Questions & Answers about Moj posao se završava u osam sati.
Because posao is a masculine singular noun, and moj has to agree with it.
In Serbian, possessives like moj change for gender, number, and case, unlike English my, which never changes.
Here are the basic nominative forms:
- moj posao = my job/work
- moja knjiga = my book
- moje ime = my name
So moj posao is the correct match.
Posao can mean job, work, or sometimes task, depending on context.
In a sentence like this, it usually means something like:
- my work
- my job
- my workday / shift
So it does not have to mean your whole career or employment in the abstract. It can simply refer to the period of work that ends at eight.
Not really. In this sentence, se is not best understood as itself.
Here, se završava is a common Serbian way to say ends or comes to an end. Many Serbian verbs use se even when English does not use a reflexive word.
Compare:
- Završavam posao. = I am finishing the work.
- Posao se završava. = The work is ending / comes to an end.
So in this sentence, se is part of the verbal expression, not something you should translate word-for-word.
Because se is a clitic: a short, unstressed word that usually goes in second position in the sentence.
In Serbian, second position means after the first whole unit, not necessarily after the first single word. Here, Moj posao acts as one unit, so se comes right after it:
- Moj posao se završava u osam sati.
If you move another phrase to the front, se usually follows that phrase instead:
- U osam sati se moj posao završava.
This placement is very typical of Serbian clitics.
Because Serbian often uses the present tense for:
- regular events
- schedules
- timetables
- things that happen by routine
English does this too:
- My class starts at 9.
- The train leaves at 6.
- My work ends at 8.
So završava here is completely natural. It means something like ends at eight as part of a schedule or usual pattern.
This is about aspect, which is very important in Serbian.
- završava = imperfective
- završi = perfective
In a sentence about a regular or scheduled event, Serbian normally uses the imperfective form:
- Moj posao se završava u osam sati.
The perfective završi is more natural in contexts like:
- Kad se moj posao završi, idem kući. = When my work finishes, I’m going home.
So for a simple statement about when something ends on a schedule, završava is the right choice.
U osam sati means at eight o’clock.
A few useful points:
u is the normal preposition used with clock time:
- u dva = at two
- u pet = at five
- u osam sati = at eight
After the number 8, Serbian uses the form sati.
In everyday speech, people very often shorten this and simply say:
- u osam
So both are natural:
- Moj posao se završava u osam sati.
- Moj posao se završava u osam.
Also, this is different from:
- za osam sati = in eight hours
So u osam sati is a clock time, not a duration.
Because Serbian has no articles. There is no direct equivalent of English a/an or the.
Whether something is definite or indefinite is usually understood from:
- context
- word order
- possessives like moj
- demonstratives like ovaj or taj
In this sentence, moj already makes the noun specific:
- moj posao = my work / my job
So Serbian does not need a separate word for the.
Yes. Serbian word order is fairly flexible, and changing it often changes the focus or emphasis, not the basic meaning.
The original sentence is a neutral, natural order:
- Moj posao se završava u osam sati.
You could also say:
- U osam sati se moj posao završava.
That version puts more emphasis on the time.
But remember: the clitic se still tends to stay in second position, so learners should be careful about moving words around. The original sentence is a very safe model to follow.