Da li biste doneli fotografije večeras?

Da li is a very common way to turn a statement into a yes/no question in Serbian.

So:

• Biste doneli fotografije večeras. = You would bring the photographs tonight.
• Da li biste doneli fotografije večeras? = Would you bring the photographs tonight?

It does not translate word-for-word neatly into English. Its job is mainly grammatical: it marks the sentence as a question.

A very common alternative is:

• Biste li doneli fotografije večeras?

That means the same thing and often sounds a bit smoother or more natural in polite requests.

Biste is the 2nd person plural form of the auxiliary used in the conditional.

In this sentence, it helps create the meaning would:

• ja bih = I would
• ti bi = you would
• on/ona/ono bi = he/she/it would
• mi bismo = we would
• vi biste = you would
• oni/one/ona bi = they would

So biste corresponds to you would.

In Serbian, vi can mean:

• you all / you plural
• you as a formal/polite singular

So biste works for both:

• speaking to several people
• speaking politely to one person

Because the Serbian conditional is built with:

• the auxiliary bih / bi / bismo / biste
• plus the past active participle

So:

• biste doneli = would bring

This may look strange to English speakers because Serbian uses a form that looks partly like the past, but the whole construction expresses a conditional/polite meaning, not past time.

Very roughly:

• doneli ste = you brought
• biste doneli = you would bring

Doneli is the past active participle of doneti.

It agrees with the subject in number and, in some cases, gender.

Here it is plural masculine/mixed form because it goes with vi.

With vi, Serbian normally uses the plural participle, even when vi is a polite singular.

Examples:

• Da li biste doneli... = to a group, or politely to one person
• Da li bi doneo... = to one man informally
• Da li bi donela... = to one woman informally

So doneli is the expected form with biste.

Yes. In this sentence, the meaning is not past.

The combination biste doneli expresses:

• a polite request
• a hypothetical action
• something the speaker wants the listener to do

So it is future-oriented in meaning, even though one part of the form resembles the past participle.

This is normal in Serbian grammar. The same thing happens in many languages: a form that historically or structurally looks “past-like” can be used for politeness or hypotheticals.

This is an aspect question.

• doneti = perfective
• donositi = imperfective

Here, doneti is used because the speaker is asking for a completed result: the photos should be brought.

So Da li biste doneli fotografije večeras? means roughly:

• Would you bring the photographs tonight?
• with the idea of actually bringing them successfully

If you used donositi, it would sound less natural in this context unless the situation specifically called for an imperfective meaning, such as repeated or ongoing bringing.

English speakers often do not notice this difference at first, but in Serbian it is important.

Fotografije is in the accusative plural here because it is the direct object of the verb doneti.

You are bringing what?

• fotografije

For feminine nouns like fotografija, the accusative plural often looks the same as the nominative plural:

• nominative plural: fotografije
• accusative plural: fotografije

So even though the form is the same, its function here is accusative.

Singular forms:

• nominative: fotografija
• accusative: fotografiju

Yes. In everyday use, fotografije can simply mean photos/pictures.

In many contexts, Serbian speakers also use:

• slike = pictures / photos
• fotke = informal, like pics

So depending on tone, you might also hear:

• Da li biste doneli slike večeras?
• Da li biste doneli fotke večeras? (more informal)

Fotografije sounds neutral to slightly more formal than slike.

Večeras means tonight / this evening.

It is a time adverb, and it tells you when the action is expected to happen.

So:

• doneli fotografije večeras = bring the photographs tonight

It refers specifically to this evening/tonight, not evenings in general.

Compare:

• večeras = tonight
• uveče = in the evening / evenings, depending on context

Yes. Serbian word order is fairly flexible, though some versions sound more natural in certain contexts.

Your sentence:

• Da li biste doneli fotografije večeras?

Possible alternatives:

• Da li biste večeras doneli fotografije?
• Fotografije, da li biste doneli večeras? (more marked/emphatic)
• Biste li doneli fotografije večeras?

The most neutral choices are usually:

• Da li biste doneli fotografije večeras?
• Biste li doneli fotografije večeras?

Moving večeras can slightly shift emphasis:

• Da li biste večeras doneli fotografije? emphasizes tonight
• Da li biste doneli fotografije večeras? is more evenly balanced

It is most naturally understood as a polite request.

Using the conditional in Serbian often softens the sentence, much like English:

• Bring the photographs tonight. = direct
• Will you bring the photographs tonight? = neutral request
• Would you bring the photographs tonight? = more polite

So Da li biste doneli... sounds courteous and less forceful.

Also, because it uses vi/biste, it can be:

• polite singular
• plural you

So the sentence is polite in tone and may also be formally addressed.

A few common options:

• Da li ćete doneti fotografije večeras?
  = Will you bring the photographs tonight?
  More straightforward, less soft than biste.

• Donesite fotografije večeras.
  = Bring the photographs tonight.
  This is an imperative, so it is more direct.

• Možete li doneti fotografije večeras?
  = Can you bring the photographs tonight?
  Also common and polite.

So biste is one of the softer, more courteous ways to ask.

Yes, absolutely. That is a very common alternative.

Both are correct:

• Da li biste doneli fotografije večeras?
• Biste li doneli fotografije večeras?

The second version is often felt to be a bit more elegant or natural in polite speech.

This happens because Serbian can form yes/no questions either with:

• da li + verb
• or by inserting li after the first verbal element

So:

• Da li biste...
• Biste li...

Both mean the same thing here.

No. If you are speaking to one person informally, you would use ti, not vi.

Then the form would be:

• to one male friend: Da li bi doneo fotografije večeras?
• to one female friend: Da li bi donela fotografije večeras?

So the original biste doneli is specifically for:

• you plural
• or formal/polite singular

That is one of the key things English speakers need to notice, because English you does not distinguish these forms.