Questions & Answers about Kupila sam novi sto, ali je stari još u hodniku.
Why is it kupila sam and not sam kupila?
In Serbian past tense, sam is a clitic, and clitics usually go in second position in the clause.
So in Kupila sam novi sto, the first element is kupila, and sam comes right after it.
This is the most neutral pattern here.
You may also hear Ja sam kupila... if the speaker wants to stress I, but without emphasis Serbian often leaves out the pronoun and places the clitic after the first word or phrase.
Why does kupila end in -la?
That ending shows the gender of the speaker in the past tense.
- kupila sam = a female speaker says I bought
- kupio sam = a male speaker says I bought
Serbian past tense is formed with:
- the l-participle: kupio / kupila / kupilo
- plus the auxiliary: sam
So kupila sam literally reflects bought + am, but it functions as the normal past tense: I bought.
Why is it novi sto? Shouldn’t the object be in the accusative?
Yes, the direct object is in the accusative, but for masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative is often the same as the nominative.