Umesto da sipam sos, koristim marinadu.

to use

Breakdown of Umesto da sipam sos, koristim marinadu.

• umesto da: instead of doing
• marinada: a marinade
• sos: a sauce

Questions & Answers about Umesto da sipam sos, koristim marinadu.

What does umesto da mean in this sentence?

Umesto da means instead of when it is followed by a whole clause.

So:

• umesto da sipam sos = instead of pouring sauce

A useful pattern is:

• umesto da + present tense verb

Examples:

• Umesto da čekam, odlazim. = Instead of waiting, I’m leaving.
• Umesto da kupim hleb, pravim ga kod kuće. = Instead of buying bread, I make it at home.

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Why is sipam in the present tense after da?

After da, Serbian very often uses the present tense where English would often use an -ing form or an infinitive.

So English:

• instead of pouring sauce

Serbian:

• umesto da sipam sos
• literally: instead that I pour sauce

This is completely normal Serbian grammar.

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Why is it sipam, not something like sipati?

In Serbian, after da, you normally use a conjugated verb, not the infinitive.

So you say:

• umesto da sipam

not: