Breakdown of Prošle godine moja sestra nije imala slobodnu nedelju u tom mesecu.
imati
to have
u
in
ne
not
moj
my
Questions & Answers about Prošle godine moja sestra nije imala slobodnu nedelju u tom mesecu.
Is godine plural here?
No. In Prošle godine, godine is not plural. It is the singular oblique form of godina used in this time expression.
That can be confusing because godine can also be a plural form in other contexts. Here, though, the whole phrase means last year, not last years.
A useful learner tip: memorize prošle godine as one chunk.
Why does Prošle godine mean last year instead of something more literal like past year?
Because prošle godine is the normal Serbian time expression for last year.
Serbian often uses this pattern with time words:
- ove godine = this year
- prošle godine = last year
- sledeće godine = next year
So even if the words look very literal, the idiomatic English equivalent is simply last year.
How does nije imala mean didn't have?
Serbian does not use a separate word like English did in sentences like didn't have.
Instead, Serbian uses:
- a past-tense auxiliary based on jesam
- plus the l-participle of the main verb
Here:
- nije = negative form of the auxiliary