Tražim knjigu, ali je ne vidim.

not

Breakdown of Tražim knjigu, ali je ne vidim.

• ali: but
• videti: to see
• knjiga: book

Questions & Answers about Tražim knjigu, ali je ne vidim.

Why is it knjigu and not knjiga?

Because knjigu is the accusative singular form of knjiga.

In this sentence, knjigu is the direct object of tražim (I am looking for), so Serbian uses the accusative case.

• nominative: knjiga = book
• accusative: knjigu = book as the object

For many feminine nouns ending in -a, the accusative singular ends in -u.

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Does knjigu mean a book or the book?

It can mean a book or the book. Serbian does not have articles like English a/an/the.

So the exact meaning depends on context:

• Tražim knjigu could mean I’m looking for a book
• or I’m looking for the book

The rest of the situation tells you which one is meant.

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What tense is tražim?

Tražim is the 1st person singular present tense of tražiti.

It means:

• I look for
• I am looking for
• sometimes