Na odmoru želim da čitam knjige za koje sada nemam vremena.

On vacation, I want to read books that I do not have time for now.

Breakdown of Na odmoru želim da čitam knjige za koje sada nemam vremena.

• imati: to have
• sada: now
• ne: not
• knjiga: book

Questions & Answers about Na odmoru želim da čitam knjige za koje sada nemam vremena.

Why is it na odmoru and not something like u odmoru?

Na odmoru is the normal Serbian expression for on vacation / during vacation.

A lot of time expressions in Serbian use prepositions in ways that do not match English literally. Here, na + locative is idiomatic:

• na odmoru = on vacation
• na poslu = at work
• na fakultetu = at university / at the faculty

So this is something you mostly learn as a fixed phrase.

What case is odmoru?

Odmoru is in the locative singular.

The preposition na can take different cases depending on meaning:

• na + accusative usually shows movement toward something
• na + locative usually shows location or being in a state/situation

In Na odmoru, there is no movement; it means while on vacation, so the locative is used.

Why is it želim da čitam instead of an infinitive?

In Serbian, after verbs like želeti (to want), it is very common to use:

• želim da čitam = I want to read

This is one of the most normal ways to express want to do something in modern Serbian.

You may also encounter an infinitive in some contexts or regional styles, but is the standard, everyday pattern most learners should get comfortable with.