Za vikend ne ustajem rano, jer želim da spavam.

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Breakdown of Za vikend ne ustajem rano, jer želim da spavam.

• želeti: to want
• rano: early
• jer: because

Questions & Answers about Za vikend ne ustajem rano, jer želim da spavam.

Why is it za vikend and what exactly does it mean?

Za vikend is a very common time expression meaning on the weekend / at the weekend.

Here, za is followed by the accusative, and vikend has the same form in nominative and accusative, so you just see vikend.

A learner should also know that Serbian often uses:

• za vikend = on the weekend
• vikendom = on weekends, on the weekend

In this sentence, za vikend sounds very natural.

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Does za vikend mean this weekend or on weekends in general?

It can depend on context, but in this sentence it most naturally means on weekends in general because the rest of the sentence is in the present tense and describes a habit:

• Za vikend ne ustajem rano = I don’t get up early on weekends

If you wanted to clearly say this weekend, Serbian would usually add something like:

• ovaj vikend = this weekend

So:

• Za vikend ne ustajem rano = general habit
• Ovaj vikend ne ustajem rano = this specific weekend

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Why is it ne ustajem, not ne ustanem?

This is about aspect, which is very important in Serbian.