Breakdown of Danas imam sastanak koji počinje u šest sati.
imati
to have
danas
today
počinjati
to start
u
at
Questions & Answers about Danas imam sastanak koji počinje u šest sati.
Why is there no word for I in the sentence?
In Serbian, the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb already shows who is doing the action.
- imam = I have
- The ending -m tells you the subject is I
So Danas imam sastanak naturally means Today I have a meeting.
You could say Ja danas imam sastanak, but ja is usually added only for emphasis or contrast.
What does Danas mean, and does it have to come first?
Danas means today.
It does not have to come first, although putting it first is very natural. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.
For example, all of these are possible:
- Danas imam sastanak.
- Imam danas sastanak.
- Imam sastanak danas.
They all mean roughly the same thing, but the first one is the most neutral and common here.
Why is imam used? Does Serbian really say I have a meeting like English?
Yes. Serbian commonly uses imati (to have) in this kind of sentence, just like English.
- imam sastanak = I have a meeting
- imam čas = I have a class
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