is crossed at a specific point.

Why is rok not changing form? Shouldn't it be in some case?

It is in a case: here it is in the accusative, because it is the direct object of prekoračiti.

The reason it looks unchanged is that rok is a masculine inanimate noun, and for many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular looks exactly the same as the nominative singular.

So:

nominative: rok
accusative: rok

That is completely normal.

What exactly does rok mean here?

Rok can mean deadline, time limit, term, or due date, depending on context.

In this sentence, the most natural translation is deadline.

For example:

rok za prijavu = application deadline
rok za plaćanje = payment deadline
prekoračiti rok = to exceed / miss the deadline

Why is there no word for the in rok?

Serbian has no articles, so it does not have direct equivalents of English a and the.

That means rok can mean:

a deadline
the deadline

The context tells you which one is meant. In this sentence, English would usually say the deadline, but Serbian simply says rok.

Can the word order change?

Yes, Serbian word order is more flexible than English, although not completely free.

The neutral and most natural order here is:

Ne želim da prekoračim rok.

You could move words around for emphasis, but the basic sentence is best learned in this order. For example, putting rok earlier might sound marked or emphatic rather than neutral.

So for everyday use, stick with:

Ne želim da prekoračim rok.

Could I also say Neću da prekoračim rok? How is that different?

Yes, you could say Neću da prekoračim rok, but it does not mean exactly the same thing.

Ne želim da prekoračim rok = I don't want to exceed the deadline
Neću da prekoračim rok = I won't exceed the deadline or sometimes I refuse to exceed the deadline

So ne želim expresses lack of desire, while neću expresses future intention, determination, or sometimes refusal.

How are ž and č pronounced?

These letters are important in this sentence:

ž in želim sounds like the s in measure or the g in mirage
č in prekoračim sounds like ch in church

So roughly:

želim ≈ zhelim
prekoračim ≈ prekorachim

Also, Serbian spelling is very phonetic, so once you know the letters, pronunciation is usually straightforward.

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