Questions & Answers about Sestra mi pomaže u kuhinji.
What does mi mean here?
Here mi means to me.
With the verb pomagati (to help), Serbian usually puts the person being helped in the dative case, so:
- pomaže mi = helps me
- literally, something like helps to me
This mi is the short, unstressed form of meni.
- Sestra mi pomaže. = neutral, everyday wording
- Sestra meni pomaže. = more emphatic, as in My sister helps me (maybe not someone else)
Important: in this sentence, mi does not mean my.
Why is the verb pomaže and not some other form?
Because the subject is sestra (sister), which is third person singular: she.
So the verb pomagati in the present tense becomes:
- ja pomažem = I help
- ti pomažeš = you help
- on/ona pomaže = he/she helps
Since sestra = she, you need pomaže.
What case is sestra in?
Sestra is in the nominative singular, because it is the of the sentence — the person doing the action.