Potrošili smo novac.

Yes. Potrošili smo is the Serbian past tense.

It is built from:

• potrošili = the past participle of potrošiti
• smo = we are, used here as an auxiliary

So literally it is something like spent + we-have/we-are, but in normal English you simply translate it as we spent or we have spent, depending on context.

Because potrošiti is a perfective verb, the sentence usually suggests a completed action: We spent the money / We have spent the money.

In Serbian, the subject pronoun is often left out because the verb already shows who is doing the action.

Here, smo tells you it is we.

So:

• Potrošili smo novac. = We spent the money.
• Mi smo potrošili novac. also means We spent the money, but mi adds emphasis, like we in particular.

Serbian does this very often, so leaving out mi is completely normal.

This is because smo is a clitic in Serbian. Clitics usually go in the second position of the sentence or clause.

So in a simple sentence like this, a very natural order is:

• Potrošili smo novac.

You can also say:

• Mi smo potrošili novac.
• Novac smo potrošili.

All are possible, but the word order changes the focus or emphasis.

So potrošili smo is not random word order; it follows a very common Serbian pattern.

Novac is the direct object, so it is in the accusative case.

The verb potrošiti takes a direct object, so you ask:

• Potrošiti šta? = To spend what?
• novac

For masculine inanimate nouns in Serbian, the accusative singular is often the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: novac
• accusative: novac

That is why it looks unchanged.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Serbian has no articles like a and the, so novac by itself can mean:

• money
• the money

In this sentence, English often uses the money if both speaker and listener already know which money is being discussed:

• Potrošili smo novac. = We spent the money.

But in another context, it could simply be:

• We spent money.

The surrounding situation tells you which one is meant.

This is a very important Serbian verb pair:

• trošiti = imperfective
• potrošiti = perfective

So:

• Trošili smo novac. = We were spending money / We used to spend money / We spent money (focus on process or repeated action)
• Potrošili smo novac. = We spent the money up / We have spent the money (focus on completion)

In this sentence, potrošili shows that the money was used up / spent completely, or at least that the action is viewed as finished.

That ending is part of the past participle form.

For a masculine plural subject, the participle ends in -li:

• potrošili

Since the sentence means we, this form is used when the group is:

• all male, or
• mixed male and female

So potrošili smo is the standard form for we in a mixed or masculine group.

Then the participle changes to the feminine plural form:

• Potrošile smo novac.

That still means We spent the money, but now it tells you the speakers are all female.

So:

• potrošili smo = we (male or mixed group)
• potrošile smo = we (all female)

This gender agreement is normal in Serbian past tense.

Yes. Serbian word order is fairly flexible, although not completely free.

These are all possible:

• Potrošili smo novac. = neutral, very natural
• Mi smo potrošili novac. = emphasizes we
• Novac smo potrošili. = emphasizes the money
• Potrošili smo sav novac. = We spent all the money

The basic meaning stays the same, but the information focus changes.

You negate it by adding nismo before the participle:

• Nismo potrošili novac. = We didn’t spend the money.

Notice that the negative form of the auxiliary is one word:

• nisam, nisi, nije, nismo, niste, nisu

So it is:

• Potrošili smo novac. = We spent the money.
• Nismo potrošili novac. = We didn’t spend the money.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• po-TRO-shi-li smo NO-vats

A few useful points:

• š sounds like sh in shoe
• c sounds like ts in cats
• stress is not marked in normal writing, but in careful pronunciation potrošili is commonly stressed around TRO

So novac is pronounced roughly NO-vats, not like English novak or novace.