Nazdravićemo slavljeniku.

the celebrant

Breakdown of Nazdravićemo slavljeniku.

• nazdraviti: to make a toast

Questions & Answers about Nazdravićemo slavljeniku.

Why is ćemo attached to the verb in Nazdravićemo?

In Serbian, the future tense is often made with the auxiliary ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će.

With many verbs, especially in normal neutral style, this auxiliary can attach directly to the infinitive stem:

• nazdraviti → nazdravićemo

This means we will make a toast / we will toast.

You may also see the future written as two words in some contexts, but Nazdravićemo is the standard fused form here.

What is the base form of Nazdravićemo?

The dictionary form is nazdraviti.

That verb means to make a toast, to drink to someone’s health, or to say cheers/toast someone.

So:

• nazdraviti = to toast
• nazdravićemo = we will toast

Why does slavljeniku end in -u?

Because slavljeniku is in the dative case.

The verb nazdraviti commonly takes the person being toasted in the dative:

• nazdraviti kome? = to toast to whom?

So:

• slavljenik = the celebrant / birthday person / person being celebrated
• slavljeniku = to the celebrant

That -u ending marks the dative singular for this masculine noun.

Is slavljenik specifically a birthday person?