Da li želite da učite jezik sa mojom sestrom?

Do you want to learn a language with my sister?

Breakdown of Da li želite da učite jezik sa mojom sestrom?

• da li: do
• moj: my
• sestra: sister
• želeti: to want

Questions & Answers about Da li želite da učite jezik sa mojom sestrom?

What does Da li do at the beginning of the sentence?

Da li is a very common way to mark a yes/no question in Serbian. It does not translate word-for-word very neatly into English, but it functions a bit like do / does / is / are at the start of an English question.

So Da li želite... means something like Do you want... or Would you like...

Can I ask the same question without Da li?

Yes. A very common alternative is:

Želite li da učite jezik sa mojom sestrom?

Here, li comes after the verb, which is also a standard way to form a yes/no question. Both versions are correct.

You may also hear questions formed just by intonation in speech, but Da li... and Verb + li... are the clearest standard patterns for learners.

Why is it želite and not želiš?

Želite is the 2nd person plural form, but Serbian also uses that same form for formal singular you.

So this sentence could mean:

• you all want
• you want, speaking politely to one person

If you were talking to one person informally, you would say:

Da li želiš da učiš jezik sa mojom sestrom?

Why is there another da before učite?