Za rođendan želi malu tortu sa čokoladom.

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Breakdown of Za rođendan želi malu tortu sa čokoladom.

• želeti: to want
• za: for
• sa: with

Questions & Answers about Za rođendan želi malu tortu sa čokoladom.

Why is there no word for he or she in this sentence?

Serbian often omits subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form or from context. This is called a pro-drop language.

Here, želi is 3rd person singular, so it means he/she wants. The sentence itself does not tell you whether the person is male or female; context does.

What exactly is želi?

Želi is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of želeti (to want).

So:

• ja želim = I want
• ti želiš = you want
• on/ona želi = he/she wants

In this sentence, želi matches an understood subject like he or she.

Why does the sentence start with Za rođendan?

Serbian word order is fairly flexible. Putting Za rođendan first gives the occasion/background first: for the birthday / for a birthday.

That sounds natural in Serbian, especially when the speaker wants to set the scene first.

You could also say: Želi malu tortu sa čokoladom za rođendan.

That is also understandable, but the emphasis shifts slightly.

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